Artist:  Magnum
   Title:  Live In London
   Label:  E-M-S

For a band that started out from humble beginnings in the Midlands, Magnum have done exceedingly well for themselves and are still going strong.  This is a recording of the bands performance in 1985 at London's famed Camden Palace.  Although the venue has now sadly disappeared, England's favourite pomp rockers have battled the tests of time and remain firm favourites even today.

This release finds a very youthful looking Bob Catley leading the band on to conquer the world of melodic hard rock.  These were monumental times for the band who shortly afterwards were to take on the big boys to become rock legends in their own right.  

Shot during their 'Kingdom of Madness' tour, this release encapsulates the band at their prime and features many of their hard rock classics such as 'Just Like An Arrow', 'Kingdom Of Madness', 'How Far Jerusalem, and one of my own personal favourites, of which there are many (!), 'On A Storytellers Night'.

The band were really starting to make huge waves in the rock world in the mid 1980's and it was with songs and performances like this one, that they built up their army of loyal and dedicated followers, who continue to support them in their numbers even today. 

The line-up may have changed slightly over the years, although not as much as you'd think, we still have Messrs. Catley, Clarkin and Stanway in the band.  The spirit is still strong inside them and as long as they have it in their hearts to continue to make this kind of music, we the fans will continue to show them our support and wish them well in doing so.

Ok so there's quite a few live releases out there at the moment which were shot over the years of the band, however, as a long time fan of the band, I found this a great opportunity to see the band in their earlier days just as they were beginning to really break into the bigger rock scene. 

It's ironic as well to see just how many of these songs are still heavily requested when both the band, or Mr Catley go out on tour.  A true sign of just how popular these classics were and how they've managed to stand strong against the test of time and not date. 

If like me you are a fan of the band then I'm sure you'll enjoy taking this step back in time to watch your favourite band treading the boards once more.

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