AVALANCHE DRUID INN BIRCHOVER
GROWING UP and slowly immersing oneself into music many localities had several rising stars. Frontrunners in Derbyshire were Saracen, who very nearly hit the big time and for my money heel snappers Avalanche came a very close second, a powerful foursome who again were kicking down doors. Sadly, both bands didn’t quite get there, though Saracen I believe do still tread the boards, Avalanche called it a day. Fast forward many years and Avalanche have reformed.
Photography By: ROY GOODALL
Comprising Andy Pell on drums, bassist Brooksey, Wraggy on lead guitar and Mark Heaton on vocals they played two sets of mainly covers by ZZ Top, Black Sabbath, and Bon Jovi, all gaining strong support from the rather large crowd, which was good to see. However, when the very first Avalanche singer Graham Everett took to the stage to knock out AC/DC’s Let There Be Rock followed by The Preacher, which back then was big news as it was Avalanche’s first single, the band and audience were on fire.
Opening act two with Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell, this set wasn’t quite as strong as the first and the odd error did surface, though for a gang who’ve not played together for a few decades I felt they did a reasonable job. Sadly, we never got the ‘B’ side to self-penned The Preacher, a cracking tune called Mean Lady, and whether this seventeen song set was just a one off show, only time will tell.
WORDS & PICTURE: ROY GOODALL
