Sadly the motorway gods are not kind to me tonight and I manage to completely miss The Clan due to sitting in traffic on the M56 for far longer than I wanted to. Sorry The Clan, I’ll catch you again soon no doubt.

Burnt Out Wreck are a band I’m not familiar with, and they are a proper old-skool metal band. They sound an awful lot like early Saxon, I think because the vocals are very similar, but not in a “this sounds just like a Saxon song” way, more of a “this sounds like a song that Saxon might have written” way. So similar, without plagiarism. They have two albums out, one from a couple of years back and one very recent, and the set consists of songs from both. There’s plenty of shape-throwing from the two guitarists, and the sound is classic metal. I like them. Grumpy Husband likes them. They are not breaking any boundaries but they do what they do very well, and it works. Alas the Tiv is woefully unattended tonight so their reception, although warm, is not rapturous. Which is a shame.

Pete Way, on the other hand…… I probably need to clarify here that I love Pete. His work with UFO is probably one of the main reasons I got into rock music in the first place, and I still think that Waysted were one of the most under-rated bands of the 80s. But like many rock stars of his generation Pete has had his demons and it seems a lifetime of hard living and addiction has not been kind to him. I would count myself as a proper fangirl, and I’m really not sure what to expect tonight. Firstly I am surprised that he comes on stage without his trademark bass. His whole career has hinged on him being a bass player, so to decide to tour and not play is a bit strange. Turns out that Pete will be singing for us tonight, which is, well let’s just say Pete isn’t a singer. He’s put a great band together though, and they carry the evening pretty well for him. His voice is kind of shouty, it reminds me of Jimmy Pursey, and I’m not sure exactly what’s going on but sometimes he seems to forget the words and he doesn’t look too steady on his feet. Every now and again there are glimpses of the Pete Way I remember from back in the day, that wicked sense of humour and twinkle in the eye are still there but overall it’s a bit like when your embarrassingly pissed uncle takes over on the karaoke at a family party. All the classic UFO songs (‘Shoot Shoot’, ‘Too Hot To Handle’, ‘Only You Can Rock Me’) are there, and the new songs that have been written for and by this band are decent. Bluesy, rocky classic rock songs. The band are competent and obviously having a good time. Special mention goes to Laurence Archer who is a hell of a guitarist, and the bass player I wasn’t expecting to see who is also really good. But at the end of the day it’s very much… Oh Pete. You don’t need to do this. After the life you’ve led, you should be putting your feet up and just coming out to maybe guest when there are bands you like or have a connection to playing at your local venue. I want to remember you how you were, not like this. Of course they finish with ‘Doctor Doctor’ and the band play it well, Pete hams it up a bit and we all (all 30 of us. 30 people. For the legend that is Pete Way. I’m gutted about that) join in but there’s just a shade of desperation. Pete, I still love you for what you were, for who you are, but tonight although the quality of your music endures, watching you made me feel just a little sad.