Romeo's Daughter - Our Press

My affinity with Romeos Daughter goes back a bit….to 1989 to be precise. It was an eventful day. It was to be the first time that I was going to see my beloved FM on the Tough It Out Tour at The Royal Court Theatre. It very nearly didn't happen. The car broke down on the way, and somehow I managed to fix it and get going. I'm crap with anything - great at taking things apart, Shite at putting them back together . It was to be a very good omen. The support on the TIO tour was from Romeo’s Daughter. I'd never heard anything by Romeo’s Daughter, and on this night I was completely blown away. So my adoration for seeing Romeos Daughter live, is about ninety minutes longer than my love for seeing FM

I was chuffed to bits when they got together for Firefest a few years back, and gutted that I was ill for it. Thankfully, the love transferred from the crowd to the band and they reformed properly, and have produced 2 albums, the most recent one ‘Spin’, being as good, if not better than their debut (waits for angry emails to come in......)

A band like Romeo’s Daughter, (like FM) should have made it big. I mean BIG. They had and still have the songs, and people like Heart, Eddie Money and Steps (!) don't cover them if they are shite. Romeo’s Daughter were a man down tonight, and initially it told as there was a bit of a keyboard sized hole to fill.

Opening with ‘Heaven In The Back Seat’ I was transported straight back to 1989 as this was the very first song I ever heard them play. It's at moments like these that the 'goosies' kick in. It's not a staple at every gig, but every now and then, an intro, a voice, or just seeing a person can kick them off. Not only that, it was straight into ‘Velvet Tongue’. I'll forgive the desk as the sound wasn't it's best for these two songs, but the improvement soon kicked in for ‘Touch’ and then they were away......

The excellent ‘Radio’ (should be a huge hit) followed, and at this point I didn't care that they were down a man. Leigh Matty’s voice is exactly the same as it was all those years ago, and with the exact same trio of Wells/ Poole/and Joiner as it was back in the day, Romeo’s Daughter are as tight as a nut that's been super-glued and welded into place.

To show how much of a way they have come, the last two albums make up a major part of the set. A lot of bands today when they play anything new, the crowd talk, bigger off for a wee or a pint and return for the classics. Not here, as the new fit in with the older songs perfectly. The only part that's criminal is that only one song from ‘Delectable’ makes the set (‘Attracted To The Animal’)

I can't remember which song it was (‘Trippin Out’?) but the lead fell out of the mic. From what I could see, even with a replacement that didn't work, nobody even seemed to care and enjoyed them for what they are – a great band, with some great songs

The encore for me was the special part, as Leigh and Craig played 'Will Be' an absolute belter of a song, which pulls on your heartstrings and proves that an intimate song is just as effective as the rockier next one, which just happens to be...’Wild Child’, a song made famous by Heart, but one that Romeo’s Daughter proudly claim to be their own. With songs like ‘Wild Child’, ‘Heaven....’, ‘Velvet Tongue’, ‘Radio’, ‘Alive’ and ‘I Cry Myself to Sleep’, they shouldn't be playing the MA3, it should be the Apollo or even the Arena. I hope they don’t hate me for this, but their loss is definitely the fans gain, and its these type of intimate gigs that are the best ones for me. The venue wasn't full, but I hope that this doesn't halt the flow of touring and an album in the future as the rock world would be a lesser place when Romeo’s Daughter decide to call it day. Hopefully it won't be any day soon. Hopefully it won't be any day soon. Long may they continue to be one of THE finest bands the UK has produced.

Catch them while you can – on tour until mid May

Review by Paul Chesworth

Original Review in the Rock Stop

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