Lita Ford. Vixen. Bobbie Dazzle. London’s Indigo at the 02 on Thursday night… Lots of hair. Loads of leather. The A to Z of rock and metal poses. Amps turned up to a Spinal Tap 11. Sweat – on stage and off.
More than 1,000 rock fans turned out for this cracking gig called “Girls Night Out” and got big value for money with not one, not two, but three fabulous bands giving it some welly and proving beyond doubt; girls just wanna have fun.
Watching Lita Ford giving it her all vocally for her hour-long set, I just kept thinking: I hope I have half her moves, energy and lung power when I have been on the planet the 66 years she has. Lovely Lita looks fabulous too. Her mezzo-soprano range still in pretty good shape, I can report.
Born in London in 1958, but a US resident since the early 70s, guitarist and singer Lita Ford started her professional music career at the age of 16 as the lead guitar player for the all-female rock band The Runaways in 1975.
In 1982, Lita embarked on her successful solo career and launched her debut solo record, “Out For Blood”. In 1988, she released her most commercially successful album, “Lita”, which contained the hit single, “Kiss Me Deadly”.
In 1989, another single from the “Lita” album reached # eight on the US chart, her duet with Ozzy Osbourne on “Close My Eyes Forever”.
In addition to constant touring, Lita published “Living Like a Runaway: A Memoir” in 2016. Lita’s superb band includes drummer Bobby Rock, guitarist Patrick Kennison and bassist Marten Andersson.
Lita is back on these shores for the first time since 2017, for just three shows: two exclusive UK headline gigs with Vixen, in addition to a slot at Steelhouse Festival in Wales tonight (Friday July 26th).
Joining Lita in London last night, and on Wednesday night in Wolverhampton, were legendary 80’s all-female hard rockers Vixen. The Los Angeles-based band have sold several million albums, had six MTV #1 videos and four songs in the US chart. Their hits include “Edge Of a Broken Heart”, “Cryin”, “Love Made Me” and “How Much Love”.
Lita Ford setlist
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Gotta Let Go
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Larger Than Life
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Relentless
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Living Like a Runaway
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Hungry
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The Bitch Is Back
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Playin’ With Fire
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Back to the Cave
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Can’t Catch Me
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Cherry Bomb
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Black Leather
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Only Women Bleed
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Close My Eyes Forever
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Kiss Me Deadly
Just before the UK shows, Lita said: “OK everyone, it’s time to wreak havoc on London. I’m so excited to be back. Joining me will be four sexy-badass rock n roll bitches called Vixen. Together we are having a girls night out.
“So put on your sexiest rock ‘n’ roll attitude and join us on the 24th of July in London and the 23rd of July in Wolverhampton. With long awaited HUGE excitement to be back in the UK, there is no place like home. Can’t wait to see you there. It’s going to be magic!”
Well, I can tell you, the London show was just that: magic. Lita was “lit” as the kids say nowadays. But to be fair, so were Vixen. They kicked arse. Or if you are American, they kicked ass (but in the UK, that means they were cruel to a donkey!!!)
Lita’s penultimate offering of her hour-long, 14 song set was an emotional moment, when she urged the crowd to put on the lights on their mobiles and hold them up in tribute to her long-time friend Ozzy Osbourne, with the song they had a huge hit with back in 1988, “Close My Eyes Forever” [taken from the album “Lita”.]
Not a dry in the house, as they say. Me. I just had something in my eye, that’s all! [Lita was, of course, once engaged to Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, back in the day].
Sandwiched between “Not A Minute Too Soon” and “Hard 16”, Vixen paid their own tribute to Ozzy during a six song medley of covers; including Sabbath’s “War Pigs”.
The section began with Van Halen’s “Runnin’ With The Devil”, and then Vixen’s own 1988 song “I Want You To Rock Me”, followed by Deep Purple’s 1984 track “Perfect Strangers”.
The Beatles’ 1964 cut “What You’re Doing”, then the Sabbath track before Whitesnake’s 1987 song “Still Of The Night”, which prompted a drum solo from Vixen’s original member Roxy Petrucci. The medley ended with more of “I Want You To Rock Me”.
Vixen setlist:
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Rev It Up
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Charmed Life
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How Much Love
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Cruisin’
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Cryin’
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Not a Minute Too Soon
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Runnin’ with the Devil / I Want You to Rock Me / Perfect Strangers / What You’re Doing / War Pigs / Still of the Night / Drum Solo / I Want You to Rock Me
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Hard 16
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Love Is a Killer
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Edge of a Broken Heart
You know that fantasy dinner guest question you may have been asked sometime: Who would you have to your house for a dinner party; living or dead?
Well, I’d want Lita and all the gals from Vixen at my place – and a tape recorder on for the evening to capture a bunch of their rock and roll war stories, which I am sure would be enough hair-raising tales to fill several volumes.
That’s an open invitation for the next girls night out to Lita and Vixen ladies, by the way…I’ll cook and provide the wine! You bring the stories.
Special mention to the support act, Bobbie Dazzle. A five-piece, female-fronted glam rock and prog’ band formed in 2024 and the brainchild of singer-songwriter and flautist Siân Greenaway, aka Bobbie Dazzle. The debut single “Back To The City” was released in April 2024.
If you like The Sweet, Focus, Slade, T.Rex and their like; check out Ms Dazzle and her band.
- At this London show, Bobbie Dazzle walked on stage to “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath and then dedicated their third song to Ozzy, during a classy 30 minute set.
- STOP PRESS: Lita has finished making her first album of all-original material since her eighth studio album, “Living Like A Runaway” back in 2012, and it is due out soon…
All live photos by Liam Battersby
[Lita Ford in car photo by Teddy Allison]
[Vixen posed photo PR-supplied]
Words by Jacqui Wright
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