Stampede, Hard Rock Hell festival, Prestatyn, 3/12/2011

Well,here we are again,Hard Rock Hell V,the annual  festival that goes from strength to strength and part of the weekend’s festivities was a stage devoted to nwobhm on Saturday afternoon from 12pm-17.30pm.The proceedings were opened in style by a 40min classic hard rock set from Stampede who have just finished playing 5 UK dates with Y&T.
Considering that the festival had already been going for 2 nights, with bands playing up until 2am,there were a few hardened punters waiting for the venue to open about half hour before Stampede’s set and was near half full when they opened with the aptly titled Hurricane Town,blowing away the crowd’s hangovers from the night before.The band were on fine form led by the soaring vocals of the dapper Reuben Archer,backed by the tight rhythm section of Colin Bond on bass,Steve Graystone on drums and the fluid twin guitar attack from Chris Clowsley and Laurence Archer.
The set spanned all eras of the band,from the 1982 Days Of Wine And Roses ep up till their latest release A Sudden Impulse,out now on Grind That Axe/Rock Candy Records.Unfortunately,due to stage time restrictions,2 songs had to be omitted from the planned set but what was played must have gained them many new fans and brought many a smile from old ones.Easily one of my highlights of the weekend!

Set List:-
Hurricane Town.
Jessie.
Having Fun.
Shadows Of The Night.
Missing You.
Send Me Down An Angel.
Days Of Wine And Roses.
Humble Pie.
Moving On.

The Runner (not played).
Recharged (not played).

The band:-
Reuben Archer-Lead Vocals.
Chris Clowsley-Guitar.
Laurence Archer-Guitar.
Colin Bond-Bass.
Steve Graystone-Drums.

About Dennis Jarman

Full time downtrodden album/gig reviewer and part time rock God!