Words and images by Johnny
Many years ago, when my youngest daughter was about 12 or 13, I was sat downstairs, when I suddenly heard one of my all-time favourite albums blasting away from her bedroom. I leg it upstairs, to find her sat on the bed, record player on full, listening to Electric Warrior by T Rex. Talk about bringing a smile to my face. Bringing up kids is an amazing thing to do, but for me, when they start listening to “your” music, it kinda makes it all the better. From then on, she has enjoyed much of the music I listen to, often coming to gigs. Roll on 16 years or so later, we attended Fort Perch Rock, New Brighton to watch Total Rex, of course this was never gonna be as good as the real thing, but as bands split, and members die, these bands are all we have left alongside our memories of times gone by, and great music by some amazing ground breaking bands. T Rex being one of them.
To be honest, I was a little unsure of what to expect, how can anyone live up to that kind of reputation musically, with the stage presence to match what once was. Hey ho. We gave it a go and thankfully my concerns were unjustified.
Support act was in the shape of The Regulators, a local rock band from Wirral, not heard them before, so was a little treat to kick the evening off. Covering classic in rock, punk and others, they played a great set, obviously very tight and excellent at what they do, with vocals not bettered by many. A band to keep an ear out for. Oh yeah, the band’s name, I asked the Luke the bass player of any of the lads were ex forces, as the regulating branch in the Navy were what you might call naval police, sadly this was not the case, or is it. Anyway, cracking set from them, and hopefully bump into them again in the near future.
A couple of drinks later and the expectations rise as the main outfit take the stage, I can’t recall the first track played, but it immediately dragged you into the T Rex vibe, blistering guitar work with that unmistakable Bolan vibe, “Marc” belted out song after song, the crowd, most of which were…. ahem…. of a certain age shall we say, and yes, that includes me, were dancing and singing along, hanging on to every word, every note, every gesture from “Marc”. Memories came flooding back from being a kid, watching Top of the Pops, as Marc strutted his glam rock stuff on stage.
Probable highlight for me personally, was when they broke into “Hot Love”, as my girl has this tattooed on her fingers, please see video below. The whole crowd were loving it, the sound man was jigging away along with everyone else, this was a true party atmosphere, listening and dancing to an exceptional band, playing some of the greatest music ever written. Oh, and it was great to see much younger couples there too, carrying on the legacy of Rex
So, for me, tribute bands are a must, if done correctly. I would like to add, that the singer did not mimic Bolan’s voice, and in my opinion that is the right thing to do, he gave it his own slant, and it worked perfectly and timelessly. So, there ya go, a fantastic night, in what can only be described as one of the most perfect venues, under the stars on a balmy summers evening with the sea air surrounding us.
As Bolan once said “rock on, rock on Yeaaaaaah”.
Links:
Total T-Rex
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069027573397
Email: totalrextribute@gmail.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@totalrex-trextribute
Web: https://www.totalrextribute.com/
The Regulators
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theregulatorswirral
Email: djchrisw@googlemail.com