Yes, the award-winning Legends Of Rock festival just gets bigger and better every year. Fifty bands, crazy fans, wild parties and even the loss of a prosthetic limb, just like Legends Of Rock 2024, whatever happens here in Great Yarmouth stays in Great Yarmouth. Thursday and Friday were the eye-openers, but Saturday morning was first about food.
Legends Of Rock Festival 2025
Words: Gavin Archer with Sara Harding
Photography: Sally Newhouse
Saturday
Saturday, with livers the size of Australia, we are soon sated with a bacon sarnie and Costa coffee. Then, it was time for more rock as Legends favourites Soulweaver took to the stage.
Fronted by Mark Goodge Goodjohn and his gorgeous Mrs Emma, they run through a brilliantly varied repertoire. There are elements of classic, punk and Metal. This band always deliver, and today, they steamed through their hit album Liberty.
One of the funniest things on Saturday was when a punter lost his mobile phone. It was handed to Jamie Lailey, who is the best MC ever with a foul mouth and a wicked sense of humour.
Said phone was unlocked, so Jamie used the phone to film the packed-out arena crowd calling the owner a knobhead. That went viral on the Legends socials.
Up next were one of our all-time top bands from West London innit! We are talking about Stray, fronted by our fellow Actonian Del Bromham. Stray have been treading the boards since 1966 and are still as fresh and relevant now.
At Legends Of Rock, they joyfully took us on a classic rock trip from early Stray right up to the present. Obviously, the main highlight is their most famous song, All In Your Mind, which was famously covered by Iron Maiden. Stray always delivers, and that is why they are still going strong and selling out gigs. So good we’ve all got the T-Shirt.
Young upstarts Jayler were the next band to review. Normally, we endeavour to review every single original act, but with the passing of the late, great Steve Göldby, we were a few reviewers down.
These dudes Jayler did not disappoint with their nods to Greta Van Fleet, and soon, the whole V lounge is bouncing from one song to the next. Highly impressive, these lads have got it and if any band here has the capacity to play UK arenas soon, it is likely to be these young men.
Next up are seasoned pros The Darker My Horizon. I saw singer/guitarist Paul Stead in Brentford when he was in Sacred Heart, so I was definitely looking forward to this gig. TDMH are a full-on melodic rock combo.
These guys nailed it, and as each song went by, the audience were eating out of their hands. Melodic rock is not dead. It has just evolved.
Saturday night at Legends is fancy dress, and they do it better here than anywhere else. My outfit was somewhat controversial, so I am moving swiftly on – Shamone!!!!
As for today’s smorgasbord of tributes, there were stellar setlists from Fleetwood Bac and Legends Of AOR, with the ridiculously talented singer and great friend Jimi Anderson firing out the best of ’70s and ’80s keyboard-heavy rock from Journey to Toto.
With Live/Wire, the finest tribute to AC/DC out there on the live music scene, delivering a highly electric set with full-on Angus stances, this was quality rock at its best. Sadly we missed Popestars, who were to play a tour de force set of Ghost anthems, but everyone was raving about them.
Legends of Rock 2025 – All the MetalTalk coverage is available from here.
All the MetalTalk Legends of Rock 2024 coverage can be read here.
You can relive Legends of Rock 2023 by visiting this link.
For Heavy Metal Legends Of Rock news, click here.
For film at Legends Of Rock, visit Punkrocksal on YouTube.
