Understatement of the year would be to say that these recent UK dates from Heart have been a long time coming. 12 years to be precise. 12 years of scrolling through tour announcements eagerly checking for any dates that didn’t require a transatlantic flight. 12 years of reading gig reviews as the band continuously went out on the road in North America. 12 years of hoping… then, just when you think that all hope is lost, those three little words that you’ve been longing to read come staring back at you through the old interweb…“Heart UK tour”. Suddenly, the world seems a nicer place. Judging by the way that these dates sold so quickly, a great deal of people were thinking the same thing. 12 years, too long. Providing the starter, prior to the main course this evening, were much-loved British rockers FM, which turned out to be a masterstroke, as the band are old hands at working a crowd. With only 35 minutes to make their mark, the onstage chat was pretty much limited to simple ‘thank you’s, but Steve Overland is confident enough to indulge in some audience participation, and has the crowd clapping and singing along. They have a decent amount of core fans in the crowd who are making themselves heard, and the band look like they are enjoying what could be described as an Indian Summer. Last year’s ‘Heroes And Villains’ album was very well received and ‘Life Is A Highway’ slots in nicely alongside older tracks like ‘That Girl’, ‘I Belong To The Night’, and ‘Burning My Heart Down’. FM do a great job of warming the crowd up at such an early hour, and they take their bows and exit to a standing ovation. Oh Heart, how I have missed thee! As the band take to the stage, and the intro to ‘Wild Child’ begins,suddenly the last few decades roll back and we’re in 1990 and the ‘Brigade’ album is blaring out of my speakers for the first time.The driving low key beginning of the song leads into a trademark powerhouse vocal performance from Ann Wilson, and she nails every note with ease. She still possesses the most sensual and powerful voice in rock, and shows no sign of giving that crown up any time soon. Sister Nancy is on the left throwing the guitar hero moves that have been enthralling audiences for decades. Jumping, twirling, and kicking out, she is, as she always was, a joy to watch. Ably assisted by the four other band members, the Wilson sisters quickly set out to make up for lost time. 1990 gives way to 1976 as the band steamroller into ‘Magic Man’ from their debut album ‘Dreamboat Annie’ (which has just been lovingly reissued on vinyl as a 40th anniversary edition). An early airing for a genuine classic Heart track, that still manages to get the crowd rocking out 40 years on, and the interplay between Nancy and Craig Bartock is spellbinding to watch. Heart’s career could be split into three categories: pre ­big hair, big hair, then post­ big hair. ‘What About Love’ is the song that re­launched Heart’s career in the mid 80’s, and spawned the ‘big hair’ phase. Tonight, it’s slowed down and stripped back, and without any 80’s sheen, it still manages to get the arm hairs standing up, as Ann delivers another passionate vocal performance.