REVIEW: British Lion at John Watling's Distillery

Rum and Rock are perfect partners

British Lion at John Watling's Distillery, Wednesday, April 8

There was an extreme weather warning over The Bahamas yesterday - but after the rain stopped, it was British Lion that brought the thunder. 

After the storm of the afternoon, it was a beautiful sunset over the Buena Vista estate that played host to British Lion. John Watling's Distillery is a great venue - here, the stage was set up in the rear courtyard, putting the audience up close and personal with the band. 

The thing with rock stars and their other bands is that you can't get away without mentioning the band with all the Platinum records. This is Steve Harris' other band, but the band you've heard mentioned more often is Iron Maiden. 

That's both recognition of the band's pedigree and a bit of a disservice to the band itself - which is a different soldier than Iron Maiden's trooper, more rock with a fistful of great melodies than Maiden's metal. 

First up came the support act, Tony Moore's Awake, himself a former member of Iron Maiden in the 1970s. Well worth listening to himself, he took to the stage solo to share a very personal story, about his bond with his mother, and his role as a carer for her after she was diagnosed with dementia. It was touching and honest, and very much deserves recognition. 

British Lion kicked things up a gear when they took the stage. Many years ago, at one of my favourite ever gigs, I was standing next to the venue owner when one particular artist took to the stage and after just moments, he turned round to me and said "You can tell when it's real quality" with a big smile. The same here. You can tell when it's real quality. 

British Lion set the tone from the off. It didn't matter that these were performers who have played all kinds of sizes of venue, they were here to entertain and to urge the crowd to make some noise, with expletives and all. 

This was a band that knows its stuff, driving rhythm section and charismatic front man urging the crowd on. They came, they sang, they conquered. 

As a venue, it was great - the rum was flowing, the music was pumping and the crowd were here for it. If this is a sign of more things to come, all the better for The Bahamas to have another music venue, and broadening the range of music on offer. That can only be good for everyone. 

Eventually, British Lion pounded its last thunder, and just in time for the first drops of returning rain. The crowd went home, happy with the night. British Lion? They may just have opened the door to a whole lot more. A great night. 

STEPHEN HUNT