Roy Wood rocking the Echo Arena. photograph by Ian D. Hall

Originally published by L.S. Media. December 7th 2011.

L.S. Media Rating ****

One of the final songs of the evening summed up totally the reaction of the strong and enthusiastic crowd the whole evening. Whatever You Want indeed! Billed as Quo Fest, it was certainly a celebration of three great styles of music; dynamic, soaring and full of tunes designed to make you stand up all night and dance the night away.

The weather in the area the last few days has been rotten, filthy and chilling. On a freezing cold December night, 80’s New Wave sensation Kim Wilde, the grand elder statesman of British music and one of the top 10 Brummie musicians ever, Roy Wood, and the reason the 3000 plus fans had braved the night’s weather, Status Quo, rocked the Echo Arena and gave the audience a reason to start celebrating the festive season early.

Kim  Wilde  caused  a storm  when she burst onto the   scene  way  back  in  ’81; her   energetic   approach   captured  the hearts and imagination of a generation of teenagers struggling with the times and the bleakness that was in evidence around them. Her single Kids in America was released right at the start of that troubled year and gave hope of a better life for those that took the message written by her brother Ricky and her father, the legendary Marty Wilde, to heart.

Kim played such songs as Chequered Love, Flying to Cambodia, a superb cover of the Motown classic, You Keep me Hanging On, the Christmas hit of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree and of course the smash Kids in America. Giving a rousing send off from the stage, it was truly inspiring to see Kim Wilde roll back the years and see the audience appreciate her set.

Kim was joined on stage by a fantastic band, as would be Roy Wood later on but in having Kajagoogoo’s and Steve Hackett’s bass player Nick Beggs, the only man who can look resplendent in a leather kilt on stage, alongside her she could do no wrong.  Nervous, evidently, but as charming as she was alluring 30 years ago, there was no way Kim could disappoint the crowd.

Roy Wood’s pedigree is as long as his famous beard. The Move, Wizard, E.L.O. and his own solo career, the man has had more hits than others can ever hope to ever achieve. The likeable Brummie did the impossible and had the entire audience on its feet for the whole of what was essentially a support slot. This was no support performance though. Planned to perfection, the set list encompassed songs from almost every era, only those awaiting a sizeable chunk of E.L.O. classics would have been disappointed. There was no need to be though, Roy Wood’s status is legendary and as he proved in his section of the evening, there is isn’t a song he’s not responsible for that you can’t get up and have a wonderful time too.

Blackberry Way, Fire Brigade, See My Baby Jive, I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day and other hits and some superb new tracks took the Echo Arena by storm. There are not many classic rockers from Birmingham that can bring the city of Liverpool and its people to a standstill and take to their hearts. Roy Wood did just that.

They  have  their  critics  and  there  are  those  that  will  knock them no matter what they do but the guys who make up  Status Quo know how to entertain a crowd. They realise what’s important to their audience and they understand fully how to deliver a set that contains some new exciting material whilst retaining the core of their substantial back catalogue.

Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi have been making hit records longer than most and the music they play is infectious. The crowd that had stood, danced, weaved and jived through Roy Wood and his impressive band had no chance to catch breath as the signature tune, that stirring guitar refrain of Caroline echoed through the building and  had  the  audience  back  on  their feet. There  will  be some sore bodies this morning, some frantic phone calls to the doctor to get out of a day at work and with good reason.

A great way to look at a band’s career is to see, that no matter how long they have been going, if you can see fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, grandfathers and nans singing their hearts out and performing air guitar riffs to classic tracks such as Wanderer, Paper Plane and the chilling In the Army Now then you know the band has a wide spectrum of appeal that makes a mockery of critics who slam them at every available chance. Status Quo got it just right in balance of old favourites and tracks from their new album Quid Pro Quo which included a cracker in Two Way Traffic.

The band finished off a night of high entertainment and some very sore feet with tracks such as Roll Over, Down Down, the stirring Whatever You Want and Rockin’ All Over the World. Status Quo will never ever be labeled cool and that doesn’t matter, they never need to be. There is no pretension, no fleeting accolades that need to be given their way. Quo Rock, that’sall that’s needed to know.

Ian D. Hall