Q has done it again!! Another epic topic that is going to cause everyone some major problems trying to whittle down their favourite 3 lead singers. Here is my contribution that is not eligible for any prizes but adds to the prize pool for all you lovely people. If you like the sound of the contest and want to enter then the main post is here

Where to start. Maybe bands that I have seen?

My first ever live gig was a fairly big deal. It was 1984, I was 11 and totally wet behind the ears. My uncle worked for the transport company for Simple Minds and he was able to get tickets for 4 of us. I was not a big fan at the time although I did like their stuff. We made the quick trip across the bridge from Bristol To Cardiff Arms Park. Wow, what an experience. I was absolutely blown away with the whole occasion. The stadium was huge, there were so many people there, the music was class and so much more impactful when heard live. What stood out most was Jim Kerr the lead singer. He had the whole place wrapped around his little finger and I felt myself caught up in that hysteria as well. He has a great voice but his stage presence was impressive. A life altering experience.

This is my favourite Simple Minds song and a cracking live version that I found on Youtube.

I have seen a few concerts over the years, in big and small venues. I went to see Bon Jovi at Wembley, actually it was the last ever event at old Wembley before they pulled it down and built that modern monstrosity. Bon Jovi were great, Jon is a good front man. Surprisingly though, I came away thinking about a support act that I was really impressed by. Del Amitri were awesome. They absolutely rocked Wembley with a big sound that belied the 4 piece that they were. Justin Curry led from the front with his melodic and slightly accented (Scottish) tones. He writes the lyrics as well and they have always struck a chord with me. We also saw the band in the Colston Hall in Bristol, a much smaller venue but we were right at the front.

Here is my favourite track 'Being Somebody Else'. Most of the footage I have found has been really low quality so I stuck with the official live recorded album version.

Another big gig was REM! Michael Stipe is infinitely watchable. His quirky nature and brilliant storytelling make him a joy to witness. Myself and @cryptowidow went to watch him/them at Cardiff for the Monster tour. We made our way to the front or near as damn it, and waited for the show to start. The atmosphere was building and then suddenly ‘What’s the Frequency Kenneth’ cranked up with that awesome guitar riff and everyone was bouncing up and down. It got pretty rough in the mosh pit and it was an REM concert!

A 2003 live version.

At the same amazing gig, one of the ‘support acts’, and I use the term loosely, was The Cranberries! What a great band live. Dolores O’Riordan, R.I.P., was pretty special. The band absolutely rocked and were loud, so it took an impressive voice to compete and boy did she have it!

‘Everybody Else is Doing it, so why Can't we’ is such a good album. It's another album from the 90's that tracks regularly find themselves on my playlist.

Here's a little 'Zombie' for you.

For my daughter's birthday a few years ago we bought her tickets to see Bastille. Jaime and I had been, and still are, big fans of theirs ever since the release of Bad Blood. We were living in Thailand at the time and the venue was in KL, Malaysia. The flight was only a short hop and relatively cheap and it was also a cool bit of daddy daughter time. The venue was absolutely tiny but the queue was massive. The band didn’t disappoint! They are very talented and creative and Dan Smith is a really good frontman with a distinctive voice.

The beautiful 'Oblivion'.

The Rolling Stones are a no-brainer here with Mick Jagger. My Brother and I took my Father to Twickenham in London to see The Stones for his 60th birthday treat. Watching a bunch of 60 something year olds kicking ass on stage, running around like they were teenagers, was a sight to behold. Mick has kept himself in impressive ‘match’ shape considering all the rock and roll abuse he must have put his body through over the years. He was masterful as the frontman and had everyone eating out of his pocket.

One of my favourite tracks 'Wild Horses'

I’ve had the good fortune to have seen Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin play live: with a band that shall be mentioned a little later, but I’ve never had the chance to see Led Zeppelin all together with Robert Plant. They must have been something special to have experienced which my Father will attest to. He saw them at the Colston Hall in Bristol many moons ago.

I would have loved to have watched Meat Loaf in his prime. Bat out of Hell is one of my all time favourite albums and Paradise by the Dashboard Light is a masterpiece of a track.

Some other class artists that I unfortunately haven’t had the opportunity to watch live are: Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), John Lennon (The Beatles), Bruce Dickenson (Iron Maiden), Michael Hutchence (INXS), Bono (U2).

Here are my top 3

Amy Lynn Hartzler (Amy Lee)

The Evanescence lead singer is powerful and absolutely relentless. She exhausts me just listening to her and sometimes trying to sing along and keep up with her. The band have always thrashed out some pretty drum heavy tunes that are right up my street and her vocals are so powerful I think, at times, the band are hard pushed to keep up.

Here is a great clip including a cracking selection of her great vocals on different tracks.

She is an exceptional talent as a songwriter, pianist and above all vocalist with unending energy and electrically charged delivery. The more I think about it, it’s interesting how often I go back and listen to Fallen (2003 album)

The stunning 'My Immortal'

Their new album (The Bitter Truth) is nearly finished: interrupted in production by Covid19, but they have already released ‘Wasted On You’ and in the last few days ‘The Game is Over’ which are both awesome.

Hot off the press!! 'The Game is Over' The video to the track is being released at 7pm Romanian time tonight (3rd July)

It's here!!!! :)

Dave Grohl

What a talent and what a guy! How could anyone not like him? He is so down to earth and friendly and I’m sure that that is pretty rare in someone so talented and so well known. The Foo Fighters are my favourite band and Dave is a huge reason why. I was first drawn to the Foo’s when I saw a few of their videos with their hilarious antics. If you don’t know what I am on about check out Learn to Fly, Everlong and Walk as a few examples of such.

The first album aptly named ‘Foo Fighters’ was made entirely from Dave's work. He wrote and sang the songs, played the drums, guitar and bass. It is all Dave. The fact that he was already a world class drummer is something but the fact that he has learned all these other instruments is testament to his genius. Tomorrow (4th July 2020) is the 25th anniversary of the release of the album. Great timing,

All Dave. This is 'Play' track starts at 8:15

He was famous enough as the drummer for Nirvana. His introduction to the world being that famous intro to Smells Like Teen Spirit.

That's Dave beating the shit out of those drums!!

It must be hard for Taylor Hawkins to compete, so it’s damn fortunate that Taylor is a world class drummer too!

I have seen Dave and the boys 4 times now. Wembley in front of 85 thousand fans, Paris (Rock En Seine festival), Budapest (Budapest Area) and Olympic Stadium in London. Every gig was different, every gig was class. Dave makes it that way. Don’t get me wrong, the band is class too. Taylor is an exceptional drummer and Pat, Chris, Rami, and Nate all combine to make that tight dynamic rock sound that makes the Foo's what they are. But Dave adds the cherry on the top and is the glue that binds them. I think he is a pretty hard task master.

If you’ve ever considered going to see them I would do it soon. The reason I say this is because Dave puts so much into his vocal performances that I cannot see his voice lasting much longer. Actually, in Budapest, his voice was starting to crack and I'm pretty sure they adjusted things to cope with it. He does tend to scream at everyone which usually brings a roar of approval from everyone and is kind of expected these days.

Farrokh Balsara (Freddie Mercury)

Queen are the only consistently loved band of mine throughout my whole lifespan. From the moment listening to music was important to me right through to this very day. It’s not often I will stop and listen to music of any kind without having at least one Queen track in the playlist. An early favourite of mine was 'Don't stop Me Now'.

Freddie in my opinion should win this month’s contest hands down and I don’t say that lightly. As a member of the top3 organisers and buddy to my friend Q, I don’t want to influence the nominations at all. We want everyone to express themselves and be truthful to their own preferences. That said and in this case why would you not pick Fred! For me he is the most charismatic, flamboyant frontman there is and we haven't even started on his amazing voice with the exceptional 4 octave range! ………..Say what now? :o

Not ever seeing Queen whilst Freddie was alive is a big big regret of mine. I’m going to leave you with a wonderful memory that I have of him. I watched Live Aid on TV. I was 11 nearly 12 years old and Queen and Freddie were on another level. The performance was everything that I imagine the perfect rock concert to be, powerful, exciting, emotional. I felt like I was there belting out the tunes right next to Freddie. They were stealing a crowd that was there for the multitude of other musical talent performing that day but they were on their own. Enjoy!

As it happened!! 21 glorious minutes of history in the making

Thanks for reading/listening

Gaz