This show marked Thin Lizzy's second appearance within a year in the North East. Anyone who went to see Deep Purple in April at the Newcastle Arena may well remember only too well how Thin Lizzy’s opening set was fraught with technical difficulties which ultimately led to a Thin Lizzy performance that many fans and also the band may choose to forget. (Anyone who wants to be reminded of that night can relive the memories via this review). The original bill for this tour was meant to feature Queensryche alongside Thin Lizzy, a pairing that initially seemed a bit odd. Unfortunately for the fans that bought tickets on the strength of the billing Queensryche had to pull out due to personal problems that required their immediate attention. Credit has to go to the promoters who didn’t mess around in finding a replacement act which came in the shape of Diamond Head. I have to say this was a nice surprise for this reviewer as I had thoroughly enjoyed the last two albums by the current incarnation of this band. Another nice surprise was the announcement that, to celebrate 30 years of the iconic recording of “Live And Dangerous”, Thin Lizzy would be playing the full album sequentially and in its entirety for the first time since its original recording at The Hammersmith. (Remember this fact for later and bear in mind that this will have fuelled ticket sales).

On with the show…Diamond Head took to the stage to the sounds of “Mars Bringer Of War” from Holst’s Planets Suite and it set the mood nicely for the band to launch into “It’s Electric”. Brian Tatler (guitar) is the only original member in the current line up of the band but saying that this line-up has been together for a good while now and their last two albums have been real crackers. From the off vocalist Nick Tart  engaged the crowd and made the spacious City Hall feel much smaller. It was apparent that the band were thrilled to be back on a big stage and Tart even commented that the last time they were in Newcastle they had played Trillions (a local rock bar). Wasting no time they stormed into the crunchy guitar riff sophistication of “Give It To Me” from the “All Will Be Revealed” album and then took many fans back in time with “The Prince” during which Tatler and Abbz harmony guitar solo primed the crowd for Thin Lizzy.

After an old song the band brought us straight into the present with “This Planet And Me” form their current “What’s In Your Head” album. Proving that he is one of the best guitar riff writers of his generation Tatler then played his heart out on the song “To The Devil His Due” which first appeared on “The Canterbury” album way back in 1983.”Heat Of The Night” kept things moving and “Mine All Mine” displayed once more Tatler's knack for writing great rock riffs. During “Helpless” I couldn’t help myself from comparing Tatler to Jimmy Page due to the way he was throwing guitar hero shapes with his Les Paul. Final song of their set was “Am I Evil”, a classic song that has influenced countless bands down the years. Without doubt the current line-up of Diamond Head made many new fans with this performance. They had a great sound and their performance was tight making one think they were grabbing the opportunity to reach as many people as possible. As a set it covered all sections of the bands career and it was heartening to hear how strong the new material is live. All said and done they did themselves, and the audience, proud.