A very competent band in tow, including the original Argent drummer, Bob Henrit ( autobiography available at the merch desk boys ‘n girls, only £20 – signed of course), the guy to the right of the stage was a very accomplished multi-instrumentalist, sax, guitar and keyboards were no problem for this guy. I must admit, I was expecting some mention of Keith Emerson’s passing, but that’s just me being a fanboy. Predominately Male, with the 50+ age group well represented, it was nice to see a noticeable Female element for a change ( a rare sight at most of the gigs I attend – c’mon Ladies, we need more of you at Prog Gigs to show us how to dance !!), who, despite their best efforts to get us all dancing, were as entranced as the rest of us “Ageing Teenagers” who were there “just for the music” – yea right…. With an enthusiastic and devoted audience behind him, the man could do no wrong and between songs there was the odd story, which helped to keep us entertained. Throughout the set, we had original material ( from his latest album – “It’s Good To Be Here”, released in March 2015) plus covers of songs Russ has written for or covered by other bands and artists – Hot Chocolate, Kiss, Rainbow, Argent ( of course), Three Dog Night, Colin Blunstone, the list goes on. In fact, although I’ve been a fan ( during his Argent days in particular) for many years, even I was not aware of the contribution this man has made to the wonderful world of music. With such a wealth of material, the set was varied as it was expertly delivered. Looks aside, this was a class act from a man who’s been there, done it and ate the fucking t-shirt. During the 45 minute set we were treated to covers of songs by popular bands such as ELO, Rolling Stones and The Beatles, which gave the audience time to warm up their vocal chords ready for the main act, Mr B !!Īt the age of 71, you would be hard pushed to tell, the years have been very kind to ol’ Russ, especially with a full head of hair and not a grey one in sight !! I know people 20 years younger who don’t look as good, so well done Russ, nice to see someone who’s weathered the storms of the music industry for the last 50 or so years and come thru’ the other side looking pretty damn good. Sundays at The Robin are usually “Prog night”, but this was far from a typical Prog gig, even though we did get some classics throughout the set, but before the man himself appeared on stage, we were entertained by the voice and acoustic guitar of Mike Surman. Russ Ballard Band – The Robin 2, Bilston 13 th March 2016īy The Progmeister (on behalf of Midlands Metalheads)
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