Earlier in the evening and just spitting distance across the road, I was in The Ambassador Theatre, in the company of Status Quo custodian Francis Rossi. Now, in a slick bit of continuity, his Quo bandmate Richie Malone and his band are plugging in to shake the foundations of Fibber Magees basement venue. So it would have been an act of supreme stupidity if I did not wander over, even if the 10:45 pm start is getting on for pumpkin time.
The Richie Malone Band
Fibber Magees, Dublin – 7 April 2026
Words: Brian Boyle
Photography: Alice Kiely
Dubliners are proud people. They love their city in exactly the same way a Status Quo fan’s passion and pride for the band runs deep. So when pure blue Dub Richie Malone got the call to join the band following the heartbreaking passing of Rick Parfitt, you can be sure this was a proud moment for fans from this city.
To put it lightly, tonight, The Richie Malone Band were a relentless wrecking ball. They strutted onto the snug stage to the closing chimes of AC/DC’s For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) and quite simply went for the throat straight away.
Juniors Wailing, Roll Over Lay Down and Paper Plane landed like three jabs right to the bridge of your nose. This is how you open a gig, no fluffing about, hit them hard and hit them fast. And that continued with Little Lady, to which you could see Malone really getting into his stride.
There was no let-up. The pace and power left you breathless, and from where I was standing, half deaf. I took the wise choice to move away from the big, ignorant speaker as my fillings started to rattle.
The main man was in riotous form, for the whole night, he had a smile on his face as wide as a Ronald McDonald 50-yard conversion.
His buddies are a nifty bunch of hooligans, too. Apparently, lead guitarist Jay Forbes was nervous. Jaysus, well, nerves suit him.
I do owe bassist Paul Wallace an apology. I had a little look up towards Fibber’s on the way to Rossi, but decided not to go any further due to a suspicious-looking character at the door. I got him wrong, and there was absolutely nothing sus with anything he did here tonight.
And still burning rubber from his eleventh-hour stint with The Rockers all-star band at the Phil Lynott Dedication gig in January, well-seasoned and in-demand drummer Grant Nicholas supplied all the rhythmic ammunition for Malone to fire the bullets.
The momentum dial never dropped. A classic medley of Backwater, Forty-Five Hundred Times, and Gotta Go Home kept the flow of that golden ’70s period material on gas mark eleven.
My attempt to scoot off to the bar for refuelling was then halted by the thump and thunder of Rain, a moment in the night that brought me right back to my parents’ good room’ and clutching that immortal Live album.
Another bar of Parfitt gold followed with the speed-loaded Mystery Song kicking shins in all over the place.
It was not all about the Quo, however. Wedged in at the back in a Beth Lynch inspired leopard skin shirt, sticksman Nicholas made his presence felt as he took the vocal reins for a proper barroom version of Brown Sugar. That party vibe stayed at a constant as Malone did his fellow Dub Phil Lynott proud with Rosalie letting it all hang out.
Those feeling Quo-sick after a two-song absence got rewarded with a Big Fat Mama for their trouble, which is still an absolute belter when it is given the full thrust.
Knowing he would not get to the top of the stairs with his limbs intact if he did not play Rockin’ All Over The World and Caroline, Malone did the right thing and hit the midnight hour with an ecstatic twelve-bar assault.
If you are going to try and top that, Whole Lotta Rosie is a tried and tested way to go about it. Though allowing the crowd real glasses while this boogie stick of dynamite is burning its fuse is dangerous territory. But what a way to end a hell of a night.
And hats off to those who sacrificed a bleary-eyed Wednesday at work to help make it what it was.
But multiple hats are tipped in the direction of those four lads who rounded off a wonderful evening for lifelong Status Quo fans.
Up The Dubs.
