Well, this was a weird one. I had inadvertently bought the most expensive ticket going (but hey, it was for charadee) and found myself seated ten rows from the front of the stage in the Royal Albert Hall for a night of vintage rock n’ roll. Ushers showed us to our seats, although very few people were actually sitting, and we took in our opulent surroundings and it just seemed, well, wrong. To my left was the Judas Priest fan club from Germany bedecked in patched denim jackets, mullets and wispy moustaches ( à la Derry 1987) and you couldn’t help feel that Prince Albert himself was turning in his grave at the sight of these heavy metal revellers sullying this bastion of the music establishment. Anyway, here we were so bring it on…..

I missed the opening act of the evening, Boned, who few people had ever heard of but were nonetheless one of Tommy Vance’s favourite bands. I got into the arena just in time for the arrival of Mr Gillan and friends, who counted amongst their number Roger Glover on bass and Thunder’s Harry James on drums. There were a couple of vintage Gillan classics amongst the opening numbers (Unchain you Brain and No Laughing Heaven) but in all honesty he seemed to take a while to get going and appeared to be struggling a little bit. There were then a few tracks off his new album, which I didn’t recognise but were very bluesy and seemed to go on for feckin ages. The highlight of his 50-minute set was undoubtedly the two Purple numbers When a Blind Man Cries and finally Black Night. The latter had the audience going wild and was a crackin finale to the set.

After a brief sojourn Bruce Dickinson came on stage to introduce The Scorpions. Now, I have to make a confession here, I don’t know any of the Scorpions stuff apart from the turgid Wind of Change and Rock you Like a Hurricane. After their performance on Friday evening I now feel extremely guilty at my neglect of these German rockmeisters because they were completely fantastic. They were an utter revelation and had the Albert Hall eating out of the palms of their hands. I can’t give you the set list as I only recognised the already mentioned Wind of Change and the finale Rock you Like a Hurricane. I would definitely check these guys out again when they’re next in town as they are what rock n’ roll is all about, having some fun, and getting away with it!

Once the Scorpions had finished Roger Daltrey came on stage to introduce a video showing what the money was being raised for – The Teenage Cancer Trust. It was very moving and had grown men around me in tears. All the same, it was a bit of a strange sensation to watch this and then have Judas Priest come on stage straight afterwards. Anyway, on to stage they came, well all of them except Rob Halford who didn’t appear until half-way through the opener, The Hellion. The last time I saw the Priest was in the Ulster Hall in 1991 as I missed last year’s Angel of Retribution Tour so I was keen to make amends, especially as this was their only gig of 2006. The set list was fantastic but way too short:

Hellion/Electric Eye, Metal Gods, Heading out to the Highway, Judas Rising, Diamonds & Rust, Turbolover, Green Manalishi, Breaking the law, Hellbent for leather and Living after midnight

The acoustic version of Diamonds and Rust was particularly good but I was a bit disappointed at the absence of Painkiller. Given the brevity of their set they obviously had to drop a few numbers and they more or less kept it to the classics.

Halford claimed that Judas Priest were making history by being the first Heavy Metal band to play at the Royal Albert Hall. I’m sure he’s wrong, as I seem to recollect Black Sabbath, amongst others, have played there. He is probably right, however, in his assertion that the Priest were also making history by being the first band to bring a motorcycle on stage for Hellbent for Leather – no argument here Bob.

As much as I love the Priest, I have to admit that the ridiculousness of it all can sometimes tip over into the comedic, but I do have a feeling that the guys don’t take themselves too seriously, especially Halford – I hope I’m right! They ended the evening by brining The Scorpions and Gillan back on stage for a mass rendition of Take on All the World which I doubt has featured on their set list for a couple of decades.

All in all, it was a great evening and a very fitting way to remember Tommy Vance and also raise some money for a very worthwhile cause. Rock on Tommy!

SEAN RAINEY