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British Lion and Tony Moore Review

Last night Tony Moore and British Lion played at the Manning Bar and everyone was pumped for an awesome night. How could you not be excited for this warm up before the Iron Maiden concert tomorrow night.

Tony Moore is a British singer and songwriter with eclectic guitar work and vocal range. He was briefly in Iron Maiden in 1977 and has his side project in classic Prog Rock. It was a one-man-show where Tony played all the instruments on stage, keyboards, lead guitars, and acoustic guitar and sang with his powerful vocals. He kicked off his set with 'Awake', 'The Clock Has Started', 'Love We Need You Here', 'Just One Night' and 'Dear Life'. The video wall displayed photos of Tony as a kid and videos of playing all the different instruments he recorded with. He also told us stories about his mum and played a touching tribute to her, which pulled the heart strings. As he continued with 'Not Normal', 'Remember Me', 'Crazy In The Shed' and 'Asleep' the energy was fierce and the fans got hyped for the next set.

British Lion consists of Steve Harris from Iron Maiden. The side project originally started as a solo album and then evolved into a touring band with Richard Taylor as lead vocals, David Hawkins and Grahame Leslie on guitars, Simon Dawson on drums, and Steve Harris on bass.

The room went dark and lights swept over the stage and you knew British Lion were about to kill this set. As British Lion opened with 'This Is My God', 'Judas' and 'Father Lucifer' which was a banger, the crowd cheered for more.

As vocalist Richard Taylor continued with 'Bible Black', '2000 Years', 'The Burning' and 'Legend', the vibrant delivery continued on stage and there was heavy metal roughness with old school vibes. The guitar harmonies and Steve's heavy bass lines and sharp chords were supercharged.

As British Lion continued keeping the audience hooked with 'These Are the Hands', 'A World Without Heaven', 'Spit Fire' and 'Land of the Perfect People', the Thunderous guitar riffs and the solos were hard-hitting and the drum beat rang through the venue. As Richard engaged with his fans, he got on the pit barrier and held his microphone out to the audience and he sang with his fans, before an effortless stride back up onto the stage. British Lion brought their A Game and they were firing on full cylinders as they continued with 'The Chosen Ones', 'Us Against the World' and 'Wasteland'. The huge choruses and metal horns were high in the air and the crowd sunk there teeth into every song.

As British Lion finished their set with 'Lightning', 'Last Chance' and 'Eyes of the Young' we were sad that the gig was over. British Lion finished their set and they turned around and got a photo with the audience and handed out the setlist, fist pumped and shook their fans hands. It was a sight to see and its always appreciated when the band interacts with their fans on a personal level. We can wait for British Lion to return to Australian shores.

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