Photograph used with kind permission by MP Promotions.
Their name is synonymous with excellence, both in the studio and on the road. Magnum’s approach to music has always been one that has been praised and highly valued by their fans and throughout their long and distinguished career, through every incarnation, the band have remained at the forefront of the passionate resonance that binds fan and Rock together. With the band’s current line-up of Tony Clarkin, Bob Catley, Al Barrow, Rick Benton and Lee Morris coming to Warrington’s Parr Hall on June 13th, the time is once again right to be in the company of one of Britain’s most enduring and musically gifted bands.
Magnum, who regularly breached the Top 40 of both the singles and album charts in the Eighties and early Nineties, came together in the Midlands in the mid-Seventies and released their debut album Kingdom Of Madness in 1978, followed by Magnum II in 1979 and their first live album Marauder in 1980. During this period, they toured relentlessly with the likes of Def Leppard, Blue Oyster Cult and Judas Priest.
1982’s Chase The Dragon album was the first to go Top 20, and was accompanied by a sold out U.K. tour. 1983’s The Eleventh Hour, 1985’s On A Storyteller’s Night and 1986’s (Roger Taylor produced) Vigilante album all fared similarly well but it was 1988’s Wings Of Heaven LP which really broke the band into the mainstream, going gold, breaching the top 5 of the U.K. chart and spawning three top 30 singles – Days Of No Trust, Start Talkin’ Love and It Must Have Been Love. It was during this period the band regularly graced the stages of such venues as Hammersmith Odeon and major U.K. Festivals as Reading and Castle Donington.
1990’s Goodnight To L.A. album also went Top 10, spawned the Top 40 single Rocking Chair and was accompanied by a tour of the U.K.’s Arena circuit, including venues such as Wembley Arena and the NEC. 1991’s The Spirit, 1992’s Sleepwalking and 1994’s Rock Art’, were followed by the announcement of the band’s demise and an extensive farewell tour, during which the band’s 1996 live album, The Last Dance was recorded.
Tony Clarkin went on to work as a producer and songwriter for other artists, brought out two albums with Bob Catley as Hard Rain (Hard Rain in 1997 and When The Good Times Come in 1999) and generally recharged his musical batteries. Then, in the summer of 2001, Magnum reformed and began writing their February 2002 released Breath Of Life album, released eight years after Rock Art. “It was particularly inspiring for me to write and produce new material for Magnum”, Tony Clarkin enthused at the time, continuing that “Compared to the Hard Rain tracks, the Magnum compositions are powerful, deeper, and more passionate.
It is a sense of passion that has never wavered but has certainly increased since then and with the albums Brand New Morning, Princess Alice And The Broken Arrow, Into The Valley Of The Moon King, On The 13th Day, the sensational Escape From The Shadow Garden and Sacred Blood Divine Lies all capturing the public’s imagination, it is no wonder that Magnum have retained their place as one of the finest Rock bands the country has produced.
Following on from the hugely successful tour for the album Lost On The Road To Eternity, which culminated in terrific form at the Birmingham Symphony Hall, a short stone’s throw from where the band used to rehearse at the start of their career, Magnum are back and now come to Warrington’s Parr Hall this June.
Tickets for Magnum at Warrington’s Parr Hall are available to purchase from the Box Office on 08442491000 and online at: