The Brook, 466 Portswood Road, Portswood, Southampton SO17 3SD
Box Office Hours - 1.00pm - 7.00pm Mon - Sat (023) 8055 5366
Or Buy 24 Hours On-line ::

£

£

To watch T.Rextasy in concert not only demands stamina, but also a healthy pair of lungs to sing along to the rocking numbers that made Bolan the leading force of Glam Rock. After the initial impact of T.Rextasy's stage presence, and the lead singer's uncanny resemblance in voice and looks to Marc Bolan, you know that you're in for an evening's worth of Bolanic hits, played to perfection and with incredible enthusiasm.

T.Rextasy play for their audience, and most of them obviously want to hear songs they know and love. Therefore, the band always include T.Rex's Top 20 hits such as: Metal Guru, Jeepster, Telegram Sam, Hot Love, Children of the Revolution, Ride a White Swan, Get it On, I Love to Boogie, New York City, The Groover, Solid Gold Easy Action, and 20th Century Boy. T.Rextasy are more than just a tribute band, they are ultimately the definitive T.Rex experience of the 21st Century.

£

Formed in the spring of 1994, before most tribute bands were heard of, By Jovi  have, through hard work and determination, gig after gig, night after night, established themselves as one of the worlds leading tribute bands. All members being professional musicians and former music teachers, performing with members of bands such as SAXON, THIN LIZZY, PLACEBO, SCREAMING LORD SUTCH, THE STRANGLERS, STATUS QUO and THE COMMITMENTS, the level of musicianship is second to none. 2004 has seen the band go from strength to strength with the joining of their amazing new frontman – Marty James from Cumbria. Marty got his first record deal at the age of 22 and had records released throughout Europe with great reviews from magazines such as Kerrang! and Metal Hammer. He was then signed to an independent record label and released further albums in Europe and Japan. His band toured Europe and the UK with US rock giants Lillian Axe and also toured the UK with Crown of Thorns who, ironically, supported Bon Jovi at Wembley Stadium and Don Valley Stadium. Some of the many other artists who Marty has shared the stage with include Skin, Ted Poley (Danger Danger), FM and Girlschool to name a few. The band now feel that this is their strongest and best sounding line-up to date and are looking at taking on even more gigs for 2005 including the USA and hopefully, Japan. QUOTES "One of the Top Tribute Bands in the country!" - The Daily Star "The Number One Bon Jovi Tribute" - The Sun "One of the best live bands you will ever see!" – Mark Radcliffe – Radio 1 "They're as good as the real thing!" - Mark Radcliffe - Radio 1

£

As you will know, Glenn Tilbrook is an exceptional song writer and musician who shot to world fame with one of the best bands to come out of Britain, Squeeze.

Tilbrook shows have the feel of a big rock concert. Enjoy a terrific atmosphere, great crowd, a few pints and lots of good humour. He is  highly entertaining and crams loads of songs into the set including Squeeze classics and yes, he may sing your song, if you ask him.

Glenn has been singing, playing and writing songs for many years.  Squeeze have recorded 13 albums to date and many, many singles - most of which have been hits of some kind: some very big, some very small. More than this, however, Glenn Tilbrook and Squeeze have become synonymous with a particularly London oriented style of high quality pop song that bears comparison with the classic songs of Ray Davies and The Kinks - not to mention more recent contenders such as Blur and Supergrass. 

The first hit single, "Take Me I'm Yours", came in 1978 and was followed by a steady stream of hits, many of which have passed into the canon of pop folklore and will surely be sung in pub singalongs as long as pub singalongs exist. Outside of Squeeze, Glenn has played and sung on records by Elvis Costello and Aimee Mann and on Mark Knopfler's solo album.  Songs he has co-written with Chris Difford have been covered by the likes of Sting, Joe Cocker and Grandmaster Flash.

Do you have iTunes?

Then Click here for a preview ::

£

"We're feeling very relaxed tonight" said Wilko as he came on stage. Maybe it was the brandy Wilko (allegedly) consumed in the dressing room before the show, but the man from Canvey Island was in high spirits, likewise his band, as they played a storming set before a near capacity audience. Wilko may not be able to jump as high as he did in his Feelgood days and his stage persona is less edgy and menacing-he actually smiles occasionally now-but the dynamic energy and unique guitar sound make him a compulsive performer. Wilko bassist Norman Watt Roy and young drummer Steve Monti were really up for this one and so were a keen crowd as the band ripped through favourites like Roxette, Don't Let Your Daddy Know, and Paradise. By the time Back In The Night came round the venue was throbbing and the crowd singing along. Encores Jonny Be Good and Route 66 crowned a superb display of rock and blues and a very special and memorable evening at Southampton's friendliest music venue.

Review by Peter Ashton

£

To hear such classics as: War Pigs, Killing Yourself to Live, Iron Man and Children of the Grave etc. along with a handfull of some of the Ozzy Osbourne solo favourites like Mr.Crowley, Bark at the Moon, I Dont Know etc. played amazingly like the originals is one thing ( Steve Forward on guitar handles all the licks from Tony Iommi, Randy Rhoads & Zakk Wylde with 'frightning ease!' ) and then to hear and see it sung 'spot on' by an 'uncanny' lookalike who acts and talks like the real Ozzy too is the Icing on the cake that completes the whole 'Madness' of the SABBATH's show!!

You cannot afford to miss this tribute, if you have seen them before you know exactly what Im talking about.....!
From one fan the reaction was....."Its Ozzy's long lost twin!!"

Heres what other venues say about the SABBATH:
World's Best Ozzy Tribute by the SABBATH !!
( The Diamond-Nottingham)

Simply the best Black Sabbath Tribute in the World ! ( The CARTOON-Croydon )

THE SABBATH played THE TWIST in Colchester last night and totally ROCKED !! Can't wait for the return visit WELL DONE GUYS !! - THE TWIST (Colchester)

Always musically spot on.... Ozzy and the band are awesome !
( The Standard Music Venue-London )

The Ultimate Black Sabbath Tribute.. In a shoot out you wouldn't tell the difference between this and the real thing.... uncanny ! ( The Kite Club-Blackpool)

I also must mention THE SABBATH. They are one of the best Black Sabbath tributes I have ever seen or heard & their new singer is Ozzy himself !! They also play a few of the Classic Ozzy Osbourne solo career songs just for good measure.
( THE LIMELIGHT-Crewe)

The Best ever tribute to Black Sabbath and Ozzy ! ( Hotel California-Liverpool )

The Most Authentic Black Sabbath Tribute ever !! ( Moses Gate-Bolton )

You will not find a better Tribute to Black Sabbath, Simply the best B.Sabbath Tribute ever ! ( The Victoria - Swindon )

£

In 2004, Fairport Convention is still one of the busiest bands around. The current line-up of Simon Nicol (lead vocal, rhythm and electric guitars), Dave Pegg (backing vocals, bass guitar, mandolin), Ric Sanders (violin), Chris Leslie (lead vocal, fiddle, bouzouki, mandolin) and Gerry Conway (percussion and drums) still packs venues on its frequent tours. This year started with Fairport covering the length and breadth of Britain on its Winter Tour. The band staged a major fundraiser for Dave Swarbrick at Birmingham's Symphony Hall, and played summer dates at home and abroad.

£

Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent have appeared at The Brook before with their band, but this time they return as The Zombies. As Rod Argent explains: "Suddenly, and for the first time in all these years, it felt honest and right to include the name 'Zombies' on our last album; a way of acknowledging the heritage. We haven't come together cynically, or to make a buck; everything has fallen in to place almost without realising it. It still feels important to include our own names as well – a way of expressing something about the future as well as acknowledging the past".

We've appreciated the talents of Colin and Rod at The Brook for years - it must be eight years ago since Colin first appeared with his band and became a regular visitor. Since he teamed up with Rod again, audiences have built up and it seems that everybody is talking about The Zombies again. Many current stars have professed admiration of The Zombies - Badly Drawn Boy cited the band in NME's poll of the most influential artists of all time, Tom Petty said: "If a group like The Zombies appeared now, they would own the world," and Bruce Springsteen turned up at a New York Concert a couple of years ago. More recently The Beautiful South recorded Zombies ' song 'This Will Be Our Year' for their current 'Golddiggers' CD - a track that is getting loads of radio play. In their heyday the band enjoyed massive hits such as the Argent-penned 'She's Not There' (a major hit several years later for Santana) and 'Time of the Season'. Indeed, America took them even more to their hearts than Britain; 'Time of the Season' is one of only a handful of UK hits to have been certified as receiving 4 million plays on US radio, while the LA Times named them as one of the all time top ten British bands. 'Vanity Fair' magazine in 2002 chose the bands' second album 'Odessey and Oracle' as being the defining pop album of the sixties! Even Elvis had Zombies singles on his juke box at Gracelands! .

When the group split in 1968, Rod went on to form his eponymous band Argent and scored hits with such rock anthems as 'Hold Your Head Up' and 'God Gave Rock n Roll To You' (covered by Kiss, amongst others), and has since achieved huge success in the fields of record production, television and stage musicals. Along with drummer Peter Van Hooke (Mike & The Mechanics) , Rod produced three albums for Tanita Tikaram including the massive 'Ancient Heart' album which included the world-wide hit singles, 'Twist in My Sobriety' and 'New Tradition'. Colin, meanwhile, remained a familiar chart presence through hits like 'Say You Don't Mind', a cover of the Motown hit 'What Becomes of the Broken Hearted' with Dave Stewart and highly rated solo albums such as 'One Year' and 'Ennismore'. He also achieved huge success as featured vocalist on a string of albums by the Alan Parsons Project – the brainchild of the former Pink Floyd engineer. Since coming together again, two or three years ago Colin and Rod have performed extensively in Japan, Europe and America, always to acclaim. The Chicago Tribune's review during the 2002 US tour was typical, writing of "warmth bordering on hysteria…the aura still remains!" So The Zombies are well and truly alive again! Don't miss them!

Preview by Peter Ashton

£

"For me, doing a Robbie tribute show is an acting gig. When I pull on the tiger underpants I also pull on a character called Robbie. It helps now I've got a proper pair of tiger pants from Robbie's website. I've played everywhere from Manchester to Mexico. I got a taste of the Robbie lifestyle when Sony Records flew me and a load of other tribute acts to Mexico to perform at a conference. I was put up in a really flash hotel and everything was paid for. We only had to do one gig - and we got paid for it! I've also headlined a gig for 5,000 people in Holland. The Dutch are massive Robbie fans but I don't think they could afford the real deal so they got the next best thing. Playing to that number of people was mind-blowing, but the thing that really freaked me out was discovering the real Boney M were supporting me. How surreal is that? I also play a lot of university fresher balls. They can be a laugh because the girls get drunk after two shandies and try and chat 'Robbie' up.

£

In late October 2001, the band started the Convention Tour which would see them playing nine gigs in eight different countries. As an added bonus to the tour, NICKO MCBRAIN went along to each show and did a drum clinic. Of course, it's difficult to keep Nicko off the kit. So when HI-ON MAIDEN asked him if he would perform a few songs with them, he willingly obliged, every night of the tour!!!!!

At the Convention in Holland, ADRIAN SMITH was there to do a signing. The band asked if he would guest on a couple of songs and he agreed. Because he had to leave early to catch a flight, he couldn't stay around till show time. So they all agreed to do an inpromptu performance in the afternoon for the fans. Adrian (Smith), Nicko and HI-ON MAIDEN powered their way through THE WICKER MAN and 2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. To top it all off, there was a real treat instore at the last show in Portugal……STEVE HARRIS was there!!! He stayed to watch the whole show and even got up in the encore to perform FOUR songs. He allowed Speed to use his checker board bass, and Steve Harris used Speed's. The crowd went mad as STEVE HARRIS, NICKO MCBRAIN and the whole of HI-ON MAIDEN rocked them with THE WICKER MAN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME, WRATHCHILD and 2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT.

£

Ron Vaudry

Ron Vaudry. 1956 was born looked around and said, "You can't be serious!" Never the class clown, but rather making fun of the class clown, Ron found his niche. Finding the opportunity to perform on stage for the first time in 1979 on labour day weekend in a small club in Montreal for the Jerry Lewis Joke-a-thon. Twelve noon to twelve midnight, all proceeds going to Muscular Dystrophy. (Good deposit in the karma bank, he thought.) Performing twelve sets that day, the hook was set and he never looked back. Quickly becoming a forerunner on the Canadian comedy scene. Ron has appeared on numerous television shows in Canada, The United States, and the UK, as well many of the top Comedy Festival around the world. An uncompromising master in his Field of hard hitting social and political satire, Ron's reputation as a comics comic has not deterred audiences from enjoying his unique comedic perspective around the world.

Cole Parker

Comedian, actor and writer and BBC Digital Radio 6 Presenter Cole Parker was born and raised in sleepy Petts Wood, a district of Bromley on the London/Kent border. After an upbringing of holiday camps, pub gardens, casual violence and school plays Cole left school at 16 and started work at a London advertising agency, until the mundane 9 to 5 grew unendurable. At the age of 19, Cole dropped out to work as a professional actor. The dole office held few thrills for a young man who had previously tasted fame on T.V.s' "The Bill"; Glue sniffing thug no.3: "Git orf me coppa." As well as several other low profile stage, television and film bit parts. So he trained as a Croupier, and spent five years 'dealing' in London and provincial casinos as well as on Caribbean cruise-ships and for the Israeli and Russian Mafia, in gambling-outlawed Israel. Since he returned to Blighty Cole tried to rejoin the rat race, working chiefly as a trader for a spread-betting company. Until his performing abilities (and his ego) got the better of him and embarked on his destiny as a comedy writer/performer. Quickly gaining recognition as an exciting and confident performer. Cole is regularly booked at the U.K.s' best comedy venues as well as performing at numerous corporates and Universities. Cole's stand-up has an honest, natural delivery. And has been described as, "A very dark blend of satire and observation, punctuated with gags and topical piss-takes".

 

£

Juliet Turner has recorded two albums – her 1996 debut "Let's Hear it for Pizza" with Sticky Music and "Burn the Black Suit" on her own label "Hear This!" She built up her audiences in Ireland through support slots with artists such as Natalie Merchant, Tracy Chapman, Brian Kennedy, Gabrielle, Sting and Bryan Adams and shared a billing with Bob Dylan in Kilkenny. She also spent two summers touring in the UK with ex-Bryds singer Roger McGuinn. Brian Kennedy took Juliet on tour with him in Ireland and introduced her to a much wider audience. " I loved Brian's album "The Great War of Words" and he was very generous in his support of my music". It was when this tour finished that Juliet with the help of manager Derek Nally and producer Gerard Kiely recorded "Burn the Black Suit", a much more ambitious affair than her debut, tilting at pop but veering off into darker territory. The subject range was wide - the gay and drag scenes in Manchester (Queen on Canal Street), escape and healing through music (Theatre for the Broken), the frustrations and disillusionment of trying to broker a peace deal within a family and a country (Sorry to Say) and the radio hit "Take the Money and Run", a whimsical take on touring and the madness of fans. "Burn the Black Suit" went double platinum in Ireland and Juliet signed to EastWest Records in June 2001. Since then she has been working steadily to build up a fan base in the UK. She has been touring with Ron Sexsmith and David Meade, completed a successful short tour of her own in the UK and played her biggest gig to date in the Point Depot in Dublin. In autumn 2002 she picked up a "Best Newcomer in Music" award from the London based "Irish Post" newspaper and another award for her contribution to music from Tatler Magazine at their Women of the Year ceremony in Dublin – the first to receive this award. She spent the rest of the autumn in New York and New Orleans gigging and writing for her third album. In January of this year, Juliet's single "Take the Money and Run" was playlisted on Radio 2 and remained there for six weeks, becoming a favourite with both Terry Wogan and Janice Long.

A compelling performer. Underestimate her at your cost. Irish Times

Lauded from everyone from Terry Wogan to Niall Stokes. Hotpress Magazine

Turner is – always has been, in this writers opinion – one of the most intriguing of Irish female song writers Tony Clayton-Lea - Irish Times

There's a pleasing asperity and knowing toughness underpinning the stylistic and expressive variety of Turner's singing….confidently cosmopolitan. Susan Wilson – Scottish Sunday Herald

Her stage presence is the type that smoulders, drawing you in and making you sit forward in your seat rather than dazzling and knocking you back on your heels… ...it's impossible not to have been thoroughly charmed. Maurice O'Brien – Hotpress Magazine

Juliet Turners' music is vibrant, personal and deeply moving…a wonderful thrilling ride of innocent pleasure and carnal delight….frankly gorgeous. Smyth Harper – BBC Manchester website

Turner is a self-conscious artist of broad vision, whose vocal style is beguiling, then winning….. so obviously you are going to listen, as tonight's capacity audience did. Stuart Ferguson – Celtic Connections

Do you have iTunes?

Then Click here for a preview ::

£

Glamrock, retrorock, sleazerock - call them what you will - The Quireboys are back on the music scene after apparently stealing the show from Whitesnake on their autumn tour last year. We're looking forward to an explosive debut here at The Brook. The band originally formed in London in 1984 as The Quireboys, but were known as The London Quireboys in America and came across originally as a 90s version of The Faces. They were on the verge of hitting it big when a similar band named the Black Crowes appeared on the scene and proceeded to upstage and steal the Quireboys audience. The original lineup consisted of Spike on vocals, who sounded exactly like Rod Stewart, guitarists Guy Bailey, Ginger and Nigel Mogg, Coze on drums and Chris Johnstone on keyboards. Their debut album "A Bit of What You Fancy" released in 1990 spawned four singles which charted in the UK and Europe and had minor success in the USA. Three years later the band released their next album "Bitter Sweet and Twisted" featuring new drummer Rudy Richman. But the long gap since their last album meant that the band had lost their momentum, and they temporarily broke up. The Quireboys reformed in the late 1990s, releasing the album "This Is Rock 'N' Roll" in 2001. Then in 2002 Clear Channel Promotions and Danny Bowes of Thunder brought back the Monsters of Rock idea, putting it in the arenas in November of that year. Alice Cooper was to headline with Thunder supporting; they needed a band who had performed at one of the original shows at Castle Donnington, so who else to ask but The Quireboys, who gladly accepted. Jason Bonham (son of the late John Bonham of Led Zeppelin helped out on drums and the concerts were recorded resulting in the "Live 2002" album released early the following year. The rest of 2003 saw the guys playing The Bulldog Bash Series Z Festival in Spain and a small tour of the UK. Jason left to join UFO making way for Michael Lee (Page & Plant, The Cult ) to fill the drum slot from August to December. In the meantime the band made 'Well Oiled', their fourth studio album, with new members Paul Guerin (Red Dogs, Michael Schenker, The King) on guitars and Pip Mailing ( The Pecadiloes) on drums. It was at this time that Phil Mogg of UFO asked his manager Peter Knorn to take on The Quireboys. Peter then managed to secure a deal with SPV Records in Germany and Crown/Nippon in Japan. 'Well Oiled' was released in June 2004. Support slots with David Lee Roth and UFO, headline gigs and major festival appearances in Spain, Italy and Germany made it a great year for the band. Preview by Peter Ashton

£

When Guns & Roses first descended onto England in 1987, followed by a whirlwind of media hype and drunken brawls, they brought with them a bunch of cassettes that they would listen to while chilling in between gigs.   One such cassette that kept them entertained during their infamous stint at the London Marquee, was entitled 'Greatest Hits' - by Nazareth. There are two things which may seem odd about this fact. One, why would an American band on the verge of superstardom travel around the globe with a cassette by some old Scottish band? And two, that a bunch of hairy blokes from Dunfermline had any great hits at all.

Essential listening But take one listen to an album like Hair of the Dog or Razamanaz, and it is possible to see why many young rock bands, not just Axl's American upstarts, viewed Nazareth as essential listening. The heavy riffs, the screeching vocals (a proto-type for many a future heavy-metal singer), and the driving rhythm section, cemented Nazareth's reputation in early British rock folklore. From playing rock n' roll covers in the Dunfermline ballrooms, to touring the world with the likes of Rory Gallagher and Deep Purple, the Nazareth story really began when the band stuck two-fingers up at the music industry that threatened to hold them back during those turbulent early days, when mimicking London's hip and trendy music scene was the norm. Brightest hope And the band had the talent to back up their audaciousness. Melody Maker's 'Brightest Hope' of 1973 had hit singles with the likes of Broken Down Angel, My White Bicycle, and This Flight Tonight, to which the song's original performer Joni Mitchell is reported to have said on hearing the cover, 'Oh a little rock band, how cute!' Perhaps their most famous track however, is Love Hurts. Yep, that old Everly Brothers song, proving that Nazareth rarely did things the conventional way, in a business where covers were often frowned upon. These hits were all backed up by huge selling albums. Hair of the Dog was a massive success worldwide.

Todays Nazareth still features two origanal Members Dan McCafferty on Vocals and Pete Agnewon Bass ,plus Jimmy Murrison on Guitar and Lee Agnew on Drums.

£

The Evolution Of Man "Very unusual are Man - they refuse to be goaded by any temptation to be stars. It's a family affair. Their friends, the whole pattern of what they are and what surrounds them has no eye for fame - just recognition when it's due." Roy Hollingworth - Melody Maker - 28th July 1973. It's a complicated and fascinating story. In its simplest retelling, Man formed in 1968, and are still going strong today. There have been ups, there have been downs, and (as ever) there have been long and eventful journeys traversing the scenic routes of life. Man though are not an island, and the story can only be adequately told by including all the band's friends and relations. The roots, the offshoots, the joinings and the amicable (and not so amicable) partings. The fellow travellers, the supporters and the followers.

£

British singer, pianist and guitarist Mike Sanchez is one of the most exciting and charismatic performers of Rhythm & Blues and Rock 'n' Roll in the world today. His indelible image as a frenetic front man, pumping powerful boogie-woogie from the piano in a soaking red suit, has won him fans from all over the world and attracted a following from many famous rock and blues legends who have lined up to work with him. Mike's main aim has always been to make every live show his best yet as he continuously enjoys growing acclaim and admiration for his electrifying stage performances from new and old fans of all age groups across the world.

£