At the dawn of the 80s, Rocky Shades fronted the over-the-top antics of UK’s Wrathchild: leather/studs, big platinum-dyed hair and bigger nails/spikes. Imagine a sleaze/glam Venom. Like the contemporary Newscastle trio, there was no way to tell if they were dangerous, or disastrous: a trainwreck waiting for the wheel to fall off. Given the recent glam resurrection, centered in Sweden, the likes of Lipstixx N Bullets, Crashdiet and Crazy Lixx all owe a debt to their English elder statesman. However, do we want aged glamsters singing “sho nuff” to a musical backdrop of slap bass and whaka-whaka guitar (‘Angel On My Back’)? Hell, no! Like an aged drag queen who still dresses the part, oblivious to the original intent (shock, fun, other), Shades seems to just be going through the motions, slo-mo at that. Where’s the high energy tales of debauchery, drink or dames? Sadly missing, as is any sense of urgency/intensity.

The signature tune comes closest and ‘That’s What Sunday Mornings Are For’ has a little bang for the buck. I doubt he ever passed his O Level exams, but the lyrics are sophomoric and would never have risen above third division, back in the day. While the cover art announces the title as “No Second Take”, the digitally encoded info says ‘All Hail The Wasted’, which is also the lead track.