Gig review: Cast at Rock City

It's been 30 years since the release of Cast's album All Change, which spawned hits such as Alright, Walk Away, and Sandstorm and peaked at number seven on the UK Album Charts. The record received critical acclaim from the music press, while Cast maintained their indie roots and remained firm favourites during the Britpop era.

Released on 16th October 1995 during an exciting time in UK pop culture, All Change came just two weeks after Oasis' What's The Story (Morning Glory?), and just over a month before Frank Bruno defeated Oliver McCall to become world heavyweight champion, the month after, Martin Bashir conducted his infamous interview with Princess Diana. It was all going off.

I was nine years old and just starting my fifth year at Gotham Primary School when All Change was released, and despite seeing the band on Top of the Pops, I was a bit young for them to make an impact at the time.

It was a few years later when I began watching music documentaries and building my CD collection via the mail-order Britannia Music Club and trips into town to buy second-hand albums from Selecta Disc at the top of Market Street that my interest in Cast piqued.

I'm not the only one who likes a trip down memory lane, though; when I arrived at Rock City, you could hear conversations among the mixed-age crowd about times spent at the venue, people reminiscing about gigs and club nights from their carefree, younger days.

It was fitting that the support act was Pastels, a young band who have been described as "indie shoegazers." The five-piece cite The Charlatans and The Verve as influences as they blend a 90s sound with a contemporary energy (you can see them at The Bodega on 15th March).

Cast has welcomed a few members since the release of All Change 30 years ago. Frontman and rhythm guitarist John Power has been ever-present, and he's been joined on stage by fellow Scousers Liam "Skin" Tyson on guitar and backing vocals, and drummer Keith O'Neil; bassist Jay Lewis completed the line-up.

They kicked off the final show of their celebratory tour with the B-side to Alright, Follow Me Down. This first big tune of the night was Sandstorm, which peaked at number eight in the charts back in January 1996 and went down a storm at Rock City in 2026.

The upbeat and melodic Back of My Mind was sandwiched between Finetime and Walk Away as the set gathered pace. The highlight of the evening, for me, was the 11th track of change, History.  The song is a bit more psychedelic and by the looks of it, right up Tyson's street, as you could see he was loving every minute of History, wailing on his guitar and vibing with Powers.

For all the reminiscing, this wasn't just a nostalgia-fest as Cast included post-All Change tracks in their set list, and it was a smart move. 

The band released two more albums in the 1990s, Mother Nature Calls and Magic Hour, which went top 10 in the charts, and has released four albums since 2001, with another on the way.

There was some call and response between Powers and the audience when talking about Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, the new album due for release on the 30th January, every time it was mentioned, the Rock City crowd repeated, "yeah, yeah, yeah," a trend Powers joked would be "sweeping the nation" come release day.

Songs like Poison Vine, which feature soul singer P.P. Arnold on the album, and the uplifting Free Love sound promising and are a sign that Cast still have the enthusiasm for new music.

There was a brief break before ending with classics Guiding Star and the raucous Free Me to a rapturous reception, and an extended jam session for O'Neil and Lewis.At the end of that breathless outro, the band linked arms to signal the end of their renaissance in 2025 and more of the same in the year ahead. 

"Thank you, Nottingham, la."

Cast performed at Rock City on 18th January 2026.