Veteran rock and roll guitarist Robbie Gladwell shows he hasn’t lost a step at Sudbury Arts Centre

Veteran rock and roll guitarist Robbie Gladwell showed he hasn’t lost a step at Sudbury Arts Centre on Saturday night.

Robbie Gladwell And Friends kicked off with a spirited rendition of Blue Suede Shoes, done in what could be called New Orleans fashion with his three-piece brass section.

Other notable tunes included a passionate rendition of Elton John’s Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, without his guitar, which suited Robbie’s rich voice down to the ground.

This is clearly a man who still loves performing as proven by his between-song banter.

One story involved him coming home from a tour of Australia with Suzi Quatro and opening the door to his then-infant son William crying (who now backs him up on bass), to which Robbie’s wife Julie responded: “He probably thought you were the milkman.”

Robbie stuck to rhythm guitar for much of the first half of the evening, including a version of She Loves You, on which the band nailed the harmony on the last ‘yeah yeah yeah’ part, as well as a dramatic rendering of Nights In White Satin by The Moody Blues.

The veteran musician pulled out some tasty leads on his wife Julie’s version of the Joe Bonamassa and Beth Hart jazz-blues song - Your Heart Is As Black As Night.

It was not surprising given Robbie toured the world with the late, great singer-songwriter B.B.King.

However, he is perhaps most famous for having played for Cockney Rebel since 1990.

Also, Robbie’s poignant tribute of “Wherever you are, mate, this is for you,” to the late Steve Harley on their 1975 number one Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) was one of the best-received moments of the night.

By the time the band closed with The Mavericks’ Dance The Night Away, I was exhausted from singing along and the grin on my face was big enough to make the Cheshire Cat look like a Smiths fan.

Make Me Smile, indeed.

Review written by Dylan Barton