After the huge success of last years inaugural event it was inevitable that there would be demand for everyone to come back and do it all again. And so on what would have been his 72nd birthday the Robin 2 played host to the second Cozy Powell Birthday Bash. The organisers did another terrific job in pulling the whole evening together that was all in aid of Cozy’s favorite charity, World Animal Protection UK (https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.uk/).
A large number of the same performers returned for a three hour show that took in some of the best that Classic Rock had to offer from Rising to Slide It In. With compere Andy Fox once again on hand as compere the show opened with a storming ‘Kill The King’ performed by Paul Manzi on vocals, guitarist Ian Richard Wills, Chris Childs on bass, Neil Taylor on keys and Russell Gilbrook behind Cozy’s huge drum kit. The Rainbow songs came thick and fast with Carl Sentance (one of several new faces) taking over on vocals for ‘Stargazer’ and ‘Tarot Woman’ before following up with the quartet of classic songs from Down to Earth. By ‘All Night Long’ and ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ it was an all-Thunder rhythm section as Harry James had replaced Mike Terrana on the drums.
Prior to the MSG set there was a video tribute to Ted Mckenna, who had made his final appearance at the previous years show before tragically passing away just three weeks later. ‘Desert Song’ was played over the PA to accompany photos from throughout Ted’s music career and Chris Glen then paid a few words of tribute. The bassist then led the band of Lee Small, Bob Richards, Glen Quinn and Laurence Archer into ‘Armed and Ready’ and more from the glory days of the Michael Schenker Group before rounding things off with a romp through ‘Doctor Doctor’.
An auction of signed memorabilia followed and received some very generous bids which ensured even more money was raised for the charity. The welcome sight of Neil Murray tuning up indicated it was time for some classic era Whitesnake which kicked off with ‘Walking in the Shadow of the Blues’. Guitars were provided by Jim Kirkpatrick and Chris Buck and Richard Bailey was on the keys. Esta Rowley had been side of stage on backing vocals for much of the night but moved centre stage to duet with Shane Greenhall on ‘Slow N’ Easy’ and she then took over completely for a rousing ‘Crying in the Rain’ and ‘Slide It In’.
In a change from last years show there was no Black Sabbath set but instead we were taken further back into Cozy’s back catalogue with Jim leading a fiery two song salvo from the Jeff Beck Group, Saxon’s Nigel Glockler having taken over on the drums for what was a real blast from the past. With pretty much everyone crammed back on stage it was back to Carl Sentance for another sing-a-long of ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ and then all of the drummers took over the spotlight for a fabulous rendition of Cozy’s Top 3 hit ‘Dance with the Devil’. Everything ran smoothly and with no egos on display it all made for a terrific tribute to the legendary Cozy Powell. Despite what you may hear elsewhere ad infinitum it is nights like this at independent venues like The Robin where rock truly “Lives”. All credit to Bob and Ian – same time next year please!
Setlists
Rainbow set:
Kill The King
Man On The Silver Mountain
Long Live Rock N Roll
Stargazer
Tarot Woman
Eyes Of The World
Lost In Hollywood
Since You’ve Been Gone
All Night Long
Michael Schenker Group set:
Armed & Ready
Cry For The Nations
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
Doctor Doctor
Whitesnake set:
Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues
Guilty Of Love
Love Ain’t No Stranger
Gambler
Slow & Easy
Crying In The Rain
Slide It In
Here I Go Again
Jeff Beck Group set:
Got The Feeling
Going Down
Encore:
Since You’ve Been Gone
Dance With The Devil
