Rockers roll back the years at Glasgow’s Classic Grand

So the news that personnel from both bands were touring TOGETHER was the source of excitement for many black t-shirt-clad 30-somethings who braved soaring heat to cram into Glasgow’s Classic Grand venue.

First up was ‘Acoustic TV’ - essentially Terrorvision lead singer Tony Wright and multi-instrumentalist Milton ‘Millie’ Evans banging out their old band’s songs on a pair of acoustic guitars.

It’s amazing how popular they actually were, with 13 top 40 singles including a bona fide smash hit in the Mint Royale remix of the jaunty ‘Tequila’ - pretty much all of which are present and correct tonight.

Even in their prime the band had a cartoonish feel to them and this is actually amplified by the acoustic set.

There’s plenty of banter between the two throughout and the songs have aged surprisingly well - ‘Alice What’s The Matter’ and ‘My House’ being two singalong highlights.

It’s pure nostalgia and none the worse for it.

The main event though is undoubtedly Ricky Warwick, former lead singer of The Almighty and current frontman for both Black Star Riders and the strange touring version of Thin Lizzy that still packs cavernous venues each year.

Tonight though, the bandana-clad and heavily tattooed star is all about delivering joyous rock ‘n’ roll karaoke.

He dips into all of his bands’ back catalogues, with an early rendition of Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak provoking the first big reaction of the night. If you close your eyes, his throaty Ulster brogue could almost be that of the late great Phil Lynott.

After that the tunes rush past, providing a veritable ABC of heavy rock. Iron Maiden’s ‘Running Free’ gets an airing, alongside Motorhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’ and Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’. The only curveball is an oddly-tender cover of Britney Spears’ ‘Oops I Did It Again’. “The second best song the devil wrote”, he jokes.

In all the fun many of Warwick’s own tracks appear mere filler, although when he sings spine-tingling solo offering ‘Belfast Confetti’ it proves he’s up there with his idols when it comes to songwriting talent.

A night that may not change anybody’s life but that was unbeatable for pure entertainment value.