Back in the day, the British arena rock stalwarts FM supported Tina Turner, Foreigner, Gary Moore, Status Quo, and Magnum. They opened for REO Speedwagon at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. Their claim to big-hair fame came when they were invited onto the UK leg of Bon Jovi’s historic Slippery When Wet Tour, 1986.
More recently, in September 2018, the band accepted an invitation to join Saxon as special guests on their “Thunderbolt Tour Part 2”. And, post-Covid, the band resumed touring, undertaking a European tour and supporting The Dead Daisies across the UIK. In 2023, their live dates included a 12-date co-headline tour with Dare and Tyketto.
FM’s artistically tasteful compositions, bold musicianship & elegant atmospherics, brought joy & jubilation to the cheeriest venue on the South Coast…
Raw Ramp Music Magazine
Sadly, on 4 August 2023, the band announced that founding member and lead guitarist Chris Overland had passed away. The current line-up is : Merv Goldsworthy–bass & backing vox, Pete Jupp–drums & backing vox, Steve Overland–lead vocals & rhythm guitar, Jem Davis–keyboards & backing vox, and Jim Kirkpatrick–lead guitar & backing vox.
The band has scheduled a series of 40th Anniversary Concerts this year, showcasing a bundle of classic anthems produced over an amazing career. A new album is due, via Frontiers Records, on Friday May 3, 2024. Check below for the link. The opening song from this forthcoming album is a masterful and catchy rock accomplishment!
We were fortunate to catch their anniversary show at the remarkable Concorde 2 venue in Brighton, the trendiest city in the UK. With forty years of rocking’ conviviality to select from, the challenge for the band was not deciding which of their songs to perform, but which of their songs to exclude!
an electric storm of pneumatised energy: the type of jauntiness a hustling chanteuse would hanker after!
Raw Ranp Music Magazine
“Digging Up the Dirt” captured the goose-pimple-inducing essence of their 2015 sound, featuring a Leppardish riff, deep bass work, and favorable melodic comparisons to Foreigner’s “Lowdown and Dirty.” The lyric might have been scaggy, the rhythms might have been whupping, the guitarplay might have been jim-dandy, and the attitude might have been whanging, yet this number was one hot caboodle of excitement from beginning to end!
The barrelhousing continued with the powerful bass notes, deep baritone vibes, and bold yet smooth vocals of “Tough It Out.”
“Killed By Love” was a glossily luscious number with a wonderful offbeat propulsion, bringing an electric storm of pneumatised energy: the type of jauntiness a hustling chanteuse would hanker after!
“Let Love Be the Leader” was a sincere outpouring of passion, while “Out of the Blue” was elegant and sensuous, with beautiful melodies and a soothing rhythm that illuminated the love found within. This wonderfully astute number allowed Jim to fully explore the frets, furnishing a bewitching solo.
For melodic rock history-buffs “That Girl” was the band’s first (recorded) track, found on the debut FM album Indiscreet (1986) and AOR fans might also remember that the number was successfully covered by Iron maiden for the ‘B’ side of their “Stranger in a Strange Land”. At Brighton, such renderings were skillfully executed with expressive shadings and elegant projection. This song is a superbly poised and vividly textured reflection on those wonderful times!
FM’s artistically tasteful compositions, bold musicianship and elegant atmospherics, brought joy & jubilation to the cheeriest venue on the South Coast. At the anniversary concert, the band’s timeless enthusiasm was highlighted through stunning vocals that elegantly harmonised with enthralling keyboard melodies, passionate rhythms, and exhilarating guitar breakdowns.
May their authority continue for another decade!
The new album is released via Frontiers Records on Friday May 3, 2024, and available to pre-order https://orcd.co/oldhabitsdiehard
Words: © Neil Mach
Photos: © Terry Marland
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