HRH-AOR 4 Review

Thursday 10th March 2016

he said that he was from Newcastle so therefore

was not much good at football.

We arrived at the HY campsite in bright sunshine

sun
and were very pleased to discover that our caravan
was in close proximity to the venue and we were
able to park the car directly outside. After
unpacking and a couple of beers, we went for a
leisurely walk around the campsite stopping off at
the pub for a drink outside in mid-March
March!

We stayed on to catch the opening numbers of The

V who were a tight band, reasonable songs but the
caricature that is lead singer Veronica Freeman is
unfortunately,, in my humble opinion,
op
the weak
link; too often shouting instead of singing. With a
genre now full of exceptional female vocalists, I
am not sure where The V fit in.
three
I briefly caught a few songs of Irish three-piece
Preachers Son but
ut nothing to hold my attention
and only returned to the venue at 10.00pm just in
time to see the first nights headliners The
Quireboys. There is a fine line between being
merry and out of control drunk and Spike seems,
after years of experience, to know how to walk that
line. In fact, he sounded better than I have heard
him before. A great opening headline act to get the
fans in the party spirit. Spike tried to kick
something
ing off the front of the stage but missed
which drew much merriment from the crowd when

Review by Mark Donnelly

HRH-AOR 4 Review
Friday 11th March 2016
We took the short drive to Port Merrion, home of
seventies cult TV show The Prisoner in the
morning. Once again, we were blessed with
glorious sunshine.

I made it back in time to see opening band of the

day Estrella who, to their credit, drew quite an
audience. Playing at 3.00pm in the afternoon did
not affect the Scottish band and they played an
infectious forty-five minute set that really engaged
the crowd. Their debut album, although not one of
my favourite releases of 2015, did come to life in
the live arena. Guitarist Luke Gunn certainly
enjoyed himself and was a little OTT with his stage
antics

I had really been looking forward to seeing Iconic

Eye, their debut album being an excellent slab of
Melodic Rock/AOR. On the album singer Tim
Dawkes, has a voice reminiscent of Lee Small
(Shy, Lifeforce) but this afternoon, for whatever
reason, he seemed to really struggle. The omens
were not good as the bands start was delayed by
technical issues and well over half the crowd for
Estrella had dispersed and let the auditorium.
Unfortunately, Dawkes vocals just sounded totally
off-key and he certainly did not engage the crowd
like Estrellas Paul Gunn. I like the debut album,
Hidden In Plain Sight but, for whatever reason
this afternoon, the songs came across lifeless and
dull and I do not know what came first: the apathy
from the audience or the band themselves. Not
even a lack-lustre cover of the Aerosmith classic

Review by Mark Donnelly

Sweet Emotion could save the set. After that I

decided to retreat back to the caravan for a
relaxation before the next band. I have
subsequently played the aforementioned debut
album several times and still very much enjoy what
I hear and would just put this live performance
down to a bad day at the office.

Not knowing anything by Kaned I returned in

readiness for Blood Red Saints who turned out to
be one of the bands of the festival. Tight as a nuns
chuff, the band were ably led by the charismatic
Pete Godfrey who obviously fancied himself as a
bit of stand-up comedian. He definitely affiliated
himself with the audience and arguably had the best
singing voice of the weekend. The majority of the
set was taken from last years excellent Speedway
album with one new track played, written by
drummer Pete Newdeck, and was heavier than the
songs of the excellent debut. A cover of the Bon
Jovi classic Wanted Dead Or Alive had the crowd
in raptures. A couple of further covers, Vegas
Staring At The Sun and Signals Does It Feel
Like Love fitted perfectly with the original
compositions from the exceptional debut album
that is a veritable collection of AOR and Melodic
Rock soon to be classics.

Due to road delays Russ Ballard did not hit the

stage for a good half hour after his initial scheduled
start time. Ballard showed absolutely no signs of
frustration and put on the surprise set of the
weekend. Renowned as a songwriter it is incredible
just how many hits Ballard has written over the
years and he played a whole host of his greatest
hits, often made famous by other artists: So You
Win Again (Hot Chocolate) I Know Theres

HRH-AOR 4 Review
Something Going On (written for ABBAs AnniFrid Synnis solo album) Argents Hold Your
Head Up and God Gave Rock n Roll To You
(the latter covered by Kiss for the Bill & Teds
Bogus Journey) and encored with Since Youve
Been Gone (immortalised by Rainbow). The band
must have been all in their sixties but were
consummate professionals and the sound was
fantastic.

I was surprised that Tyketto had only been

allocated a seventy minute slot, however, they
pulled a masterstroke, playing the whole of the
classic Dont Come Easy album but in reverse
order even interjecting the b-side Walk Away to
Forever Young half way through the set. It was
obvious from the offset that this was going to be a
major highlight as the venue was rammed and the
noise was awesome coming from the partisan
crowd. The word classic is often overused in
regards to albums (I myself am probably guilty of
the latter) but with Dont Come Easy I think that
it is fair to say that it fits that category. Celebrating
its 25 years it has not dated and still sounds as fresh
today as it did on first release back in 1991; had it
been released two years earlier I am positive we
would be talking about a multi-platinum album.
Furyon and Rubicon Cross guitarist Chris Green,
Thunder bassist Chris Childs along with Rage Of
Angels keyboardist Ged Rylands have given
Tyketto a fresh impetus. I, along with the majority
in attendance sang myself hoarse during the set and
what a climax, with probably, most peoples
favourite Tyketto songs Wings and the anthemic
Forever Young. This is the very reason so many
of us still pay money and travel miles to see our
favourite bands. Simply sensational and Danny
Vaughan looked genuinely emotional at the end as
the fans left to a rousing standing ovation.

Review by Mark Donnelly

I can only think of two bands in this genre that

could have successfully followed that and both
played last years festival: H.e.a.t and Night
Ranger. With the latter in mind Joe Lynn Turner
had has work cut out and I was pleasantly surprised
with how good his voice was, indeed, arguably
better than the last time I saw him fronting
Rainbow back in 1984 Bent Out Of Shape tour.
Turner has a huge back catalogue of work,
however, chooses to create his set from his
commercially most successful period fronting
Ritchie Blackmores Rainbow. The majority of this
evenings set was the soundtrack to my youth and it
was great to hear all the Rainbow classics played
live, however, as technically as good as Turners
guitarist was he lacked that ability, that Blackmore
has (and very few guitarists possess), to inject an
additional warmth and feel to the songs. Turner did
look strange with his perfectly coiffured hair and
facelifts and his stories relating to the Rainbow
songs were of interest to die-hard fans like myself
but seemed to largely unimpressed with the
majority of the crowd. Ironically, the biggest crowd
reaction came for the final two numbers that were
from the Ronnie James Dio fronted Rainbow
period, the classics Man On The Silver Mountain
and Long Live Rock n Roll that left the crowd
to go home or continue on partying to the early
hours in high spirits.

HRH-AOR 4 Review
Saturday 12th March 2016

The Radio Sun had travelled all the way from the
other side of the world to play a forty-five minute
set on a wet afternoon in North Wales. I along with
a few hundred others really enjoyed their set of
songs from their first two albums. Here was a band
that genuinely looked honoured to be on stage and
appreciative of all the fans that had taken the time
to come out and see them play. Personal highlights
were Madness in the World, Worlds Crazy
Now and set closer, the superb Hanging by a
Thread. Both lead singer Jason Old and guitarist
Steve Janevski interacted with the audience
throughout and were ably supported by the strong
rhythm section of Robbie Erdmanis (bass & vox)
and Ben Wignall (drums & vox).

Knowing it was going to be another long day I

decided to head back to the caravan to watch the
first half of The Six Nations Rugby match between
England and Wales and in doing so miss the set of
the The Burning Crows. With the half-time score
of 16-0 to England I thought it was game over and
therefore had no worries about returning to the
theatre to see Newman. Steve Newman and his
band proceeded to treat us to a set of songs
spanning his whole discography with the highlights
being the humorous start of Primitive Soul that
morphed into a cover of the Van Halen classic
Panama and set closer One Step Closer.

Review by Mark Donnelly

US band Talon were back with their original

frontman Michael OMara who possess an
impressive set of pipes. The majority of this
evenings set was taken from the most recent album
Fourplay but it was the older material that held
my interest the most such as Paradise and
Wrecking Ball.
I took a comfort break during the set by Marvel
who I have to admit I know very little about. I did
catch their closing number and did wonder their
inclusion at an AOR festival.
If I had only been allowed to see one band over the
weekend then it would definitely have been Dan
Reed Network. After their sensational set at last
years Rockingham I had high expectations from
the Portland band and they did not disappoint. The
one member not from the original line-up,
keyboardist Rob Daiker, looked a lot more
comfortable in the band than when the Network
first reformed last October and the whole group
were extremely polished.

The band definitely had the WOW factor with old

fans remembering just how awesome the Network
are live and new fans realising just what all the
hype was all about. An extended version of
Resurrect got the show off to a fantastic start
followed by Under My Skin and the funky
Forgot To Make Her Mine. Dan Reed even found
time to amusingly apologise to the crowd for
Donald Trump! New song Divided from the

HRH-AOR 4 Review
forthcoming album Fight Another Day sounded
great but it was the classic Rainbow Child
(written by Reed in a car park at a Grateful Dead
concert) that the crowd buzzing. Make It Easy;
kept up the momentum and Baby Now I nearly
took the roof off the venue; the band eased back
with the laid back Cruise Together before
concluding the all too short set with the monstrous
funktastic Get to You. On tonights showing Dan
reed Network could have easily headlined and there
would have been very few disappointed fans. If the
Red Hot Chillie Peppers can still headline stadiums
then World domination awaits Dan Reed Network.

Although I have never been a massive Quiet Riot

fan I do love their major hits albeit that two of them
are cover versions. Opening with Run For Cover
the sound was loud and clear but by the time they
played their third number Whatever It Takes they
were starting to lose the crowd, the latter not helped
by some idiot throwing a plastic cup at lead singer
Jizzy Pearl. I do not know if it was the scheduled
song in the set list but Slades Mama Weer All
Crazee Now got the crowd back on side and
singing at full voice. The Metal fans were certainly
enjoying the rumbustious set list taken from the
classic Metal Health album and 1984s
Condition Critical that was brought to a
tumultuous climax with a further Slade cover Cum
On Feel The Noise and the Heavy Metal anthem
that is Metal Health (Bang Your Head). One the
enduring memories of the weekend was seeing
Brion James (DRN guitarist) a few feet away from
me singing along with the immortal words, Bang
your head! Metal health'll drive you mad!

Review by Mark Donnelly

To their credit, I have not seen many bands turn an

audience round quite like Quiet Riot this evening
that left the stage to a heros reception.
We decided to stay to watch ex-Guns n Roses
guitarist Gilby Clarke and were pleasantly
surprised by his very professional performance and
subsequently enjoyable set. Those expecting an
hours worth of Guns n Roses covers were
severely disappointed (I think that the latter has a
lot to with Axl Rose). Perhaps because I was
unfamiliar with Clarkes solo material it was the
covers that I enjoyed most like the Rolling Stones
Dead Flowers and Its Only Rock n Roll (But I
Like It), Bob Dylans Knockin On Heavens
Door, The Who classic Wont Get Fooled Again
and set closer and crowd pleaser, Guns n Roses
Its So Easy.

This years line up might not have been as strong as

last years, however, credit to both the organisers
and the bands as they put on an equally enjoyable
festival. We have already booked to go again next
year.

HRH-AOR 4 Review

Review by Mark Donnelly

HRH-AOR4 Setlists

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Black Mariah
Too Much of a Good Thing
Misled
The Finer Stuff
There She Goes Again
Gracie B
This Is Rock 'N' Roll
Mona Lisa Smiled
Tramps and Thieves
Hey You
Sweet Mary Ann
7 O'Clock

Encore:
13 - I Don't Love You Anymore / Fool to Cry
14 - Don't Bite the Hand

HRH AOR 4 Setlists

HRH-AOR 4 Setlists

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Rock City
She's Got It
Heaven
Let's Do It
Whatever It Is
Wheels
We Will Go On
Here I Am

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Now That I've Found You

Every Little Thing
All She Needed
You Make It
Same Old Feeling
Don't Stop Me From Leaving
Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith cover)
In A Broken Dream
Am I (The Man)
Let It Rain Down
Better Place
I Can Feel It

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Kicking Up Dust
Mercy
Best Of Me
Dirty Little Secret
Dangerous
Love Set Me Up Again
Wanted Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi cover)
Unbreakable
Staring At The Sun (VEGA Cover)
Feels A Lot Like Love
Does It Feel Like Love (Signal cover)
Better Days

HRH-AOR 4 Setlists

HRH AOR 4 Set lists

Russ Ballard - HRH AOR 4 - North Wales

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Rene Didn't Do it
It's My Life (Stand in My Shoes)
Dream On
I Can't Hear You No More
The Fire Still Burns
So You Win Again / I Know There's Something Going
On / New York Groove
Time Machine
Voices
Hold Your Head Up (Argent song)
I Don't Believe in Miracles (Colin Blunstone cover)
God Gave Rock and Roll to You (Argent song)
Since You Been Gone

Barnet Dogs (1980)

Boof Of Love (2006)
The Fire Still Burns (1985)
Russ Ballard (1984)
The Fire Still Burns (1985)

It's Good To Be Here (2015)

Russ Ballard (1984)
Argent -'In Deep' (1973)
Russ Ballard (1974)
Argent -'In Deep' (1973)
Winning (1976)

HRH-AOR 4 Setlists

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Sail Away
Strip Me Down
Nothing But Love
Walk on Fire
Lay Your Body Down
Walk Away
Standing Alone
Seasons
Burning Down Inside
Wings
Forever Young

HRH-AOR 4 Setlists

HRH-AOR 4 Setlists

Death Alley Driver (Rainbow song)

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Power (Rainbow song)

Can't Let You Go (Rainbow song)
Street of Dreams (Rainbow song)
MISS Mistreated (Rainbow song)
Jealous Lover (Rainbow song)
Stone Cold (Rainbow song)
I Surrender (Russ Ballard cover)
Can't Happen Here (Rainbow song)
King of Dreams (Deep Purple song)
Spotlight Kid (Rainbow song)
Man on the Silver Mountain (Rainbow song)
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (Rainbow song)

Rainbow - 'Straight Between The Eyes' (1982)

Rainbow - 'Bent Out Of Shape' (1983)
Rainbow - 'Bent Out Of Shape' (1983)
Rainbow - 'Straight Between The Eyes' (1982)
Rainbow - 'Jealous Lover EP' (1981)
Rainbow - 'Straight Between The Eyes' (1982)
Rainbow - 'Difficult To Cure' (1981)
Rainbow - 'Difficult To Cure' (1981)
Deep Purple - Slaves and Masters (1990)
Rainbow - 'Straight Between The Eyes' (1982)
Rainbow - 'Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow' (1975)
Rainbow - 'Long Live Rock 'n' Roll' (1978)

HRH-AOR 4 Setlists

HRH-AOR 4 Setlists

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Tell Me What You Want

Science Fiction
Wrong Things Right
One In A Million
Madness in The World
Dying Without Your Love
Maybe
World's Crazy Now
Heaven or Heartbreak
Hanging by a Thread

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Spun
Sin City Sister
Paradise
Holly Would
Set Me Free
Talon In My Heart
Raise 'Em High
Evil
Wrecking Ball

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Intro
The Elegance Machine
Every Moment
Feel Her Again
Stay with Me
Pray for the Day
Panama / Primitive Soul
If It's Love
Heaven Knows
One Step Closer

HRH-AOR 4 Setlists

HRH-AOR 4 Setlists

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Resurrect
Under My Skin
Forgot to Make Her Mine
Divided
Rainbow Child
Make It Easy
Baby Now I
Cruise Together
Get to You

Dan Reed Network (1988)

Slam (1989)
Dan Reed Network (1988)
Fight Another Day (2016)
Slam (1989)
Slam (1989)
The Heat (1991)
Slam (1989)
Dan Reed Network (1988)

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Run for Cover

Metal Healh (1983)
Slick Black Cadillac
Metal Healh (1983)
Whatever It Takes
Down To The Bone (1995)
Mama Weer All Crazee Now (Slade
Conditional
cover)Critical (1984)
Party All Night
Conditional Critical (1984)
Love's a Bitch
Metal Healh (1983)
Condition Critical
Conditional Critical (1984)
Sign of the Times
Conditional Critical (1984)
The Wild and the Young
QR III
Let's Get Crazy
Metal Healh (1983)
Cum On Feel the Noize (SladeMetal
cover)Healh (1983)
Metal Health (Bang Your Head)
Metal Healh (1983)

HRH-AOR 4 Setlists

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HRH-AOR 4 Setlists

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Wasn't Yesterday Great

Under the Gun
Motorcycle Cowboys (Kill for Thrills song)
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It) (The Rolling Stones cover)
Pawn Shop Guitars
Monkey Chow (Slashs Snakepit song)
Cure Me ... Or Kill Me ...
Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan cover)
Won't Get Fooled Again (The Who cover)
Tijuana Jail
Dead Flowers (The Rolling Stones cover)
It's So Easy (Guns 'n' Roses cover)

The Hangover (1997)

Swag (2002)
Kills For Thrills - 'Dynamite From Nightmareland (1990)
Rolling Stones - 'It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (1974)
Pawn Shop Guitars (1994)
Slash's Snakepit - 'It's Five O'Clock Somewhere' (1995)
Pawn Shop Guitars (1994)
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid Soundtrack (1973)
The Who - 'Who's Next' (1971)
Pawn Shop Guitars (1994)
Rolling Stones - 'It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Llike It)Sticky Fingers' (1971)
Guns 'n' Roses - 'Appetite For Destruction' (1987)

HRH-AOR 4 Setlists