Bob Catley rocks the crowd at the University of Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Originally published by L.S. Media. April 17th 2011.

Magnum can arguably be called one of the finest bands to come out of the Midlands area, with a string of bestselling albums to their name and with a fan base that other rock groups would be proud to call their own, the band are on a second wave of popularity that has seen them deliver five well written and musically superior albums since they reformed after their split in 1994.

Arriving at the University of Liverpool’s Stanley Theatre, Magnum proceeded to give a passionate and exhilarating performance that encompassed songs from the latest studio album, The Visitation and a selection of songs from a career that has stretched back over five different decades.

To some fans it may have been a strange choice to open with Back to Earth from the 1982 Live in America E.P but its strong message lets it set the standard perfectly as vocalist Bob Catley gestured to the crowd playfully, enticingly to let Magnum give them one of the finest ever performances by the band.

From that moment the crowd was treated to a night of fine music, it wasn’t just a gig; it was an event, something different in the way that the band approached the night that filled the tiny Stanley Theatre with an air of electricity. As the band burst through a set filled with gems such as Brand New Mourning, the storming anthem of How Far Jerusalem and the thoughtful and ever poignant Les Morte Dansant, the superb combination of Al Barrow on bass, Mark Stanway on keyboard, the popular and comsumate Harry James on drums and the man behind it all Tony Clarkin on guitar, as well the likeable and owner of the unique voice Bob Catley showed exactly why the band are very highly thought of by critics and fans alike.

From the new album, fans were treated to the incredible Spin like a Wheel and Mother Nature’s Last Dance, these songs blended well in amongst classics such as Vigilante and All England’s Eyes.

Magnum finished an incredible and scintillating night in front of one of the most vocal crowds heard in the Stanley Theatre in a long, long time with the booming Kingdom of Madness from the 1978 album of the same name and the atmospherically charged On a Story Tellers Night being played to the crowd’s sheer delight.

Ian D. Hall