When, after doing this for as long as the members of FM have done it, you have a beaming smile for a whole show, you must be loving your job. And, if everyone in the crowd, as they were at O2 Academy Islington, is also smiling throughout, you must be doing it right.
FM – Brave Rival
O2 Academy Islington – 18 September 2025
Words: Bogdan Bele
Photography: Robert Sutton
Tonight at the Islington Academy, we are celebrating Brotherhood. And when you say Brotherhood, you could be talking about the title of the very recently released new FM album. That is the occasion for this tour. Or you could be talking about the five guys on stage, in a very good late-career moment.
In case you were not aware, FM started their career way back in 1984 and released some great, and pretty successful at that, music until 1995. A split followed. Until 2007, that is, when what was supposed to be one show in Nottingham turned into a second part of their career.
And what a second part that is, with the band putting out some of its best music, with the new album by no means an exception. On top of that, they are also touring pretty much everywhere. And relentlessly so, if you look at the number of tour dates they constantly play.
It was not that long ago that I had the chance to see them on their acoustic tour. Tonight, though, is an electric night.
The O2 Academy Islington is not very far from being full tonight, and, while one might expect a crowd over a certain age for a band that’s deeply rooted in ’80s melodic rock, that is not entirely the case. The audience is of all ages, including some teenage fans sporting FM t-shirts.
The mighty FM, as their intro announcement goes, get on stage at their allotted time. What follows is, more or less, a trip through all the important points of their discography.
They start with Synchronized, from the album of the same title, always a very good intro. It is followed by the first opportunity the crowd has of joining vocalist Steve Overland for the chorus of I Belong To The Night. 
Turn This Car Around, a personal favourite of mine, follows, by which point I am certain of two things. Or I could also say that by this point, I have to ask myself two things. One: Is this band capable of writing something that is not an utter earworm? And two: How the hell does Steve Overland sing like that on a constant basis?
Because there is no doubt that he remains one of the finest voices in the genre. He seems perfectly capable of proving it tonight, with excellent backing vocals, it must be mentioned.
Of course, with a lot of help from the band, in the same line-up since 2008. Jim Kirkpatrick on guitar is excellent throughout (check out his solo blues rock stuff as well), with the rhythm section of bass player Merv Goldsworthy and drummer Pete Jupp as solid as you could ask for.
Last but not least, the “indestructible”, as called by Overland, cancer survivor Jem Davis’ keyboards are a massive part of that FM sound.
But let us not forget why we are here. It’s Brotherhood’s release tour. The first song from it to make it into the set is also one of the singles, the (again very catchy) Living On The Run. Only showing that the new record is as business as usual as it gets for FM. Don’t Call It Love also gets played from the album, later in the set, to a great reaction from the crowd. 
I could name a lot of highlights in tonight’s gig, old and new. For me, though, Black Water, with some of the best guitar parts and vocals in the band’s discography, certainly is one.
Of the older numbers, Dangerous sounds great, with that groovy bass track. It is one of their first-ever recorded songs, and Overland thanks those who have kept him in a job for all this time. Incredible, a song that was not part of the electric set until now, works very well in this format, pleasing the ballad fans in the room.
Like any band, FM can not keep some tracks out of the setlist, and some of them are grouped at the end, with That Girl (once covered by Iron Maiden), and Bad Luck, followed by Tough It Out (sung by everyone in the room). The regular set ends with Killed By Love.
But an encore is compulsory. It is a mix of old and new, with a keyboard solo from Jem Davis (“why bring one keyboard when six will do?”, to quote him), turning into the new song, Just Walk Away, as he is joined by the singer and then the guitarist.
A great night of AOR ends with Heart Of The Matter. As always, FM deliver the goods. 
Brave Rival
Tonight’s opener was supposed to be Rosalie Cunningham. However, unforeseen circumstances have forced a cancellation, with Brave Rival stepping in.
They opened several other shows on this tour for FM and would have really liked to play the O2 Academy Islington, as vocalist Lindsey Bonnick admits at one point. Wish granted, then.
Brave Rival make the most of it and prove why they are becoming increasingly popular lately. Despite recently parting with second singer Chloe Josephine, they remain a great live act.
It is a short and sweet set, with two songs coming from their imminent new EP. My highlight of the night was Bad Choices, but most of all Heavy, where Brave Rival are joined by FM’s Jem Davis for a blistering rendition of the song. A fantastic moment. 
