Twenty great gigs from The past 20 Years
A small selection of the standout shows that have helped define Classic Rock’s lifetime.
1999 Bruce Dickinson returns to iron MaiDen
After years of separation they were reunited, and there was much rejoicing. With Dickinson back on board,
Iron Maiden were poised to make some of their best ever records – and remain one of the world’s biggest bands right through to the present.
2005 Pink FloyD, live 8, lonDon HyDe Park
Well, who saw that one coming?! True, it would turn out to be a one-off, but for that one day Floyd put aside their personal differences and played a mega-set. And they did not disappoint.
2007 leD ZePPelin reunion, lonDon 02 arena
What we said about this show at the time: “The message is clear: this isn’t some bullshit showbiz act. This isn’t the Stones and their travelling jukebox. This is a band. Led fucking Zeppelin. Three old guys (and their sorcerer’s apprentice), sure, but three old guys who can still perform with dignity.”
2008/10 ac/Dc, Black ice tour
After their Stiff Upper Lip album, many assumed that AC/DC would be winding down. Black Ice and the spectacular tour that coincided with it suggested otherwise. Built on their strongest, most quintessentially AC/DC album in years, it would also turn out to be rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young’s last full tour with the band.
2010 rage against tHe MacHine, lonDon FinsBury Park
In 2009, RATM scored the UK Christmas No.1 with Killing In The Name, which meant that year’s X-Factor winner was beaten to the top spot for the first time since 2005. To celebrate, the band played a massive outdoor show.
2010 kiss , lonDon islington acaDeMy
More readily associated with arenas, Kiss brought the trappings of their full-blown stage show to the relatively intimate setting of Islington Academy. It was a joyously feelgood set-list, a blizzard of confetti and death by dry ice.
2010 tHeM crookeD vultures, lonDon HaMMersMitH aPollo
What we said at the time: “Godheads they might be when fronting Queens Of The Stone Age and Foo Fighters, but Josh Homme and Dave Grohl are transformed into ardent fans by the close proximity of John Paul
Jones. Them Crooked Vultures’ titanic riff-driven sound benefits hugely from arrangements that echo the finest moments of Led Zep’s Physical Graffiti.”
2010 Black country coMMunion, lonDon JoHn Henry reHearsal stuDios
Supergroups weren’t exactly new in 2010, but this was a one-of-a-kind meeting of classic-rock minds, in front of an audience of about 100 at this tiny debut gig. Crucially, BCC were interested in writing quality new songs with their own identity stamped on them, rather than mindlessly ripping off their heroes and their own previous material.
2013 FleetwooD Mac, lonDon o2 arena
What we said at the time: “The Mac played three
London dates, and if you happened to go to one of the final two, you knew you’d be witnessing the Rumours line-up reunion, even if it was only fleeting – one song, and an encore at that. Welcomed like heroes, the band turned in a joyous Don’t Stop.
And then, just like that, Christine McVie was gone again…”
2013 status Quo, lonDon HaMMersMitH aPollo
With the Frantic Four back together again after more than three decades apart, their return to the Odeon
– not Apollo! – left grown men shedding tears of joy. Francis Rossi later called the reunion “a fucking mess”, but Rick Parfitt said he “hadn’t felt anything like it for years”.
2014 rival sons, tHe classic rock awarDs, los angeles
The Long Beach rockers received a standing ovation – and from a room full of rock royalty – for their performance here. One Classic Rock staffer at the time called it a “passing the baton” moment, and Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne subsequently snapped up Rival Sons for the Black Sabbath farewell tour.
2015 Queen + aDaM laMBert, newcastle Metro arena
What we said at the time: “Where Paul Rodgers was briefly permitted to make the frontman’s role his own as Queen’s +1, it’s impossible to escape the sense that Adam Lambert is swimming against a tide of sneering cynicism… But tonight there’s only admiration as a full house salutes an eyecatching entertainer with the glittering wardrobe to match a sparkling vocal range.”
2015 sliPknot, DownloaD Festival, Donington Park
Some might have considered the Iowa nu metallers a bit niche for the (relatively) varied rock crowd at Download, but the band’s Herculean main-stage headline spot, which had everyone eating out of the palm of Corey Taylor’s hand, changed that.
2016 iggy PoP, lonDon royal alBert Hall
Having triumphed with that year’s excellent Post
Pop Depression album,
Iggy matched it with a live performance far too good and nimble for a man of his age. Teamed with Josh Homme, it was a powerful, highly effective meeting of generations.
2016 axl rose’s First sHow Fronting ac/Dc, lisBon, Portugal
What we said at the time:
“In an industry that thrives on hyperbole, this is genuinely historic, and no one has any idea what to expect. It might be wretched, it might be electrifying… AC/DC sound just like AC/DC. As they should. And Axl? He nails the songs.”
2016 Black saBBatH, DownloaD Festival, Donington Park
Sabbath’s third and final appearance at Donington marked the end of an era for a band that are classic-rock royalty. If one of rock’s prime festival headliners was going to call it a day, there were much worse ways to go.
2017 Dio returns: tHe worlD tour, tHe Matrix, BocHuM, gerMany
The first Dio hologram show, by the pioneers of a technology that looks set to be a big part of the future of live music.
Roy Orbison and Michael Jackson, among others, have also been re-envisioned in this way, and both Kiss and ABBA have said they’ll outsource touring to holograms when they’re unable to carry on touring themselves.
2017 guns n’ roses, lonDon olyMPic staDiuM
After what felt like a lifetime of friction and speculation, Slash and Axl reconciled for a mammoth Guns N’ Roses reunion tour, which including this epic show at Wembley. It proved to be a night befitting all manner of superlatives, and a fantastic surprise return from one of the biggest bands in our world.