British Lions DVD: "One More Chance To Run - Live Germany 1978"

Sleeve and track listing

Angel Air NJPDVD 631

Review

This takes me back. Not that I was there, mind, but I saw the Lions elsewhere and they were a good rock band with great potential. These days they are largely forgotten and remembered perhaps for being the last gasp of the remnants of what was once Mott The Hoople.

This is unfair - the marriage of Mott's rhythm section with a new front man with a proven track record (John Fiddler) should have reaped dividends. He lost the bushy moustache (and a few pounds) from his Medicine Head days and was now a lithe front-man. But with punk everywhere in 1978 bands like the Lions didn't stand a chance. Only one gig was ever filmed (for TV), and it is this show which is featured on this DVD.

This is a good show, and demonstrates what a great band the Lions were. John proves what a perfect front-man he is, Ray plays his guitar with real venom, Buff raises hell on the drums and Morgan (with what appears to be a five o'clock shadow - all is explained in the interviews section) is quite animated on the keyboards. Overend hardly gets a look-in on bass, preferring it seems to remain in the background.

The material is all taken from the Lions' debut album together with a couple of tracks that were unreleased at the time. No Mott-era material remains, as this was (to all intents and purposes) a new band and this DVD benefits from that.

Bonus features include five John Fiddler solo tracks (taken from the Medicine Head DVD), and revealing interviews with John Fiddler, Dale Griffin, Morgan Fisher and Ray Majors.

Within two years this kind of loud, heavy, hard-driving rock would be back in vogue but by then it was too late, the Lions having disbanded in the face of record company indifference and poor management. A shame, as they really were quite good. The evidence is finally here. Take a look - you won't be disappointed.