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Stage 2 - Glam, Sleaze 'n' Trash
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First up on Stage 2 were the excellent Marseille, with some great melodic rock.
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With a fire breather!.
Marseille....
...rock Stage 2 ....
...not easy on Day 3 of the festival.
.Unfortunately, Stage 2 slid downhill after this, with a succession of 2nd division Motley Crue type acts such as Pretty Boy Floyd (below),
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and also Enuff 'Z' Enuff (it was enough for me), and LA Guns.
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Stage 3 - NWOBHM
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Far better, for those of us who like our rock with more balls, was the short trip over to Stage 3 in the Queen Vic for an afternoon of NWOBHM influenced acts.
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Headrush provided us with a harder edge altogether.
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A solid metal sound.
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.Next up were Jaguar, whose singer joined us in the crowd.
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.Oozing with NWOBHM riffage were the fine Elixir, with their Saxonesque brand of hard rock.
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Elixir.
.Highlight of the afternoon were veterans Saracen who really should be playing a bigger stage than this. Marvellous.
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Saracen rock the Queen Vic.....
...on the Saturday afternoon.
Saturday night
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After some respite, it was back over to the main stage for the evening's entertainment.
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Paul Di' Anno attracted a large crowd, as you would expect for the original Iron Maiden singer performing for the first time in 10 years in the UK. So no surprise then to hear Wrathchild, Charlotte The Harlot, Prowler, Killers and Phnatom Of The Opera (my you tube video). What a shame he ruined the set by coming across like an arrogant, xenophobic, homophobic football hooligan.
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Next up were Helloween. Not that it's their fault, but they were the band to whom I lost my denim jacket and home brew in a crush when they opened at Monsters Of Rock in 1988. Not that I bear a grudge, I just found their power metal a bit over the top.
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And then...
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Michael Schenker Group
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Ten o'clock on the main stage and it was what some of us had waited all day for.
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After a slight delay it was straight into the likes of Armed and Ready, Cry For The Nations, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, On And On, Into The Arena (my you tube video), and the UFO staples Lights Out and Rock Bottom.
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Disappointingly, MSG got a bit of a slating on the HRH forum. True it is that Gary's voice is not what it was, but can any one else sing these tracks for MSG? I just think that a lot of the younger punters didn't know the material.
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I loved it.
The Mad Axeman.
Wayne Findlay and Gary Barden.
Gary.
...and with Schenker himself.
Brilliant as ever.
Saxon
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You just can't go wrong with Saxon can you?
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30 years plus of heavy rocking pleasure crammed into a one hour set gives you the likes of Heavy Metal Thunder, Strong Arm Of The Law, 747 Strangers In The Night, Denim And Leather, Demon Sweeney Todd, Dallas 1pm (my you tube video), And The Bands Played On, Battalions Of Steel and Wheels Of Steel.
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Biff and Quinny.
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Doug and Biff.
One of the most underrated frontmen in rock.
After rocking out to Saxon, I must admit that my energy levels were falling fast as the midnight hour passed.
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The final act on the main stage was another former Maiden frontman, Blaze Bailey. With a very heavy, loud sound it seemed a good show, but I gave it 15 minutes before popping over to Stage 2 to catch Viking Skull and their doom laden Black Sabbath style rhythms.
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At 2am, that was it for another year, apart from the 4 hour drive home on Sunday morning. Here and gone in a flash, and another excellent weekend. At around £150 for entry and accomodation, Hard Rock Hell is surely the best value festival on the calendar.
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Roll on HRH5. Y&T please?????????????
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All pics (c) the webmaster.
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