It’s a very special event at the Manchester Academy tonight With Glenn Hughes and The Damn Truth a sharing stage. The Damn Truth have recently been referred to as megastars-in-waiting and this is a wholly justified way of describing this incredible band from Canada. Perhaps unusually for an opening band, the venue is already full to capacity as The Damn Truth take to the stage. Their profile has grown massively since their headline UK tour in the summer and it’s no surprise that the fans have dragged themselves away from the bar to witness their intensity. The Damn Truth deliver their 70s inspired songs with authenticity and passion. Their performance sees every single member of the band shine but it’s perhaps powerhouse vocalist Lee-La Baum that deserves special recognition. Man, that woman can sing! And it’s not just how she sings the songs but how she whales as she communicates with the audience between songs. She is absolute class! Mega-stars-in-waiting? Absolutely! After a rapturous reaction from the crowd as the last notes were played, we caught up with Lee-La after the show to grab some reflections on what has clearly been an incredible tour.

How does it feel to get such an incredible reaction from the capacity crowd here in the UK?

It’s incredible! Every night is wild and it’s always a dream come true. Every night is different yet the people I find are always the same. The rock ‘n’ roll community feels the same thing. We all get each other!

Tonight you played your last show with Glenn Hughes on what has been an incredible UK tour. What will your lasting memories of this tour be?

There are so many things but first of all Glenn’s band is wonderful and gracious and they treated us like brothers from the first moment. To be like that from the first moment and to be able to tour with them for three weeks, and with everything going so smoothly and wonderful, is just amazing! It’s been a blessing!

One of the biggest impacts from tonight’s show was just the sheer emotion. We’ve had passion, excitement and fun but it was emotional as well. To what extent is that a fair thing to say?

Yes of course, man! We give it our all! For me, it is a trip. It’s a wild experience to be able to share my music with strangers every night and I feel like from the moment that we get on that stage they are no longer strangers. The joy in people’s eyes and the connection I feel, it’s out of this world! So it’s all emotion and nothing but emotion, man!

So we’ve heard that there’s new music planned. What can you share with us at this stage?

We’ve already started recording our new album. We are working with Bob Rock again for this next release and we were there in October in Vancouver recording with him. So we’re halfway through and we are already booked from November 15 to be back in the studio to finish it off.

It’s now time for headliner, Glenn Hughes. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Deep Purple’s Burn album, tonight is the last UK show of the Glenn Hughes Performs Classic Deep Purple run. As the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee takes to the stage, he continues to look every bit the icon that he is. Dressed in classic 70s styling, Glenn is giving the music every ounce of the respect it deserves. What is also interesting is that Glenn now has blonde hair! From the opening track Stormbringer this is just one full-on high energy set where between tracks Glenn shares stories from his time with Deep Purple, for example, the legendary California Jam show in 1974. He also shared his joy of having fully celebrated the music of Deep Purple over the last year but he makes a promise to the crowd that there will be a new album in 2024 that sees him returning to simply being ‘Glenn’. He may be known as The Voice Of Rock but throughout the set the crowd enjoy extended jams which really bring to the fore what a fine bass player Glenn really is. And we also need to give respect to Glenn for really allowing his band to shine. Longtime guitarist Søren Andersen wears the biggest smile and is an absolute star in his own right. There are no egos on the stage, just a sense of total band camaraderie. Despite being a native of Los Angeles for 50 years, Glenn reinforces his pride in his roots and how Staffordshire, and in fact the UK, will always be his home, and this proves to be a very poignant moment in the show. With the UK tour now complete, it’s the South American fans who will now get the opportunity to enjoy this incredible show as Glenn heads with his band to Brazil. We can’t wait to hear the new Glenn Hughes album next year!       

The full set this was as follows:

Stormbringer

Might Just Take Your Life

Sail Away

You Fool No One

Mistreated

Getting Tighter

You Keep On Moving

Highway Star

Burn