Tonight:
9°c
Some fares could fall by more than a third when Oyster is extended to every national rail station in London, it has emerged
More...
New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Evening Standard rating
Reader rating
Magnetic presence: Hellraiser Lemmy drives the audience into a frenzy
For Motorhead to kick off the Meltdown festival was a deliberately provocative choice by festival curator Jarvis Cocker: Britain's most notorious heavy-metal band unleashed their deafening roar upon the newly refurbished environs of the Royal Festival Hall.
And yet Motorhead's presence also made perfect sense: as Jarvis said, they are simply "one of the best bands in the world". More than 30 years of frenetic touring has given them a supreme confidence and focus.
Younger metal bands resort to outlandish antics; Motorhead founder and legendary hell-raiser Lemmy, now 61, simply stands still, a magnetic figure in black, barking rarely distinguishable lyrics while strumming his bass.
Motorhead started at full pelt and stayed there for 90 minutes, only letting up for an acoustic Whorehouse Blues. There were newer songs but inevitably it was the old favourites that drove the audience to a frenzy - Over the Top, Metropolis, Iron Fist, Ace of Spades, and a rip-roaring version of Thin Lizzy's Rosalie, dedicated by Lemmy to his old friend, the late Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott.
The strangeness of the venue quickly ceased to matter - even if it was a little odd to look up and see frenzied headbanging and air guitar displays from middle-aged fans in the box seats.
Yet Motorhead's appeal is curiously wide. There must be few other gigs where you see middle-aged Hell's Angels, families with children as young as eight, and smartly dressed young women all pumping their fists in the air to a wall of high-speed, bass-driven metal.
"We are Motorhead and we play rock 'n' fucking roll!", growled Lemmy before closing with a particularly pulverising rendition of Overkill, a blizzard of strobe lights blazing behind him.
Still, as they left the stage, the drummer handed his sticks to a young girl on her father's shoulders in the front row. Only Motorhead could combine being genuine rock 'n' roll outlaws with family entertainment.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Me and my mate Martin were lucky enough to be present at the Roual Festival Hall to see Motorhead. We thought it would be November before we saw them back in UK, when they are coming to a town near us with Alice Cooper. Thank you then, to Jarvis, for fixing it for us. The best thing for me about Motorhead live, is that for ninety minutes they are the only thing that exists, like they've drawn in all the world's energy and they're giving it back to us, fast and loud. Motorhead have the ability to slightly unbalance human DNA and leave you feeling a bit shakey for days afterwards; bearing in mind there's only three of them and they do this several nights a week somewhere in the world, is even more incredible. Maybe that's where thunder comes from ?
Roll on November.
- Michael York, Chester, England
Motorhead do play rock 'n roll - and they were an inspired choice for the RFH. We took our seven year old daughter - who also saw them play in Hyde Park last year - and she loved them too. Wholesome family entertainment indeed.
- Patrick Dixon, London
