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A pretty poignant one last Tuesday as stalwart prog/AOR/hard rockers Magnum kicked off their series of memorial shows for their late guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder Tony Clarkin in London. With the band being prominent on my playlists, mainly on the strength of their 1985 banger of an album, On a Storyteller’s Night, and having missed an opportunity to see them whilst Tony was alive, I’d thought I’d go along to pay my respects, especially as the band made it sound as if it would be the last time they’d perform live.
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In the end, the double-set show turned out to be a satisfying tribute to their fallen comrade, with a setlist that drew upon the breadth of their 53-year career. To my great delight, not one but four tracks from Storyteller’s Night put in an appearance, including the stellar title track, the show-opening ‘How Far Jerusalem?’, and the uplifting ‘Just Like an Arrow’. Other highlights included the epic ‘Don’t Wake the Lion (Too Old To Die Young)’ from 1988’s Wings of Heaven, the war-is-hell anthem ‘Soldier of the Line’ from their 1982 album Chase the Dragon (which would make a great opening theme for an ’80s military anime, e.g., Armored Trooper VOTOMS), the title track of their ’86 album, Vigilante, and, going all the way back to ’78, that of their first album, Kingdom of Madness.
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All those tracks and more were performed superbly by the current iteration of the band, with particular kudos going to the band’s former guitar tech Brendon Riley, who filled Clarkin’s shoes immaculately, each note sounding like Clarkin did on record. Frontman and co-founder Bob Catley brought the vocal goods too, some inconsistencies on hitting high notes aside, though there were points where he was visibly, understandably overcome with emotion regarding the untimely exit of his long-time friend and comrade in arms. For all the sadness, however, he expressed encouragement at the enthusiastic turnout for the show, even dropping the suggestion, more than once, that this tribute tour would not be the last seen of the band on stage. I, for one, hope he and the rest of the band make good on that.
~MRDA~