Simon RushworthThe Quireboys closed out a spectacular ‘comeback year’ with a series of live shows celebrating the critically acclaimed Wardour Street and a familiar back catalogue. Here’s the Rushonrock verdict.
Street Smart
We hailed Wardour Street the best Quireboys record since the band’s sparkling 1990 debut when it bagged a deserved podium place in Rushonrock’s Best Rock and Metal Albums of 2024 list. But the true test was always going to be how a slick set of rock and roll classics would translate to the live stage. Rather than drip feed a couple of singles into their November/December shows, Spike and co. regularly rolled out six of Wardour Street’s finer moments across the UK — including the joyously upbeat Jeeze Louise and tongue in cheek thumper I Think I Got It Wrong Again. Ironically, everything feels right again for this reborn rock and roll institution.
Luke who’s back
Spike always ups his game when Luke Morley’s his wingman and it seems two longstanding friends and early 90s rivals were born to make sweet music together. The latter has emerged as the glue that holds together this welcome reboot of a Rushonrock favourite and The Thunderboys (drummer Harry James is also on secondment while Danny Bowes fights back to full health) continue to go from strength to strength. Morley — fresh from a blazing run of solo dates — revels in the opportunity to unleash his inner Keith Richards while Spike clearly benefits from a safe pair of hands directing traffic on stage. No longer a Man On The Loose, one of the UK’s most charismatic frontmen looks and sounds tighter than that bright pink bandana.
Back to bus-ics
On The Quireboys’ latest UK-wide trek, Spike packed his mates into an old school double decker tour bus and kicked hotel rooms into touch. Time spent together in adjacent bunk beds and sharing the same ‘facilities’ appears to have helped bond this band of brothers — big smiles and elite banter paced a series of memorable shows. Spike and Nigel Mogg (bass) might be used to slumming it together but spare a thought for poor Willie Dowling — a quintessential English gentleman who must have experienced quite the culture shock on The Quireboys’ answer to the National Express. Thankfully the founder of cult late 80s crew The Grip looked right at home on stage and the keys man’s become a key man in the band’s onward journey.
The old ones are the best… but only just
No, we’re not talking about Spike and Morley again. It’s the songs. Those culled from A Bit Of What You Fancy still sound as fresh as the day they dropped and it’s a no brainer giving the fans what they crave — subtly reworked versions of Hey You, Whippin’ Boy and I Don’t Love You Anymore saw Morley and Dowling breathe new life into standout staples. But it’s a testament to the quality of Wardour Street that the new tunes stand toe to toe with Spike and the late, great Guy Bailey’s finest moments as an intuitive songwriting team. The temptation might be to revert back to the good old days on future tours and discard the newer, less familiar material. That would be a mistake. Retaining what worked so well on Wardour Street will be the secret to future success.
Images by Gordon Armstrong @ G’s Gig Shots