Mike & The Mechanics
London Hard Rock Café
23rd March, 2011

Mike Rutherford returned with his new six-piece band, promoting The Road, which seamlessly slips into the M&M AOR canon. Now fronted by Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar – whose vocals are an equally flawless fit – they kicked off a 35-minute stripped-down set for gathered medja types with the title track to their new opus, replete with sweet guitar, slick percussion and trademark dual lead vocals. Beggar On A Beach Of Gold reminded us what classic radio-friendly fare the outfit have produced over the decades and, new cut, Try To Save Me, illustrated that the Genesis guitarist and his cohorts haven’t lost any of their flair. The Living Years raised its choral head before the closing whistling anthem, Over My Shoulder, before a brief Q&A (in which Mike revealed to RC that there are several unissued new songs in the can).