When in Rome London, there is no shortage of live music on any given night but you would be hard-pressed to find a better classic rock band than Uncovered. Featuring an all-star collection of musicians, who have ” day jobs” playing with the likes of Duran Duran, Uncovered are in this for the music and that passion comes across with every song. Taking the stage at the historic Bedford in south London, the band delivered a diverse collection of songs the touched on everything from blues to pop.
Opening with a raucous medley of songs by The Who, the energy of the room started high and never let up. After a few songs, guitarist Dom Brown asked for the air-conditioning to be turned off and we were soon feeling the heat. Each musician was able to shine in their own ways from keyboardist Michael Bramwell adding beautiful textures to “Everybody Wants To Rule the World” (Tears For Fears) to vocalist Anna Ross leaving everyone breathless with her take on Tina’s “Nutbush City Limits”. Bassist and vocalist John Hogg provided banter between the songs which turned the evening into a shared experience celebrating some of the greatest songs in the rock-n-roll canon.
Guitarist Dom Brown covered a lot of territory on the evening from the deep-space explorations of Pink Floyd to some dirty blues (Jimi Hendrix) but the underlying funkiness of his playing came through regardless of the song and his fret work on “Purple Rain” was one of several highlights during the set. Sitting on the edge of my seat as they came out for the encore, fully expecting a Bowie song or two to end the evening, I was caught-off guard then the band swerved into some Van Halen. What a great decision! Ending the night with “Jump” put a smile on everyone’s face as we headed for the train station to make our way back up to London. Well-worth seeking out wherever they play, Uncovered are the fresh re-invention of the classic rock canon that we need.
