Judas Priest and Saxon Live

Iron Maiden, what is there to say? More than just a band, more than a metal act- A legitimate institution. For over 20 years the backbone of British HM. It would be easy to say that they’re going through a renaissance, but they never really went away. However, despite what you might think of early 90s vocalist Blaze Bailey, all of sudden they’re a genuine phenomenon again: Bruce rejoins, the ‘Brave New World’ album and tour are both smashes and even the odd Slipknot fan is sporting the Maiden logo on their bag. It’ll be Eddie for Prime Minister next. All this has culminated in three ‘special’ shows this week. A treat for fans but also one with a purpose. Original drummer Clive Burr has recently been diagnosed with MS, and this week’s gigs are not only to heighten awareness of the disease but also to raise funds for the newly created Clive Burr charity. A worthy cause for a truly noble band.

It’s pretty much a boy’s own atmosphere here tonight as there’s a strange absence of young ladies (I counted 15 in my vicinity!). Hence with all that testosterone and shouts of "Maiden, Maiden" the Brixton Academy is more like Old Trafford.

For weeks the net has been ablaze with rumours surrounding these three gigs. Are they going to purely consist of songs from Clive’s era? Are there going to be any guest stars? To some tonight’s gig might start out as a slight disappointment, as the projected ‘greatest hits’ set fails to materialise and early parts of the proceedings draw heavily from the ‘Brave New World’ LP. Hence lapsed Maiden fans like yours truly might at first feel a little lost. However, this is no real problem as Maiden’s sound is as clear cut now as it was 20 years ago, and even their latest tracks are as familiar as the old favourites- it’s not like they’re going to throw out a country and western ballad Metallica-style, is it? And it isn’t long before we’re slam bang into the classics- ‘The Trooper’, ‘Can I Play With Madness?’ ‘Fear Of the Dark’ and come the encore ‘Number Of The Beast’, ‘The Evil That Men Do’, ‘Run To the Hills’ (now enjoying its third visit to the UK top ten) and a real surprise 'Children Of The Damned'.

Of course no Maiden gig is complete without a truly epic stage set. All of this mini tour’s proceeds are being donated to charity, so obviously there isn’t the funds to finance grandiose surroundings. Hence tonight’s show utilises the scaffold laden Brave New World set. This is no bad thing as if anything the slightly more reduced surroundings only draw attention to the band’s up front performance.

Not to say that there aren’t any great set pieces; There’s some revolving back drops that recreate some of Eddie’s greatest record sleeves such as ‘The Trooper’, and the Eddie Wicca man pops up (literally) accompanied by a few vestal virgins for a truly ghoulish effect. Eddie of course makes his obligatory appearance, tonight looking very rubbery like he’s gone AWOL from a 70s episode Dr Who. But its the band themselves who are the stars tonight. There are four men wearing fret boards from their necks on stage, but Steve Harris is the main man, totting his bass head towards the audience like a machine guofn. If Maiden are the backbone of UK metal, then Harris has to be the support brace, as this guy practically is the band. All eyes are drawn towards him, tussled perm flying about his Maiden shirt wearing shoulders as he fingers his bass like he’s rubbing the most excited clit in town (Beat that for a simile- I dare you!). Star bass players are few and far between (Lemmy or Phil Lynott anyone?) so be thankful that tonight we’re in the company of the best. But this stage has space for other stars. One would be Mr Bruce Dickinson. How we all cried when he went solo, yet how our hearts soared when he returned to the fold. Running about the stage like a man possessed, the shorn Bruce must be on heat. Who else could wave a tattered union jack Bono-style on ‘The Trooper’ and still look cool? Despite there being three men to have held the title ‘Maiden Vocalist’ he is the one true and only- Nuff Said! Of course, the biggest star of the night didn’t appear until right at the end- Clive Burr made his entrance onto the stage, and despite not sitting behind a drum kit won the biggest applause of the night.

It’s hard to pick out a favourite moment, but the tracks were delivered with equal passion and venom, thus it would be an insult to pin point specific songs. But isn’t that the beauty of Maiden’s music? There may be times when you want them to turn up the volume or even slow down a little, but what the hell, the band’s greatest asset is their consistency- Album after album, track after track they give you just what you need, just those right touches that stop their metal mayhem heading off into pure masturbatory territory. Maiden gives you Maiden, could you ever want anything else?

Of course, they're hardly the hottest names of the moment and if it wasn't for the rags to riches tale of current Priest vocalist Ripper Owens, we'd hardly hear any mention of them at all. Not that trivial matters such as these bother the unruly mob of mullets and denim assembled at the Academy tonight. A bill consisting of two of the eighties biggest names is a hard offer to turn down. Forget baggy denims and wannabe hip hop posturing, tonight is a night for studs and stars, and most of all for moshing like the nineties never happened.

Saxon are probably best remembered as the name emblazoned on countless t shirts worn by you're greasy biker uncle. Whilst they may be familiar to many thanks to their early eighties opus 'Wheels Of Steel' , the nineties were a pretty dark period, with the band signed to a crap deal which saw them receiving little publicity, despite still having huge cult appeal in Europe.

The Saxon lads support singer Biff after a rough night on the tiles.

Tonight they do what all the best bands should do at every gig- give the punters exactly what they want- And if you believe that they've really lost their set list, You've Got Another Thing Coming (Isn't that a Priest song?). Their performance, is big, anthemic, and steeped in the kind of showmanship which is really a dying art in the world of rock. It hardly matters that most of the band are a few years away from collecting their free state bus passes, they obviously adore being on stage and the crowd love them all the more for being there.

Ripper roasts alive in his Bacofoil jacket

It's difficult to mention Judas Priest without Spinal Tap coming into the conversation at some point, and the legends that surround Priest have even inspired a new movie by the name of 'Rock Star'. Yet for all the theatre that surrounds Priest, it' s easy to forget that at their core are some of the most dynamic guitar sounds ever committed to vinyl.

Of course, the stage set is as elaborate as we might expect, but in truth it's a mere backdrop- Live, Priest are are fire breathing monster ready to combust. 'Metal Gods' gets the legions pounding without the aid of any trays of cutlery. Like Saxon, Priest are the consummate showmen with a variety of fan favourites bursting to life like possessed wraiths- 'Touch Of Evil', 'United' -pick your favourite track by Priest and it's guaranteed to be played at some point over the next two hours, even 'Turbo Lover!'.

It's difficult to mention the 21st century incarnation of Priest without noting the contribution of replacement vocalist Ripper Owens. The story of how he came to be Rob Halford' s replacement is already the stuff of urban myth (Plucked from the obscurity of fronting a Priest covers band to become the lead singer of the genuine article) and of course comparisons between the two singers will always haunt Priest. Yet the beauty of Priest is that unlike similar scenarios in Iron Maiden and Van Halen, where the replacement vocalist was picked primarily due to his differences to the previous singer, Ripper sounds more like Halford than the singer of Fight ever did (Think about it kids!). Whilst Halford's performance was at times the nearest the world will ever see to high camp heavy metal (Carry On Headbanging, anyone?) Ripper has all the bile and aggression of a pro wrestler baiting his competition- even down to every major word being broken down into three syllables! But most of all his actions on the stage just reek of somebody who loves these songs, and why shouldn't he? Not so long ago Ripper would have been watching the band along with the rest of the unruly mob in the audience!

Priest are of course an ongoing concern, with a newly released album entitled 'Demolition', or as Ripper continually puts it- "The DEM-o-LITION CD!!!". And every one of the new songs is played with a passion and conviction that puts many of today's young upstarts to shame. Despite their advancing years KK & Glenn inject a robust fury into each of their guitars which makes the set list rocket like lighting. There's not even any need to change guitars for the (few!) slow numbers thanks to an acoustic mounted on a stand centre stage.

Still, there's certain things we expect of Priest and they more than deliver them, right down to the overblown stage costumes- Ripper makes more costume changes than Queen Amidala, sporting everything from a reflective Bacofoil jacket to a red Santa hat (How seasonal can you get?). Ripper even dusts off Rob's old Harley for the intro to first encore 'Painkiller'. "Do I have any lawbreakers out there" asks ripper for a crisp and clean. 'Breaking the Law'. 'Living After Midnight' may well be the bands signature tune, and if they keep as much passion in their performance as the amount displayed tonight, they deserve to keep living after many more. And with nights like these, how could you ever be embarrassed about the patches found on your old denim jacket?