Still with the pulling power to almost sell out tonight's venue, Magnum have more than proved that they are one of the long term legends in the world of rock.  Although their wasn’t a support act tonight that didn’t matter.  Anyone who had appeared before the might of Catley, Clarkin & Co. would never live up to the expectation of the crowd, who had after all, only come to see Magnum and no other.

As the lights went down and the band came onstage it was as though time had stood still.  The first few chords of 'All England's Eyes' soared out from the stage as Mr. Catley confidently paraded across the stage looking like a man halve his age.  

The high quality classics continued with 'White Swan' which saw the crowd raising their hands up as one entity.  These actions by the fans were quite a stirring sight for sore eyes and brought a lump to the throat just to be a part of it.  The atmosphere here tonight was one of togetherness, any years that have passed are just a twinkle in the eye of any beholder here tonight.

The first of the tracks from the new album was the title track 'Brand New Morning' which sounded great live and seemed to a much richer and powerful dimension live than on album.  Mixing songs both from the new album, along with some classics from the past, has always been part and parcel of any Magnum show.  With such an extensive back catalogue to choose the songs from, it’s always going to be impossible play everyone’s favourite Magnum track.

However, no one could fault tonight's set list the mix of old and new would have satisfied any fan both old and new. The classic tracks like 'Back Street Kid', 'Vigilante', and 'Les Morts Dansant' sounded as fresh and new as the first time we heard them performed live.  The band certainly put on a great show with boundless energy, showmanship and commitment, which would put many of the younger bands around today to shame.

The songs played tonight from the new album were all bright and lively and received a good response from the crowd.  In fact when Bob announced that ‘Blue & The Grey’ was his personnel favourite from the new album a small group of fans thrust up a huge banner with the words ‘We’re Blue & We’re Grey’ and were obviously delighted it was to be the next song.

One of the many highlights from the evening was 'How Far Jerusalem', with Clarkin really giving it his all and showing off his prowess as a guitar player.

Finishing off with 'Kingdom of Madness' before the encore was a touch of genius.  With an eager crowd baying for more, the band returned once more to finish the night off with a magnificent rendition of 'Sacred Hour'.  The number one highlight of the night for me was listening to Mark Stanway on keyboards playing those beautiful intro’s and carrying the songs to a much higher level than one could possibly hope for.

If this high quality of musicianship is maintained by the band for the remainder of the tour, then the fans are in for one hell of a treat.  This surely has to be the legendary Magnum back at their magnificent best.