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REVIEW
​THE STORY OF GUITAR HEROES
 
THE PALACE THEATRE, SOUTHEND 
on 
​Sunday 28th January 2018
“If you like music and guitars you will LOVE this show!”
​The Story of Guitar Heroes takes you on a kind of groovy history lesson of iconic guitar players through the ages and it’s actually a rather fabulous concept. Combined with the use of projections and pre-recorded narrative and interviews, we are introduced to a whole variety of guitarists, whether it be with their bands or solo, whose classic tunes are certain to have made an impact in the lives of many music lovers over the years. Starting in the 1950s with Bill Hayley's Rock Around the Clock we are taken through the decades and up to the present day with Prince's Purple Rain and Brian May's Bohemian Rhapsody .

The Guitar Heroes band is fronted by Phil Walker who clearly knows his stuff when it comes to banging out a riff on any of the 20 or so guitars that adorn the stage.  His guitar playing skills are undeniably phenomenal and he is matched by the talents of the rest of his hand-picked band, not least with Toby James on guitar, newest member, Jim Reece, on bass and Kristian Dluzewski on drums.

Knowing just which songs to pick for this show must be joyful and painful in equal measure: there are so many classic songs to choose from.  As it turns out, the ones that are played in this show are rich and diverse with not just the rock classics that one would expect from a show like this, but also showcase other genres with the music of Albert Lee, Santana, Hank Marvin,The Shadows and Tommy Emmanuel’s Classical Gas.  Of course, the show wouldn't be complete without a tribute to Les Paul.

Highlights included George Harrison’s While My Guitar Gently Weeps leading into Eric Clapton’s Lalya, The Eagles’ Hotel California where drummer, Kristian, gets a chance to show off his vocals and Walker and Reece get the opportunity to show the audience just what a great partnership they are with some outstanding guitar playing.  Purple Rain was always going to be a crowd pleaser and the second half of the show gave us ACDC’s Whole Lotta Rosie, Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love, Gary Moore’s Parisienne Walkway and of course Slash/Guns n’ Roses’ Sweet Child of Mine.

One of the best things about the show was that every tune was played on the same make of guitar that it had been played on by each of the artistes - Fender Stratocasters, Gibson Les Pauls, Ibanez etc - giving it that extra ‘edge’ of authenticity.

If you missed out on this show, don’t fear as they are planning on returning next year and, amusingly, just as I wryly jotted down in my notepad that they hadn’t played any Bert Weedon, (those of us of a certain age will remember he was featured regularly on Mike Read’s Radio 1 show in the 1980s and was actually a huge influence on many British leading musicians), Walker ends the night by announcing that they will be returning with lots of new ‘Guitar Heroes’ for the next production and finishing with a grin, “who knows, we might even do Bert Weedon..”

Returning with a rousing encore of Johnny B Goode, there’s certainly something for everyone.  A great night of musicianship - don't miss it next time it comes around!
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The tour continues. For more info go to the website: storyofguitarheroes.com

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