Gig Review: Spear of Destiny at Rescue Rooms

I first became aware of Spear of Destiny in 1987 when I heard their hit single Never Take Me Alive played on Radio Caroline. At the time they were broadcasting from a converted Icelandic trawler, which had seen its final days fishing out of the port of Grimsby before being converted into an offshore radio station.

Formed in 1983, by Kurt Brandon and Stan Stammers after the demise Theatre of Hate, Spear of Destiny were at the vanguard of the post punk movement. They have seen many personnel changes over the years, with Kurt Brandon being the sole survivor of the original band, and today’s line-up being the longest standing to date.

Kurt Brandon has chosen this incarnation wisely with bassist Craig Adams having played in The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission and The Cult. Guitarist Adrian Portas has distinguished himself in New Model Army and Sex Gang Children, whilst drummer Phil Martini served time with Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind, as well as Wayward Sons to name but two. 

Kurt Brandon is the veritable Dorian Gray of post punk music, looking as young as he ever did. Passionate in his love of music and its fans, he believes in giving value for money and tonight is no exception, as it was a case of buy one get two free in the form of two excellent support acts. Both bands pleasantly surprised me with what proved to be top quality performances and post punk/goth/rock influences in their music.

The first of the support bands, Dollface Reunion, featured Spear of Destiny’s guitarist, Adrian Portas, who was apparently working a double shift. Dollface Reunion played a well received set that reflected Adrian’s influences in his time with his former bands, with songs that contained basslines and drumming suggestive of that period, along with heavier rock elements, all the time with Adrian’s distinctive guitar work to the fore. In the past Adrian has played an impossibly low slung distinctive green Gretsch, but tonight I noticed that he’d changed it to a Gibson Firebird, slung every bit as low in the same familiar playing posture. Mentioning the change to him after the show, he succinctly replied that “It is now the age of the Firebird.”

During the short break before the next band who were Cheeks from Ashville, North Carolina USA, I got chatting to a photographer who’d I seen in the photography pit. He told me that Cheek’s drummer for tonight was Alex Baum, who is also the current drummer in The Mission, and therefore the only band member not from the USA for tonight’s show.

What happened shortly afterwards when Cheeks hit the stage stopped me dead in my tracks, as all my senses were assaulted head on with an amazing show of no nonsense, full-on noise rock. The song that caused this sensory epiphany was Butchery Summer, with some deliciously distorted guitar sounds courtesy of Cheryl Lyndsey, who wasn’t skimping on the use of the effects pedal either. Although loud and raucous, there was a certain melodious sound that pervaded the song, with Cheryl’s vocals adding a certain delicacy, which blended beautifully with Chadwick McRorie’s vocals. 

The audio assault continued with Transmission Interrupted; Alex’s relentless drumming was an unstoppable force to be reckoned with, thanks to some electrifying guitar work from Tony Bones as well as Chadwick’s frantic vocals. If that was exciting then the final number, Hi List 2 Die List, blew the rest out of the water. Announcing its arrival with a gut shaking bassline from Luke Whitlatch, the whole number was deliriously delightfully complete, with furious duelling guitars, crazy vocals and persistent drumming throughout. Make no mistake this band, although fairly new to the scene, are going to make a big impression in the future - so make sure to check them out soon. They have a great Bandcamp page, where you can get all the sticky on the band and listen to their latest tracks.

After picking myself up after Cheeks’ awesome performance, it was time for the business in hand, aka Spear of Destiny.  Bang on time and without any fuss the band - led by a fresh faced Kurt Brandon sporting a ‘This Is The Voice Of The Mysterons’ tee shirt - took up their respective positions on stage. Tonight’s lineup comprised just the core four piece with occasional band members, saxophonist Clive Osbourne and keys player Steve Allen Jones, both absent on this occasion.

After the cheering had died down and without undue delay, the band started their set by revisiting their popular One Eyed Jacks album with Young Men being the first number of the night. A few more tracks from that particular album were played including Rainmaker and These Days Are Gone. Spear of Destiny have an extensive back catalogue going back over forty years, so selecting a setlist that would prove to be popular wasn’t going to be a difficult task. If ever there was even the remotest of chances of any of the band forgetting any of the lyrics to the songs, then the faithful fans in the audience would prove to be the best of prompters, as they sung along to all of the songs word perfect.

The whole set was so tight that it squeaked, the musicianship shining through like a bright light, the whole band a testament to Kurt Brandon’s long time expertise of his art. Adrian Portas’ mastery of his beloved Gibson Thunderbird was plainly evident as man and instrument bonded together in close harmony, hitting the highest notes to perfection with the ‘Cry Baby’ wah wah pedal assisting that ascension to musical nirvana perfectly. 

Phil Martini demonstrated why he is undeniably in the right job with some powerful drumming on the intro and throughout the whole of Pilgrim, with Craig Adam’s thumping bass adding to the overall pervading energy of the number, all bound up with Kurt’s distinctive and commanding vocals. There was more of the same with Junkman, with authoritative drumming, heavy goth-influenced basslines, and Adrian’s Gibson seemingly reaching for the stars.

Among other numbers played on the night that I took a liking to, not least because of the story behind it, was Iceman - a track from the album Volunteers, which also featured their biggie, Never Take Me Alive. This number was more downbeat than some of tonight’s offerings, having a definite spooky and mysterious atmosphere, with Kurt Brandon having written the song after learning about a 5000 year old mummy found in the ice in the Italian Alps.

Three more numbers, finishing up with World Service, were played before the stage went dark and the band trooped offstage to much cheering and the inevitable shouts of ‘More!’ With the exception of very few bands that I’ve seen, an encore is the inescapable outcome at the end of a gig, and tonight was to be no different. After a short period of time, the band did indeed reappear to do a three song encore, kicking off with Playground of the Rich closely followed by the ever popular Mickey. It now seemed obvious that Never Take Me Alive was not going to be played: in fact of all the band’s gigs I’d seen previously, it had been included in the main playlist. However the final song, which was Liberator, more than made up for its omission. At this point the crowd upfront exploded with all the energy projected onto it from the band, leaping around with their fists pumping the air in ecstatic celebration of what was indeed a fabulous finale.

After the band had left the stage Kurt spoke to the crowd, encouraging them to ignore all the darkness and negativity propagated in social media. Instead, he asked the crowd to acknowledge the unity that music offers, bringing people peaceably together rather than dividing them. His words rang true as I made my way home, reflecting on tonight’s performance and with everybody at the gig intent on having a good time, unanimous in their love of music.

Spear of Destiny played Rescue Rooms on Wednesday 27th May 2026.