Why I’ll always love the sound of HEAVY METAL THUNDER
The era of soaring guitar solos, poodle perms and pouting returns to Dublin’s 3Arena next month as Whitesnake perform their last tour. Here writer Linda Maher reveals why, for her, denim and leather will always go together
IT all began with Bon Jovi. It was 1988, I was nine, and my brother — older by four years — arrived home with the New Jersey album. He played it regularly, I played it endlessly. I’d sneak it on when I got home from school before him, even though I wasn’t supposed to be allowed at the record player. Then again when he went out to football training. I was obsessed.
Curious to see what other gems his record collection contained, I managed to nab Appetite For Destruction, the 1987 album by Guns ’n’ Roses. That was it, I was hooked on 1980s big hair rock. And I’ve never grown out of it. Def Leppard, Poison, Van Halen, Aerosmith and Motley Crue all became favourites, and are still among the most popular bands on my Spotify playlists.
The Now 80s TV channel is probably the most used on my television and when the Saturday night listings include power ballads or guitar anthems, all other plans go on hold.
So as you can imagine, May 10’s 3Arena concert featuring Whitesnake, Europe and Foreigner is a heavenly line-up for me — not one, but three of the best bands of the genre.
It’s billed as Whitesnake’s farewell tour and they have drafted in bass player Tanya O’Callaghan from Mullingar, for this last tour.
Pre-Covid I attended rock gigs regularly and it’s interesting to see how the age of the audience has evolved — the dad dancing is a sight to behold.
But having an audience of a certain age has its advantages. They are unlikely to spend the entire time with their phones in the air, recording something they’ll never look back on.
They don’t tend to cram to the front either, so you can be relatively close to the stage without being wedged. You’re also unlikely to be the victim of a ‘mosh’.
I am very aware of how old this makes me sound — which means I fit right in.
I’ve indulged my love of the live experience in Ireland, where I’ve seen everybody from Whitesnake to Def Leppard, as well as around the world, where I’ve been lucky enough to see Twisted Sister in San Francisco, Guns ’n’ Roses in Dubai and Bon Jovi in locations too numerous to mention — 23 times in total at the latest count.
I saw Vince Neil of Motley Crue in San Diego back in the early 2000s. It was a small venue and there weren’t many people there. He came out and launched into two or three songs from his solo work. I was wearing a satin Motley Crue jacket and he gave me a high five from the stage during one of them. Nobody knew the words of the new songs and when hecklers started shouting for Motley Crue hits, he took the hump, threw the microphone down and stormed off the stage. He didn’t return. True rock ’n’ roll, I guess.
In 2019, I did a four-day cruise with Runaway Tours that featured two gigs and a meet and greet with Jon Bon Jovi. Also on board was Johnny Rzeznik from the Goo Goo Dolls and a young British band called Collateral.
The latter absolutely stole the show throughout the four days. Long hair, check. Leather trousers, check. Screaming vocals, check. They ticked a lot of boxes for the fans on board. And as far as rock and roll antic on board go, there were late-night jacuzzi parties, though I didn’t hear any reports of TVs being launched into the sea.
Speaking of screaming vocals, I do have to address the fact that after 40 years, many of these bands just don’t have the high notes in them any more. My beloved Jon Bon Jovi has faced criticism of his voice on the band’s current US tour.
What they have done, however, is become masters at masking this fact, either throwing the high notes out to the audience or relying on one of the backing band to carry them. Trust me, when you’re singing at the top of your voice yourself, you really don’t notice. They’ve also grown with us on social media too — if you don’t follow Whitesnake’s frontman David Coverdale on Twitter, you’re missing out. Now with a triple bill headed by Whitesnake and supported by Foreigner and Europe, there’s going to be another chance to hear classics like Is
This Love, Here I Go Again. I Want To Know What Love Is, The Final Countdown and many more rock classics and power ballads you may have forgotten about. And though some might scorn, these are tracks that have stood the test of time, that still get regular airplay, that still get crowds singing along.
These gigs are all about one thing: nostalgia. They bring back memories of your first disco, your first date, your first shuffle round a slow set, your first kiss. They’re about a time and a place in your life when you didn’t have to worry about mortgages, gas bills or taxi queues. You believed you were bulletproof.
Now you know differently, but for a few hours you can just scream your head off to rock classics and forget about it all.
So get that perm lotion ready, wipe down the leather leggings and break out the blue eyeshadow. It’s time to rock. O The Whitesnake Farewell Tour + Foreigner & Europe is at the 3Arena, Dublin, on May 10, tickets from €78.25, see ticketmaster.ie