Plant steals nostalgia show

Brum Rocks - well it certainly did last night when two-and-a-half hours of rock ‘n’ roll nostalgia came to the new-look Birmingham Town Hall.

There’s no surprise who eventually stole the show, however the full house was captivated as the audience was taken on a stroll down a musical memory lane.

Described by compere for the evening Laurie Hornsby as a “sacred pilgrimage down the Birmingham rock ‘n’ roll highway,” the show was a non-stop rollercoaster charting the music scene from the early 1960s and into the 70s when the Town Hall was a major rock music venue.

Bev Bevan, Steve Gibbons and Danny King were among those to get things underway as the story of Brum Beat was told.

Hits such as La Bamba, Bye Bye Johnny and the classic Go Now were belted out by the enthusiastic musicians and were interspersed with stories about the Brum Beat scene from the era. There was also a performance by The Rockin’ Berries who told the story of once playing at the town hall and being supported by a young Tom Jones.

The second half kicked off with a set by former Birmingham roadie and comedy legend Jasper Carrott.

“They say you only play Birmingham Town Hall twice. Once on the way up..” he joked. However the highlight of the show had to be the four-song set played by Robert Plant. He wowed the crowd with alternative performances of Zeppelin’s Black Dog as well as a rendition of Bob Dylan’s Corrina Corrina.

By Richard Wyatt