Review by Gary Spiller for MPM
The first day of summer according to meteorological realms passes us by as we combat the struggle to awake. Late Saturday had morphed into early Sunday courtesy of after-party post after-party. Never one to pass an opportunity to utilise a bit of alliteration today can be titled ‘Summery Sleazy Sunday’.
Whilst the variance of the previous two days has dropped a little there’s still a decent breadth of choice on offer throughout the final day of COTW’s 2025 chapter. One thing is for sure there’s no diminishment in the quality, which remains at its trademark elevated level right through to the last notes ring out into the Lincolnshire night skies.
The ’Hangover Slot’ on the final day of any festival is, in my opinion, the hardest of all the slots. Three or four, more in some cases, days of hard partying is bound to take its toll upon even the sturdiest of souls. Tasked with this challenge this morning is the completely unphased Spyder Byte.
One of a number of Call Of The Wild alumni who have graduated from the Trailblazer Stage this hard-hitting Kent quartet take on allcomers as if their headlining a sold-out Wembley. With a quick “Wassup” they get day three underway showing no mercy for any lingering deep-rooted fuzzy headedness that is still persisting. Well, with a certain Motörhead related beer most reasonably priced at a crisp fiver we suspect there are more than several.
Pummelling the showground with the punchy ‘On Time’, off 2015’s debut album ‘Addictive’, with a healthy number of rounds of “Hey, hey” COTW are soon onside, and folks begin to be drawn towards the Southall/Lawless stage. Literally formed as a teenage garage band some 15 years or so ago Spyder Byte bring plenty of warmth with them taking the fresh edge off the keen wind blowing across the arena.
Tumbling directly into their first post-Covid release ‘Double Dose’ it’s clear these Medway lads are on to a winner with this 2021 single. A self-professed “8-legged swaggering sleazy rock and roll machine” this quartet certainly live up to the billing. Sleazy metaller ‘Black Velvet Love’ is a standout and instant hook. There’s more than a touch of Randy Rhoads in the mid-track guitaring of Steven Speck; rightfully so it’s warmly received.
With the clock encroaching ever nearwards twelve the second half of the day’s first set is swiftly upon us. Two choice selections from the Byte’s most recent release – 2023’s ‘The Taste of Filth’ EP – bracket the bewitching ‘Succubus’. The high energy NWOBHM of ‘Front of the Pack’ and the rampaging ‘Hooked’ ensure an energetic finale that is lapped up by the hardy COTW crowd.
What do Alice Cooper, Jeff Lynne, Vixen, Lita Ford and The Sweet all have in common? This list of rock n’ roll crème de la crème acts are all being supported by Bobbie Dazzle in the coming months! The Upstaged team have genuinely pulled a genius masterstroke in being ahead of the game in booking this most summery of artists.
The alter-ego of former Alunah vocalist Siân Greenaway this 21st century take upon the 70s Glam came into being at the time of Greenaway’s sister passing. “I desperately needed an outlet to keep me going,” she says in her bio continuing “And it worked!” Well after a spellbinding 35 minutes there isn’t a dissenting voice to be heard, just the simple affirming cheers of a crowd that is, beyond doubt, in awe.
With a bluesey Southern intro ‘Flowers On Mars’, the closing number of BD’s stunning debut album ‘Fandabidozi’, swiftly hits the accelerator. With razor-wire sharp harmonies and a scrumptious prog-psych blending that wouldn’t be out of place on the score for ‘War of the Worlds’ Dazzle and her talented band setting about tearing up COTW in a bright and breezy manner.
The astrally ethereal ‘Merry Go Round’ alloys a 60s vibe with the clear love of 70s glam. We’re whisked off to hypnotic realms with the outputted summery ambience. There’s even time for a flute to make an outing to spice things up further, a first for COTW perhaps? Slicing a hard-edged riff into an infectious Austin Powers sort of ardour ‘Revolution’ casts the broadest of smiles. With more than a nod to Suzi Quatro’s ‘Can The Can’ midtrack it’s the perfect companion on this sunny afternoon.
The energetic trip of ‘Antique Time Machine’, immediately accessible, trucks along with a spacey frequency. Coruscant and shimmering it shifts gear as the five piece heading into a spine-tingling version of ABBA’s ‘Watch Out’. Exuberant keytarist Chris Dando (also vocalist in Mark Stanway’s Kingdom of Madness) bravely declares “Everyone wearing a cut is an ABBA fan!”
The infectious hard drive of debut single ‘Back To The City’ packs a Bowie-shaped punch prior to Greenaway relating the strong influence of her late father’s record collection. Using the lyrics that he had written and stored in one of his Bob Dylan records so ‘Lightning Fantasy’ hits the highway with a speedy momentum. Thus, in the reverse of the set-opener the band close with the opening track of last year’s album – a neat balance. Fandabidozi, you bet this band are! I’d stake an exceptionally large sum upon it.
By all accounts hard-rocking French quartet Harsh made one heck of an impression on last year’s Trailblazer stage that it was a given that they would return to these quarters sooner rather than later. It’s great to, once again, ‘cross paths’ with these lads, who hail from the French capital, having been impressed by them some six years ago supporting Häxan at Bristol’s Louisianna.
A self-declared ‘inferno waiting to explode’ Harsh set about, track by track, to provide all the necessary evidence to ensure that this will be the conclusion come the end of their set. Bedecked in an eye-catching combination of sparkly black and gold attentions are grabbed vigorously with the hard galloping rhythms of opening track ‘Think Twice’ with its redolence of peak-time David Lee Roth COTW rocks along.
A seriously rumbling bassline, courtesy of Julien Martin, and the hip-swaying Aerosmith lines of ‘The Sound She Does’ swaggers in. Off the forthcoming record it’s bold and brassy with a large side order of attitude; this is, indeed, a band on the very verge of exploding. Seismic shockwaves quake outwards as the crowd engages during ‘Don’t Mess With Me’. Think along the lines of a glammed-up Saxon and you will be along the correct lines.
Guitarist Séverin Piozzoli and Martin ‘battle’, six strings versus four respectively, one another for centre-stage bragging rights. Frontman Albert Arnold looks on declaring “I didn’t know a bass could do that!” before exhibiting his own conflagrant fretwork. Fuelled by high-grade kerosene ‘Tease Me’ instils a ZZ Top-esque rasp as Arnold descends to the barrier to ‘feed’ the front-row from a super-sized bottle of Jack Daniels.
A seriously sprightly version of Michael Sembello’s Flashdance smash ‘Maniac’ provides yet another bolt from the blue; COTW 2025 seems to have provided a good few this weekend. A pulsating 40 minutes is rounded off with ‘Good Lovin’’; a playful meld of Ozzy and Poison. Once again full marks to the COTW ethos of keeping the faith in the emerging bands.
Bach’s ‘Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 Air’ serenely floats over COTW as a stiff breeze slices across the showgrounds. All the while Norway’s Suicide Bombers quietly go about collating their forces. A thunderclap suddenly rolls and a voice, right out of the cataclysm introduces ‘the four horsemen of sleazy punk’ in ominous fashion. Well, apparently, it’s all for the candy as the intro concludes cascading and tumbling into the set opener.
They’re unashamedly bold and brash getting right into the arena crowd from the very start. “We are the boys” sneers the vivid frontman Chris Damien Doll in the brazenfaced ‘Dynamite Playboys’. Immediately the thought that if, however improbable the concept actually is, Johhny Rotten and Zodiac Mindwarp sired offspring via some biologically bizarre procedure then the four ‘cogs’ of the Suicide Bombers would surely be representative of the dynamitic end result.
Screaming full cry like the proverbial bat out of their Oslo hq this is a completely new-to-me band, and I’m swiftly swept along by their tsunami of sleazy punk. With touches of Mötley Crüe in the opening number there’s grimy smears of New Model Army in the following ‘Let’s Rock n’ Roll’. The Les Paul out stage right howls as we rewind back to ‘Criminal Record’, the first of their five albums to date, as orders are obeyed.
‘Ready For Tonight’ succeeds in its mission to get heads nodding before we’re introduced to the intergalactic freighter that is ‘All For The Candy’. Having been on tour across the UK for the last fortnight SB cut a lean, mean hard-rocking machine with no signs of fatigue. This is their first visit to these shores and they’re making a lot of new friends along the way. Dispensing with his sunglasses Doll declares COTW “the best-looking audience of the year!” after ripping through the low-slung sleaze of ‘Murder Couture’.
With a pummelling bass that would make Lemmy shudder ‘Tonight Belongs To Us’ takes us into nocturnal territories even with the Lincolnshire blazing down. ‘So Bad’ is utterly rabid; rowdy and raucous it’s lapped up voraciously. Worthy of note Is the band’s clever utilisation of tapes to fill the voids between tracks. Be it intros or an unashamed plug for merch they fit right in not impinging upon the main output.
Afterburners are fully lit and engaged for the pyromaniacal ‘Suicide Idol’; the Rocket Mesiah has well and truly landed. An all-action ‘Bladerunner (Tokyo Nights)’, bristling with testosterone, wraps a bustling three quarters of an hour. Kudos all around; COTW is setting out its stall as a festival that revels in hosting international acts that might, otherwise, find it more challenging to tour on these shores. Over-and-motherfucking-out as they say in Oslo.
From the ridiculously good sleaze of Suicide Dolls to the sublimely emphatic, blues-driven rock of Brave Rival. It’s definitely a case of polar opposites as we switch across to the Southall/Lawless stage. The UK Blues Federation Band of Year 2025 Brave Rival were a late, but most welcome, addition to the Call Of The Wild billing following the sad withdrawal of Aussie sensation Cassidy Paris.
The svelte delivery of this Portsmouth quartet is a perfect companion on this sunny afternoon, one which breaks up the day neatly with a timely lowering of tempo but without any degradation of impact. It’s the first time I’ve seen the band since the departure, at the turn of the year, of co-founder and one half of the bewitching vocal duo Chloe Josephine, I wonder how the band has regrouped since this devastating hammer blow.
The answer to my wondering is swiftly delivered within the four minutes or so of opening number ‘Heart Attack’. Atop searing bluesey guitaring from Ed Clarke and an ever-steady foundation laid down by onetime Albany Down bandmates Donna Peters (drums) and Billy Dedman (bass) Lindsey Bonnick despatches expansively ascending vocals. Thrust into the full glare of the spotlight Bonnick more than ably fills the void; was there ever any doubt?
From the opening track of their debut album ‘Life Machine’ we’re transported forward in time by the ballsy blues-rock of ‘Bad Choices’, coincidentally the opening song from last year’s well-received sophomore release ‘Fight Or Flight’. Bonnick descends, mid-track, to her knees to admire the fiery six-stringing of Clarke from a slightly different angle. The on-stage chemistry is palpable.
An impeccable accompaniment for a chilled Sunday afternoon Brave Rival rock out with the sharpened claws of ‘Stand Up’ before rolling, with an express train pace, headlong into a rough-edged ‘Run and Hide’ replete with a respectful homage to Fleetwood Mac’s legendary ‘The Chain’ thrown into the mix; there’s even a touch of Roxette too within the track itself. What seems apparent, in the glorious sunshine, is that Brave Rival have stepped up a couple of gears with a much rockier despatch that the last time I saw them live at Love Rocks Festival.
Like a tiger on the prowl ‘On The Next Round’ – tucked away on the deluxe version of ‘Fight Or Flight’ – seeks its prey with smiles all around. An ethereal, arenaceous intro heralds the slinky ‘What’s Your Name Again?’; a cautionary tale of the perils of overdoing the intake of alcohol it rightfully garners a most warm of receptions.
Described by Bonnick as the band’s power ballad ‘Heavy’ possesses sultry yet gentle tones capable of chasing the meanest of storm clouds away; not that this attribute is required today, however. With expansive vocals and a tight-as-you-like band despatch it soars effortlessly on unseen thermals. Closing number ‘Fairytale’ provides a beguiling and captivating sign-off. Impressed? Keep your eyes peeled for a forthcoming EP launch in October at London’s 100 Club and a homecoming Christmas show in Portsmouth alongside a raft of gigs right across the UK.
Fuelled by several months’ worth of jammie dodgers local heroes Knock Out Kaine have hot footed it up the A5 from their secret Lincoln hideout for a ‘one night only’ reunion gig here at Call Of The Wild. Featuring, for the first time in eight years, the original lineup of Dean Foxx (vocals), Lee Byrne (bass), Jimmy Bohemian (guitar), and Danny Krash (drums) KOK are back where they firmly belong.
“It was a risky business wearing white pants!” notes Foxx, a couple of songs into their very well-received set, alluding to the combination of nervousness and his choice of lower limb clothing. Come the end of a rabble-rousing hour as the quartet take the deserved adulation for one last time there wasn’t any need to have been concerned as they have smashed it right out of the park.
Taking to the Kilmister Stage to ‘Hooray For Hollywood’ it’s lights, camera, action via a preacher’s rant! With the sun setting out behind the stages KOK thunder straight into the utterly debauched banshee wail of ‘16 Grams of Heart Attack’. The rumbustious reception seems to take Foxx by surprise commenting “Fuck me! This is a family show but fuck me!”
A strongarmed cover of Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ brings more than a dash of Wrathchild to the party with Foxx enthusing “C’mon you fuckers” as the track outros. There can be no doubting that Knock Out Kaine are enjoying this one last soiree. Byrne, part of the COTW organisational team as well as being the bringer of bass, waves enthusiastically to the adrenalized crowd during the infectious groove of ‘Cascading’. It’s all stardust and treacle according to my notes.
The rock n’ roll avalanche continues with a doff of the cap to ‘Flesh & Blood’ era Poison in the glam form of ‘Skin Star’ as the rainclouds that have plagued the previous couple of hours are chased off northwards. The contagious cheer of lowdown and dirty sleaze rocker ‘Ain’t Your Kind’ maintains the high echelons of party.
Clearly a fan favourite ‘Back St Romeo’ winks a cheeky eye. Cloaked in dappled sunlight the balladic ‘Coming Home’ embraces warmly before slipping into a segment of the unforgettable ‘Auntie Val’s Vaginal Douche’ that brings a slice of Knees Up Mother Brown to the proceedings. “That was for old time’s sake” states a beaming Foxx.
‘Little Crystal’ hustles and bustles leading into the sultry bang, bang, boom swagger of ‘Time’. Bohemian despatches a bluesey solo as Foxx sinks to his knees. The jaunty ‘Boxes’ sees Byrne and Foxx touchingly embrace with the former asking, “Is this gonna be the last one we ever play?”
KOK finish with an absolute Bonafide anthem with the grandiose AOR of ‘Flying Blind’. An emotionally charged Byrne bombs about the stage hugging his bandmates, throwing his bass to the floor before ascending the riser to grab Krash. If you’re gonna end things, then end things on a high. Knock Out Kaine have just proven this old adage with this joyous romp through the first two albums ‘House of Sins’ and ‘Rise Of The Electric Jester’.
With style and substance in considerable, but balanced, amounts the shadowy figures of Sweden’s Trench Dogs take to the Southall/Lawless Stage against a gorgeous backdrop provided by the descending sun for their headline set. Paving the way for fellow Scandinavian Michael Monroe’s festival closing set this quintet set about COTW in their own indomitable fashion. With as much sashaying as a collision between Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones were treated to a mighty slab of Stockholmania; from Paris to Oslo via the likes of Lincoln and Portsmouth the final day of COTW has served up a geographical rock n’ roll tour.
Fronted by the unique vocals of Australian Andi Hekkandi (who moved from Melbourne to Stockholm with the intention of forming a band) it’s rapidly apparent that the Trench Dogs are a 21st century incarnation of the Dogs D’Amour and The Quireboys with tasty slices of such luminaries as The Faces and The New York Dolls.
Gloriously glam and fully preening ‘Self Sabotage’ – off their 2015 debut ep ‘Fashionably Late’ – raises contagion levels to exceed extremely dangerous. There’s room for a sizzling guitar solo, with a southern drawl, as this hi-energy troupe despatch a lively bounce. With an infusion of T. Rex and the Stones ‘Kids!’ I’m half expecting Bolan along with Jagger et al to make an unexpected appearance. The infection warnings are fully illuminated, proceed at your own peril!
Rock n’ roller ‘Georgian Red’ imbibes the good times slipping seamlessly, as per the ‘Stockholmiana’ long-player, into the cheery ‘Colourful’. Melding the Quireboys and The Faces ‘Rattlin’ Bones’ detonates wildly following a gentle acoustic intro. A multi-hued avalanche ‘A Little Overdressed’ rollicks along without a care in the world. With rock as good as this being a little overdressed can be completely forgiven.
The brand-new single ‘Cobblestone Waltz’ emits a Cockney essence prior to the helter skelter mayhem of ‘The Gin Beat’ guides us into the second half of the set. Beneath cloudless skies a drop in tempo with ‘Ode to Ashes’ enables COTW to catch its breath. Harking back to the Dogs D’Amour’s mix blues rock and glam punk (consider The Faces allied with Hanio Rocks) it’s a beautiful diversion.
Replacing his bassist’s errant headwear in catchy refrain ‘Skulldug and Headsick’ Hekkandi smiles the ‘smiliest’ of smiles. ‘Maroon’ lathers up effervescently as the five-piece strike top gear heading into considered number ‘Wine Stained Eyes’. Enchanted the arena crowd are in determined mood to enjoy the last few hours of the festival. Tousled rocker ‘Homesick Parade’ is the perfect energetic set-closer evoking the spirit of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis with the fireworks lit by the appearance of Continental Lovers and Suicide Bombers for a riotous finale. Roll over motherfucker!
The man, the myth, the legend Michael Monroe – what’s left to be written about this genuine rock n’ roll star? – gets the honour of the closing headline slot of this year’s Call Of The Wild Festival. The Lincolnshire dusk is busy falling with the moon waxing towards its first halfness of the month; beneath the tiger awaits to strike with lightning precision.
With a rat-a-tat commencement Monroe and his fellow glam-rocking gunslingers step forwards into the blazing spots stampeding into the ballsy ‘Dead, Jail or RnR’. The first of nineteen tracks, with Monroe on a freight-train harmonica, gets the COTW crowd singing along from the very start. Monroe, definitely not shy of the spotlight, hits up the barrier connecting with the front few rows. Behind him his band – consisting of guitarists Steve Conte and Rich Jones, bassist Sami Yaffa and drummer Karl Rockfist – kick up a storm.
Hi-kicking back on-stage Monroe leads the way, as ever, into the anthemic ‘I Live Too Fast To Die Young’ – the title track of his most recent solo album – with all the energy of a whole warren full of Duracell bunnies. A couple of weeks shy of his 63rd birthday there is no sign of him slowing down. He’s clearly thriving on the live fast principals.
An alloying of The Stooges and New York Dolls ‘TNT Diet’ presents the first opportunity for Monroe to pick up his trademark red saxophone. The first of five tracks craned in from his 2013 album ‘Horns and Halos’ it stampedes into sleazy Stateside rocker ‘Eighteen Angels’ to form a coupling from this release. Clearly a record Monroe has a considerable amount of time for.
The first two thirds of the set focuses, in the main, upon the solo releases of the last few decades with the joyous romp of ‘Last Train to Tokyo’ ushering forth Conte for the solo. There’s one early, isolated incursion into the Hanoi Rocks back catalogue with the subway rocking of ‘Motorvatin’’. It sears a fiery trail before the attention switches back to the latest release – 2022’s ‘I Live Too Fast To Die Young’; – with an inspection of the tubthumping ‘Young Drunks and Old Alcoholics’ that possesses a slight rockabilly feel to it.
The semi-balladic rocker ‘Man With No Eyes’ strikes the Van Halen ore deposit before accelerating headlong into hurtling forces of ‘Soul Surrender’. A softer creative side is exposed in ‘Stained Glass Heart’ with Monroe’s ‘antics’ continuing to catch the eye. One minute he is prone, singing whilst lying on his stomach the next slipping into the now empty photo pit.
Applying top gear Velvet Underground ‘Old King’s Road’ surges along with unstoppable dynamics. There’s no time to draw breath before Monroe declares, in the fast-paced sleaze of ‘Trick Of The Wrist’, “I have a nasty habit!” With as much punch as Mötley Crüe ‘’78’ takes no prisoners with Monroe ascending the stage uprights with an attentive spotlight faithfully following his every move.
Sat out on the front stage speakers Conte and Monroe despatch the heartfelt ‘Ballad Of The Lower East Side’ that brings a touch of Guns n’ Roses to this corner of Lincolnshire. The easy feel of the Rocks’ ‘Don’t You Ever Leave Me’ rolls back the years with Monroe sincere in his appreciation of the festival and its crowd.
With the demolition wrecking ball of ‘Nothin’s Alright’ and the reflective sleazy punk of ‘Hammersmith Palais’ Monroe’s short-lived project Demolition 23 takes centre stage. There’s only one way to close the show and Monroe and co. willingly oblige with the punked up 12 bar fury of ‘Malibu Beach Nightmare’ and the set-ending genius cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Up Around The Bend’. Ever wonder how to cover a song and make it your own? Look no further than this.
It’s a phenomenal manner in which to finish 2025’s edition of Call Of The Wild and all that remains to be said is a massive thanks to Dave, Jon, Lee, Raz, and their team for all their efforts and generous hospitality. As we wind our way back to the motorhome, so our thoughts begin to think a year ahead with Onslaught, Wolfsbane, King Kraken and Wicked Smile – amongst others – already announced. Tickets for next year are available here.
Photography by Kelly Spiller for MPM
