As Glenn Hughes alludes to midway through his barnstorming set, promoters don’t like this kind of tour from him. They want a Deep Purple-related anniversary tour that they can splatter all over the billboards: like the “Glenn Hughes presents…Classic Deep Purple Live” tour from a few years back, that kind of thing. Heavens forbid if the bona fide rock legend wants to colour outside of the lines and perform deep cuts from all facets of his 6-decade-long career, as well as play some new music. And that’s exactly what he is doing on this tour, dubbed “The Chosen Years Tour”, which the UK leg came to a stunning conclusion in Glasgow.

You have to admire a performer like Hughes, who has such an enviable back catalog that he can mix things up without compromising his style. One glance at Setlist FM reveals that some of the songs performed on this tour have not been played in a long time, and it has been eight years since the Cannock-born groovester delivered a set that wasn’t so heavily influenced by his time with Deep Purple. Although cut by a few songs due to the dreaded curfew, there is something for everyone in this set, and more than a few surprises.

As Hughes tells the audience before his set ends, Sophie Lloyd first came to his attention when he caught her on YouTube shredding through a cover of the Deep Purple classic ‘Burn’. He was impressed enough to reach out to her, and a friendship was formed, with the result being that the YouTuber/content creator/live guitarist for Machine Gun Kelly, and now, solo star, is special guest for the eight UK shows.

Having made her name as an instrumentalist and a shredder, Lloyd’s 45-minute set is a game of two halves. First, there are the high-energy instrumentals that also saw Sophie perform in front of millions before the recent Women’s Rugby World Cup Final at Twickenham Stadium in London (the official video of her performance is currently sitting at 1.5 million views). In amongst covers of ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’, ‘Thunderstruck’, and ‘Enter Sandman’, which seem to be included to get the crowd moving, as well as getting any naysayers on her side, is the stunning original composition ‘Delusions’, which, judging by Sophie’s comments onstage, has a special place in her heart. The Maiden-esque gallop of ‘Battleground’ gets the blood pumping, the heads bobbing, and fists raised in appreciation.

And then there are the moments where vocalist Marisa Rodriguez from Marisa and The Moths joins Sophie and her amazing band to perform songs, all culled from the debut full-length album, the guest-vocalist-laden ‘Imposter Syndrome’ released in 2023. Rodriguez is a performer built for larger audiences than her day job currently caters to (a shame considering how good MaTM are), and this collaboration with Sophie Lloyd works perfectly, as there seems to be a genuine connection rather than simply Marisa being a hired hand. Her vocal range has grown considerably over the last few years, and she is comfortable adding a few growls and screams to ‘Hanging On’. If there are any nerves about recreating the studio vocal parts from Lzzy Hale, Chris Robinson from Black Stone Cherry, Lauren Babic, and Michael Starr from Steel Panther, then it doesn’t show, and her version of ‘Imposter Syndrome’, which featured Lzzy Hale, is especially noteworthy.

Sophie Lloyd will always have her detractors because of her YouTube background, and no doubt will have encountered the “name 3 b-sides” brigade, but social media is here to stay, and performers no longer have to cut their teeth schlepping up and down the motorways in a splitter van. Lloyd is here on merit and talent, and young kids will look to her as an inspiration, which can only be a good thing, as fresh blood is always needed to keep the genre alive. Tonight, sisters are doing it for themselves, and more power to them.

With Glenn Hughes set up on the far side, long-time guitarist Soren Andersen on the near, and powerhouse drummer Ash Sheehan knocking the living hell out of his kit from the middle, Christ, it’s loud. Damn loud. Opening track, ‘Soul Mover’, is so heavy that it can be felt in the guts, especially every hit from Sheehan, and every thick bass lick from the maestro himself. Dayum, it is good to be alive and worshipping at the altar of rock and roll in such good company. No pause for a breath, though, as Sheehan immediately counts the band in for an, ahem, muscular version of the Hughes/Thrall nugget ‘Muscle and Blood’ (released in 1982, yes, 1982), and it’s the first chance to bear witness to Hughes’s trademark high-pitched screams. Soren Anderson, though, jeez, this guy can play.

Keeping it current, ‘Voice in My Head’ is lifted from the corking new album ‘Chosen’, and it slaps. Heavy, with funky injections of wah-wah from Anderson, it proves that Hughes can still deliver the goods without solely relying on the past. Sadly, ‘Into The Fade’ is listed on the visible setlist, but is cut due to the curfew. A cracking slab of hard rock, do check out the ‘Chosen’ album, especially the gorgeous bass rumble on the title track, which sounds larger than life when it lands later in the set.

Hughes is a fantastic storyteller, and certain tracks are introduced with a short tale on how they came to be, like when he went to catch Pat Travers in concert (opened by Def Leppard, “Rick Allen was like 14 or something”) and was blown away by Travers’ second guitar player, Pat Thrall. Vowing to work together at some point, this eventually happens on the much-lauded ‘Hughes/Thrall’ album, and Hughes then proceeds to effortlessly peel off the majestic ‘First Step of Love’, which closed said album.

The next trio of songs are manna from heaven. And each with a story to match. From the early days of Hughes’ career, it’s a killer one-two of Trapeze beauties in the shape of ‘Way Back to The Bone’ (which features a shout out to Scotland’s Average White Band), and ‘Medusa’ (“Time to get your groove on, Glasgow!”). Jaw-droppingly good renditions, with ace guitar work from Anderson. And then the money shot. A combo of ‘Grace’ and ‘Dopamine’ from the holy grail of metal albums: Tony Iommi’s 2005 solo album ‘Fused’, which featured Hughes as vocalist. Heavy as balls, with a touching tribute from Glenn to his great friend that included a nailed-on impression of the Brummie guitar-God and inventor of heavy metal.

After thrilling with ‘You Are the Music’ and ‘Stay Free’ (one of two Black Country Communion tracks aired), it becomes apparent that Hughes is running out of time as the venue needs to be cleared for the club night that follows. The BCC classic ‘Black Country’ is hastily dropped from the encore (although Glenn and band don’t leave the stage), and a solo acoustic version of ‘Coast to Coast’ serves to be a poignant moment. Just a performer on their own, with all the trimmings pared back, and THAT voice. Simply magical.

Only one way to end a Glenn Hughes show, and everyone knows what is coming next. And that is, of course, ‘Burn’. Glenn speaks with compassion about his new great friend Sophie Lloyd and then calls her out for an utterly gonzo version of the Deep Purple classic, which is insanely good. Guitar-heavy as you would expect, it also features all of Sophie’s band cheering on from the wings. One of Deep Purple’s top-five all-time greats, it hit hard then, and it still hits hard now.

After a well-earned rest, Glenn and company reconvene for more dates in November. Hopefully, one of these shows was recorded for posterity, because even with a few songs chopped off, this is a killer show from a performer not comfortable in dialing it in like so many of his contemporaries.

Review – Dave

All images – Callum Scott