Tonight I have travelled on the Highway To Hell. No really. The M6 is not my favourite place at the best of times, but tonight it exceeded itself to make my life miserable. Some of it was flooded. Some of it was on fire. This meant the bits of it that weren’t closed were moving incredibly slowly, oh and just for laughs there was also torrential rain to contend with. Deep joy. 2 hours later and I am in Blackpool just in time to catch most of openers Heartbreak Remedy’s set.

This is a good thing, as it’s been a while since I last caught up with them. I’m pleased to report that despite being a little rusty from the covid-induced layoff (and probably the Blackpool rain too) they were in fine form. Their music is classic British rock, melodic but with a gritty edge, and it was good to see them again. There were a couple of new songs aired which hopefully will be released in the future, and plenty of old favourites too. There was plenty of energy, a bit of a singalong, and a damn good time was had by all. Watch out world, Heartbreak Remedy are back and they are ready to take you on.

Talking about energy, next we welcomed the power station that is The Takeaway Thieves to the stage. Seriously, you could run a small village off the movement from this band. For the first note to the last chord they don’t stop. They are the Duracell bunnies of rock. They are over here, no over there, no, that way, this way, every way. They dance and they strut and they preen and it’s wonderful because we get to do that with them. The songs are uplifting and fun, the beat is insistent and for forty minutes or so we are transported into Thievesworld. This is a riot of colour, sound and movement, and I love it. Old favourites are aired, new songs from the recently-released album “9” are belted out and my only complaint is that eventually they have to stop. Superb set from a great band, don’t miss these guys because they are going places.

It’s a slightly different vibe from tonight’s headliners The City Kids. They are a kind of club-level-band supergroup, featuring John “JJ” Watt (Main Grains, Psychobabylon), Berty Burton (Tigertailz, Popestars, Beth Blade) and Dave Sanders (Falling Red). Usually they would be joined on guitar by the scandi goodness that is Dennis Post (Warrior Soul, Supercharger) but sadly he was unable to make it over from his homeland of Denmark so instead we have a last-minute replacement in the form of Andy Barrott (Dukes Of Bordello). Kudos to him, he played flawlessly even if he did have crib sheets on the floor by his feet, and he did a grand job. The only thing that was missing was the tallness! The City Kids are a mishmash of styles and genres, all wrapped up in a spiky, punky cover. Like a box of chocolates where you’ve lost the little cars that tells you what each one is, you never know what you’re getting next. The songs appear simple, but that’s because they are perfectly crafted and executed. There are old songs and new songs, and even a cover or two, and it all adds to the party atmosphere. The City Kids are here to party, and you will party with them. Oh yes you will! Even when there seems to be an issue with the stage lights they continue to play. In the dark, in the main room lights, in the spotlight, doesn’t matter, the Kids wanna rock. The band wear their influences loud and proud. There are shades of glam rock, 80s metal, punk, new wave, it’s all in there teasing us with occasional snippets that sound familiar but somehow weave themselves so well into the overall sound that you think they must have always been there and only there. Highlights of the set (for me) were the blistering singalong cover of The Wildhearts’ “Mazel Tov Cocktail” and a rehash of The Main Grains’ “You Get Nothing”, oh and also “Rats” where bassist Berty takes the lead vocals and smashes it out of the park. Overall it was an irreverent night of rock and roll fun, and I can’t wait to do it again.