Love Hope Strength Foundation -rocking for a great cause

Who amongst us hasn't been touched by the dreaded 6 letter C word in some way? Be it directly or indirectly - cancer is something that affects us all in some form.


Love Hope Strength Foundation is an international, music-related cancer charity dedicated to providing support and inspiration to those affected, throughout the world. Their mission is to save lives now, with the advances that have already been made in cancer care. While they do not fund cancer research, they use funds to purchase medical equipment and supplies, raise awareness through special events, documentaries and media, build cancer centers and find bone marrow donors.

Mike Peters the charismatic lead singer of The Alarm & Big Country has himself fought the battle TWICE. He co-founded Love Hope Strength Foundation UK with the President of CSI Entertainment James Chippendale they believe that awareness, early detection and proper treatment should not be a luxury and wanted to find a way to ensure that all people have access to the same resources that saved their lives.


Music is a universal language and the Love Hope Strength Foundation has performed concerts on 6 continents. They have led musical pilgrimages to remote venues such as the base camp of Everest, the top of The Empire State Building, the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, and the glacier of Kilimanjaro.

Musicians from every corner of the globe have joined in ,from high school bands and Nepalese folk singers, to legends in rock n’ roll such as members of The Cult, Squeeze and many more

Funds from worldwide events have:

•Purchased the very first mammography machine for the country of Nepal.
•Purchased the first Nucletron brachytherapy afterloader (internal radiation) machine for the country of Nepal.
•Funded a mobile cancer unit in Peru which will educate, screen and treat up to 30,000 patients per year in remote regions of Peru.
•Funded a new wing for a cancer care center in Wales.
•Supported the Valerie Fund in New Jersey, USA, a center for children with cancer and blood disorders.
•Added over 2,000 people to the national marrow database.
•Brought supplies to cancer centers in need around the world.
•Sent cd’s and dvd’s to cancer centers around the world to brighten the day of patients through music.
•Created an army of LHS volunteers who perform amazing acts of kindness and generosity in their communities.
•Released the “Everest Rocks” documentary on MTV’s HD channel Palladia.

I cannot take credit for this writing, as most of this is from http://www.lovehopestrength.co.uk but I can tell you that I recently interviewed Mike Peters twice for a 2 Part feature on The Alarm, which have already aired (see http://classicrockradio.eu/listenagain ) and we also recorded a seperate interview about the Love Hope Strength Foundation which you will be able to hear soon on Classic Rock Radio

It is REALLY vital that we all do our part in this battle against cancer - remember, cancer affects us all - either directly or indirectly - who amongst us has not lost someone to this dreadful illness or known omeone fighting it? Let's all do our part to help either by attending events, donating time or money, spreading the word, getting on the list of blood & bone marrow donors, just doing ONE of those things - is a help.

One forthcoming LHSF event is Snowdon Rocks V - Sunday, 14 August 2011 it will feature a fundraising trek to the Snowdon summit following the Llanberis/Railway Path with intimate performances along the way from Mike Peters and other renowned LHS musicians (depending on weather conditions)

We wil bring you more information on this event soon

Marilyn Michaels

PS- this is an excellent video about LHSF - please view http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HzeUeGeVi4









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Rush: Moving Pictures deluxe Edition

Well thirty years on and we have the Deluxe edition of the Rush album Moving Pictures.

As any fan of Rush will tell you the history of the band has been an exercise of great music becoming ever more popular with each successive release.
At the time of Moving Pictures Rush had moved into another stage of their career which had begun on the previous album Permanent Waves. Moving Pictures moved the band on another step and by now not only were the band playing to massive audiences throughout the world they were releasing hugely successful albums and even having hit singles. The hit singles drawn from this album were the obvious Tom Sawyer and the less obvious but no less great Red Barchetta a track that still remains a favourite of mine from the now massive Rush canon.

The album as a whole though proved to be one of the bands most successful up to that point. With Permanent Waves the band had almost re invented itself for the new decade. With Moving Pictures the band refined that vision and whilst there were no epics such as 2112 or Xanadu the songs still sounded majestic and contained the inherent greatness we had come to expect from Rush. The trademark sound was still there and it was most definitely Rush but perhaps the power was distilled into a more powerful punch. Tracks like Limelight, Vital Signs, Witch Hunt and YYZ still delivered that unmistakable Rush sound but the music now had a an undeniable commercial edge which was most definitely attracting new Rush fans across the globe.
This Deluxe edition is exactly what the Rush fans want and whilst there is no unreleased material included the package is still a desirable one. The packaging is first class and the booklet contains a lengthy essay from Rock journalist David Fricke alongside many previously unseen photos.

The second disc in the package however will be the real pull for most fans. The disc is a DVD disc and contains a photo gallery and the videos made for the album including Tom Sawyer. What will be the clincher though will be the full album in 5.1 Surround sound. Here is where it gets really good and if this album isn’t an album to recommend you go out and buy a surround sound system then I don’t know what is. Basically you are advised to slip the disc into the player turn up the volume and strap yourself in. A quite frightening but at the same time hugely pleasurable experience

So in summing up despite the fact that the album is thirty years old the album still sounds incredibly fresh and current something that is a testament to the vision and performance of Rush as a whole and something that continues to this day both onstage and in the studio.

Moving Pictures is the bands biggest selling album and listening to it you can see what it was that tipped the scales in the bands favour back in 1981. It really is one of the best rock albums of the last thirty five years and while many bands may claim that honour few can back that claim up. Rush however had and still have what it takes to back up a statement like that

Whitesnake : Forevermore Fan Pack

Whitesnake : Forevermore Fan Pack
Future publishing

Right let’s get bone thing clear right from the start. Despite what some people have said regarding this album this is not Whitesnake straddling the two styles that make up the history of this band. I just cannot see the early incarnation of Whitesnake performing any of the material contained on Forevermore and that is not a bad thing either because to suggest so would mean that the band is stuck in the past and not moving forward. It is not re hashing the hair years either. No, this album is in my opinion a big improvement on the last Whitesnake album which I know Mr Coverdale personally likes but each to their own I say

What we have here in this rather fine Fan pack published by Future Publishing (who handle the publication of Classic Rock magazine and Classic Rock Presents Prog) is a bona fide return to the top for Whitesnake. I am as excited by this release as I was when 1987 came out all those years ago. David Coverdale has surrounded himself with a veritable bunch of pirates that play the back out of every single second of each song on this album. It has to be said that the song writing team of Coverdale and Aldridge is now bedding in rather nicely and with tracks like Steal Your Heart Away, Easier Said Than Done and Whipping Boy Blues we have a Whitesnake now that can bite!

What you also have here is an album of songs that can sit along the classics with no problem whatsoever. In fact there isn’t a song on this album that doesn’t sound like a Whitesnake song and that has not always been the way on previous albums in my opinion. Live however where these songs will make their mark and believe me you is will have the bite marks from these songs for some time. As a bonus we also have two tracks, Slide It In and Cheap and nasty from the forthcoming Live At Donnington 1990 DVD/CD package which will certainly wet the lips(No pun intended) of any self respecting Whitesnake fan

Thank God then after all David’s troubles and the rumours surrounding the problems with his voice that the rumours were untrue. On Forevermore he sounds better than ever and I for one am looking forward to the tour and this album will certainly be getting some heavy rotation on Classic Rock radio Stations.

I must also say well done Future because the accompanying magazine is a joy to read and fans will appreciate the extremely honest interview that features in this magazine. Interesting thoughts and stories surrounding the previous Whitesnake albums make this one Fan Pack worth investing in.