Testing..Testing....1..2..3

Alive...Alive...Alive
Spartan back after a brief 4 week absence, and we were at the Black Bull last nite.As you can tell from the above photo we had a bit of trouble with Kev's microphone on the night.We had just started our second song and we hit with a barrage of white noise from the dodgy mic,after a quick 'hamster' intervention and some Gaffa tape, we tried again.
These problems do occur during live gigs, and you never know when these minor things will rear their ugly little heads.But we did not let this hamper the evening and we had a ball( as usual)
We would just like to say thanks for all the support and the kind words over the last 4 weeks, as Kev had been struck down with a mystery illness that caused him to loose his voice, and last night was a very trying time for Kev.But anyone who did n't know this would not have noticed any difference from his usual standard of 110%
Well done Kev, you really did us proud.....again

Poor Kev......

Spartan Singer struck down...
All of us at Spartan Central would like to wish Kev a speedy recovery, not to go into any detail, but he has had a very severe chest infection with caused the loss of his voice.Spartan always try to fulfill every commitment to bookings but Kev was so ill that he lost his voice and was advised to take a complete break from any singing and some talking by his doctor.
I'm sure you will join Gazza, Mick and Phil in wishing him a very speedy recovery
Get Well Soon, Kev.....

Rose and Crown

Back with a Bang
After a brief rest Spartan are back on the road, this was our first gig after our rest period, and we could have not wanted to play anywhere else.The Rose and Crown in Winlaton made us feel so welcome and very much at home.
We had to wait for the match to end before bringing in all the gear and tried to get set up, but after a couple of weeks off you do forget some of the strangest things ?
Spartan would like to thank Karen who's local knowledge was a real blessing due to Kev forgetting his supply of bottled water, she ran off to the local shops to bring some back for him ( and some Hob-nobs too ).
We had a great nite at the Rose and Crown and for those of you who did n't get to the gig you missed three new songs, two of which we had only learnt a week ago, needless to say they will be appearing in the set at future gigs.
We cannot thank the management and staff at the Rose and Crown enough, you made us feel so welcome and it was a pleasure to be able to play for you during your week long anniversary celebrations,and we will see you again soon.

Saturday's Alright for...... Bite - ing

Life is never easy , and gigging is just as difficult..sometimes.
During our welcome return to one of the bands fave pubs The Market Tavern we had a bit of a technical fault with our new smoke machine.We tried to sort out the problem but realised that we had a break in the remote cable , which meant we could n't get it to work...
So in stepped the Spartan Multi tool ( in the form of Kev)who disappeared with the control and returned 2 minutes later after chomping through the cable and re-connecting the offending wires and to our surprise it worked perfectly...till the end of the gig.
We had another great night at the Tavern , and we are really looking forward to celebrating the New Year at the Tavern this coming December 31st.

Thanks once again for another great night...

Wot a great afternoon

Trying to play a gig in Newcastle during the great north run ,was going to be a bit more difficult than usual.Transport was a big issue and parking was to be the second one.
After a few alteration to our travel plans we managed to get to the Star and prepare for an afternoon of rock.And for all the early birds who were in the venue they got to hear a very rough version of a new song we are dabbling with.
We love to play at the Star and would like to say a big Thank-you to all the staff, DJ Chris, and all the customers and a special thanks you to all the attenders from the Monday Night Rock Show( especially Lil Crystal, at her first Spartan gig)
We had yet another great afternoon at the Star, and cannot wait to be back there.......

Chambers Rock Night

Mick 'The Stick' goes Solo
Even getting to gigs is now becoming an event in it's own right.Mick tried his hand at a solo project on Friday, everyone else had turned up to Chambers except for Mick, who casually strolled into the venue and told us he had been waiting up the road outside a different pub ready to bring his gear in.Well needless to say after a quick relocation we started setting up , and all of us in the same pub, Chambers in Morpeth.
As it was our first time in Chambers we did not know what to expect ?
It was one of the best nights we have had , the atmosphere was great, Baz ( D.J.) made us feel so welcome, and the staff and the customers were truly fantastic. Spartan would just like to thank Baz, Brian and all the staff for their hospitality and we hope to see you all again soon( hint,hint)

Harperley Music Festival

The Grand Total
I just received this email and felt we had to share the news with you all.......

'I just wanted to thank you all for performing at the Harperley Music Festival in aid of Cancer Research UK. Everyone really enjoyed it, we have had a lot of positive feedback.

Because it went so well we are already thinking about holding another one next year, I hope we can count on your support.

Thanks to you we raised in excess of £3000 for Cancer Research. We did n’t expect to raise such a large amount so we are all delighted with the amount and how well the event went despite the rain and mud.

Thanks again.

All the best

Bill Burgess'

Cancer Research ( Stanley )

Make a stand.........for ROCK...

The gig @ the Fat Ox was one of the best we have ever done, the crowd were Fantastic, the atmosphere was intoxicating and we had an absolute blast from start to Finnish.Kev and The Hamster even dared to try something new, which saw a furry spartan bassist raised onto Kev's shoulders and paraded around the venue for all to see, but...
The night was not free from a major incident...after all the gear was loaded Kev set off in search of pizza ( a treat for a job well done)driving through Whitley Bay he caught sight of a bonny blue light in his mirror.
'What seems to be the problem officer..' said Kev, and the reply was to send a shiver down his spine 'nothing much, unless you call all your gear falling out of your trailer' were the words that hit him.Kev ran to the back of the trailer to find the back door open and the huge bag that contained all the lighting and microphone stands hanging out of the back.After a brief explanation to the police and a few apologies the gear was re-loaded and Kev now with a severe loss of appetite headed for home ,before anything else happened.
After a very quick sleep we were heading to the Three Tuns to support another local charity, and the bad luck just kept coming, Phil's guitar decided that Sunday was it's day of rest and it took him about 15 minutes to resolve it.But even this could not stop us from playing ( a slightly shorter set) but a set never the less.
All in all it was a weekend we will all remember we met some great people , saw some great bands and had a laugh at our own expense...a great weekend.

Are you the band ?

A recent change in management
at the travellers rest, and the previous tenant had taken away the booking diary for the pub.So on arrival we were asked if we were the band for the evening, which was a new experience for us.
We made ourselves feel at home and started to set up, and we were ready to rock just after 9....ish.During the first set the Spartan Army was attacked by a 'Gia-normous' vampire Moth ( reports from Jo,Margaret & Karen )but it did not dare attack wor Kev, they only thing to attack Kev was a swift blow from Phil's guitar on his back which gave Kev a bit of a shock, but did improve the sound on the night.
We tried a couple for different songs on Saturday and thought we would a bit of a mix of new and old to get the party started.
Spartan would like to report that the Travellers Rest is still a great pub and we would like to thank the new management, and wish them every success with a great music venue.
Hope to see you again real soon...

A Grand Day Out.........

A Twist of fate..
Fate is a very strange thing, due to the closure of the Bebside we were to have no gig this weekend, and then we had a call from the Grand Hotel who asked us to play as they had a vacant slot.
We are very pleased to report that we had a Fantastic night at the Grand, we were made to feel so welcome and while setting the gear up the place started to fill up steadily. Next thing you know it was time to do our stuff, a really receptive crowd got us in the mood from the off and we had an absolute blast ripping through the first set.
After a few alterations to our lights ( cheers ) we assaulted the second set which seemed to be over as soon as it had started, and after a couple of encores it was time to pack up and head for home.
We would just like to thank Lachlan , and also everyone who came to see us at the Grand .

Lights, Camera.........SPARTAN

The Fat Ox
saw the launch of the all new spartan backdrop and lights, Kev and Garry have been trying out some new lights to bring a new edge to the Spartan gigs, and create a more 'rock' atmosphere.The Fat Ox was to be the test, and we are happy to report that they were a huge success.
The night was not free from minor troubles though, as after unpacking the drum kit Mick realised that he was a drum short.
So thanks to Greame of the Alley Cats for the lend of a tom-tom, we managed to get sorted in time and started the set.Kev dropped a few newer tunes into the set to keep us on our toes and everyone crossed their finger during 'Wayward Son' By Kansas as this was only it's second live performance.
We had a great night at the Fat Ox and were pleased to say the place was packed to the gills. Only a few weeks to go and we will be back there again at the end of August.

Cancer Research 2009

Like being at Glastonbury.....
Rain nearly stopped it all before it had even started, but in true British fashion the guys at Cancer Research were not going down without a fight.The bands started from 5pm with Axis, followed by Special Needz ( cheers to Scott for the lend of the gear).Then Free & Company took to the stage, after a quick set up it was time to be SPARTAN-ISED.
We had decided to go for an 'Old School' set with some good old tunes to keep the rain off, we opened with 'Tie ya mother down' and in true festival mode the crowd went wild the songs came thick and fast after that White Room, Black Night and By the way made an appearance.
The time just went and before we knew where we were it was last song time, the now Traditional 'Where's ya mamma Gone' sing along was dropped in as a segway to our last number Down to the Doctors( which we thought was to be our last) but we could not leave without at least one encore so we ended with Wishing Well.
The highlight of the gig was watching Mick climb on the back of the drum kit, only to be met by Phil climbing up the front of it which resulted a strange guitar/drumstick playing end to our set.
Spartan would like to thanks the following people for all their help on the day Bill & Jean and the Cancer Research road crew, Barry ( & the sound guys ) for making us sound great, Axsis, Special Needz, Free & Company and Floyd 2, & the Spartan Army out in full force who all played their part in raising money for such a great , under funded cause.

For a full review of the day see the link from the Cancer Research website>

The Spartan Weekender....

Two amazing gigs

Friday saw our first visit to the Wardley Legion for their Rock Nite, after a bit of a delay in getting all the gear to the gig, we managed to set up and start om time.We did n't realise that it would be so hot that night, but we still managed to get into our groove and have a great night @ the Legion
We would like to thank Mad-Dog and all the crew at the Wardley Legion for making our first visit a great one, the lads were very entertained by your amazing heed-banging during Radar Love and the crutch dance was an inspiration to us all, we will see you in October to do it all again.

Saturday saw us at the Old Tannery we were wondering if the weather would put off alot of people but glad to say it did n't.We altered the set a wee bit and put in some tracks that have not see the light of day for about 6 months.As usual the Tannery made us feel right at home and the night just flew, no sooner had we started and it was time to pack up , where did the time go ?
Thanks to Gaz and all the staff at the Tannery & everyone who came out to see us over the two nights as we had a Fantastic time, and a 'Big' pat on the back to Kev for pushing out all the stops at both gigs a true professional.

The Spartan Weekender....

Two gigs over the weekend,Friday saw us at the Wheatsheaf in Benton which was by all accounts a bit quieter than expected, but needless to say the crowd that was there still made us feel at home.Sunday saw the lads at one of their favorite gigs which was at the Star in Newcastle, for an afternoon of rock classics.
Phil's wah-wah managed to steal the show at the star again, by whistling during Fire and Water,but this did not damage the atmosphere in the Star which continued to rock well into the early evening.
We managed to catch up with some familiar faces over the weekend, and made some new ones too, Gazza would like to thank Everyone from the Monday night rock show that came to meet up with him and his alter ego (The Hamster of Doom) 'it was great to put faces to names,finally'.Even though we had a few minor problems( moving drum kits,whistling pedals and having to feed the parking meter at the star every hour)this did not attract from the fun we had over the weekend.

Cancer Research Charity Walk 2009

Kev our singer and Andrew ( The Fifth Spartan ) have just completed a sponsored walk for Cancer Research Stanley.'We have always supported this charity since the band was formed' said Kev 'and will continue to do so'.The lads managed to Finnish the walk in record time and also found time to cram in an ice cream.
Garry (Spartan's Bassist) would like to thank Andrew for stepping in to his shoes as he could not attend the event this year due to holidays.The lads will also be performing at the Harpley Music Festival in July, to help raise support and funds for this amazing charity( follow the Cancer Research link on the front page of the spartan website)

An Ode to 'NIKHS'

We travelled down to Nikhs
For our gig on Saturday night
It's a venue that we love to play
With live music in it's sights

Kev was wearing his new Spartan cap
Mick's drumming was a blur
The Hamster's bass was back in place
He'd even brushed his fur

But something diffrent ,appeared that night
That had n't been seen before
Phil in shorts, with his knees on display
That had them shouting for more

It's always great to play @ NIKHS
it's the only place to be
Putting ROCK back on the North East map
For everyone to see.........

Spartan - Normal service now resumed

Live @ The Phoenix
Kev and the lads welcomed Gazza ( The Hamster of Doom) back to the Spartan fold on Saturday, after his return from Las Vegas.Gazza and Margaret had only returned to the uk on Friday night so the gig on Saturday was the first time the band had seen each other since they left for the holidays, and even with a couple of weeks off they managed to continue where they had left off.
We stuck to an all classic set ( so Gazza had a fighting chance ) as the jet-lag kicked in during the 4Th song of the first set, but in true Hamster fashion he managed to keep it together till the end of the gig.But there was a casualty as Margaret ( Mrs Hamster ) was caught out by the dreaded jet-lag and had a much needed snooze during one of the quieter numbers of the night.
We would like to say a great big Happy Birthday to Christine one of the devout Spartan Army, and thanks for celebrating your '21st' with us ( but we use that term loosely).
Thanks to everyone who came out to see Spartan back to Full Power, and Thanks to Kev for letting the Hamsters away early after the gig so they could catch up on their much needed sleep.

The Market Tavern...Bedlington

Well it make a lovely change.....
to be able to report that we had a ' Normal ' night at the Market Tavern.We managed to remember everything that we neglected to pack for our Hexham gig, and we also managed to arrive at the venue without incident.But did all this new found good luck put us into a false sense of security.... No it did n't.
As you will see from the photos below we had another great nite at the Tavern and it still remains one of our favorite places to play.
Have a look at the slideshow below for edited highlights.

The 'HEXHAM' Curse ............

Can anything else go wrong ? ......Whoops....spoke to soon...
It was nearly our first cancelled gig last night ? 'why' well I'll tell you...
Just after leaving for the venue Kev had another major problem with our trailer, one of the wheels locked up and he had to remove it and return home to re-pack all the gear into his car instead.Just what you don't want on a Saturday night,but after a quick re-pack and a small delay he arrived safe and sound at about 8.20pm and we were due on for 9.30pm.A quick set up and having to re-route the monitor system ( due to a missing splitter box ) we dived into our first set , and tried to forget all about the curse...
But one good thing came out of last night as Spartan's adopted 5Th member made his debut on the drums, Andrew ( Jo's young son ) made his first public appearance last night as he joined us on stage to play on Ain't no love by Whitesnake.The four of us were totally taken back by him and would like to say a huge Well done to ANDREW ( a video of his escapades will be posted on this site real soon )
We had a fantastic night at The Tannery, thanks to the Spartan Army Hexham brigade for all the support and cheers to John ( da boss for the night ) for making us feel so welcome, we'll see you all in June ... Andrew ( the 5Th Spartan ) and Jo ( the proud Mum...)

Spartan at the Star

Give a little Whistle......
Well last night, wot can we say, We had a fantastic night but not without incident.
We breezed through the first set 'it felt like we had been on stage for only minutes' but suddenly we were on the last song and closed the first set with our Bon Jovi/Stray Cats tune and then it was time for a quick drinky or two.The Hamster said 'It was great to see some faces from his good old drinkin days in the room and also a quick mention to all from Tiffanys Rocks( the only way to spend a Monday Night).
About three songs into the second set we noticed a whistle seeping through the bands pa, and after a few minutes 'The Hamster' managed to track down the culprit, it was Phil's wah-wah pedal.After a quick re-route of said pedal we were back on track ( told him not to get his battery from the £1 shop)but you know what guitarists are like....
Spartan would just like to thanks everyone who came to the Star, it was a great night and one that Mr Phil wont get chance to forget for a while, cos we won't let him........
'Is n't it your round Phil.......

Spartan @ The Moorhouse

Does not seem like a year, since our last visit
But it must be, and what a great reception we had last night.After setting up all our stuff we blasted into the sound check our old standard of 'Wishing Well' just to check the levels.And then as usual it was time to decide which of our songs would make the set for the night.After a heated debate the set was ready, Kev was a bit tired from his early start, a trip to the lakes ( then off to the gig ) but this did not hamper his performance, and he gave 200% as he always does.
The Moorhouse was one of our very first gigs all those years back in 2007, so the pub has a very big place in our heart as they were willing to give us a go on spec.So it was a great pleasure to be asked back to play here again, and we would like to thank all the staff and customers who came out last night to see us again.
We hope to see you all very soon.....

Hazelrigg Rocks

Been a Long time since we rock 'n' rolled
Well about 5 months since our last gig at Hazelrigg Victory Club, and we are pleased to report, we had a fantastic night again.We love to be able to play on a stage (as it makes a big change )and this club has one of the best ones.It really make you play better, as you can look out over the whole room at once and see if everyone is having a good time.We were given a very warm reception on arrival and half way through the second set , we noticed the bar staff drumming along( to Radar Love) with their drinking straw drum sticks, in perfect time might i add.
We would like to Thank everyone who came,and thanks for sticking with us during our small technical fault ( Don't buy your batteries from the pound shop....well not for a gig anyway)
We hope to see you all later on in the year .........Keep Rockin @ Hazelrigg

Whitley Bay ROCKS..........

Not bad for a 2 year old ?
Last night saw our 2ND Anniversary as a band , and wot a way to celebrate.We did n't get into the gig till a wee bit later than usual, due to the Newcastle match having a 5.30 kick off, but after a quick set up we were ready to rock.It's hard to believe we have only been doing this for 2 years as SPARTAN, but as the old saying goes 'time flies when your having fun', and as a mature 2 year old we can safely say we still has a much fun now as we did when all this started.
People sometimes say History repeats itself and last night was no exception, 2 years to the day 'The Mighty Mick - The Stick' managed to repeat history by splitting his Bass Drum skin ....Again, he has only ever done this twice and both times were at the Fat Ox.
We would just like to thank everyone who came to see us last night, the place was jumping and we had such a Great night.. we wish we could do it all over again and again an again.

Sunday nite, i'll miss church ?

A Sunday night gig ?
It makes a nice change to be gigging on a Sunday, and we were at the Borough, Sunderland on Sunday.We all remembered our first gig there and had forgotten how restrictive the space was to set up in.
But it was a Great Nite, really good crowd and we all had a Blast, even 'The Hamster' who managed to kill a glass with the power of the bass( he'd only been able to do that with the sub woofer before) so it gave him a bit of a shock.We remembered that we did n't need to bring the backdrop and so it was a quick-ish set up and take down.Hope Mick managed to get the shoe prints off his drum heads ready for the next gig ( only glad the lass was n't wearing high heels) ...and if that does n't make any sense then you had to be there........
Thanks to all the Bar Staff and customers at the Borough... we had a great nite...

Bedlington Rokkz..........

'No Pressure'......please
'Well i'm never going to try to use new gear at a gig again',Said Garry after trying to get the bands new wireless mikes to work.But to no avail so we had to use our tried but tested old ones instead.After this 'little' technical problem, we managed to get sorted and ready to Rock in one of the bands favorite venues.
Garry was using his newest toy last night an old Westone Super Headless bass ( soon to be a new classic ), and must say it gave him a new lease of life, he was spotted lying on top of the sub-woofer whilst playing.Well not to be upstaged both him and Kev clambered onto the subwoofer during one of the last numbers ( they said it was so the people at the back could see them? )
We were just getting settled in and we were on to our last song, a few encores later and we were packing up again ( it's the bit we all hate....With a Passion..)
We had a Fantastic night and can't wait to play there again soon...and Thanks for all the kind words.

SPARTAN-POWER

Life is full of Surprises
And the Old Tannery, gave us a new one on Saturday.Ploughing through the set we had just finished the second song then...Without any warning we lost all the power to the P.A.( for a while we thought it was going to be an all acoustic set, but after a few minutes we managed to re-instate the power to all of the effected units and continued with the set without any more upsets.
Well we do have our moments ??? and loosing all the power was a new one on us, but we managed to get back into the flow of the night and ,turned around what could have been a disaster into another night of Spartan Classics.
All the lads would like to thank Gaz and all the customers at the Tannery for a great nite
SPARTAN POWER .......is back to stay

Like a Proud Dad

Kev was all smiles
As he drove up to the Travellers Rest, with the New Spartan Trailer in tow.Pleased as punch did n't describe the smile on his face, 'You can hold a dance in it, if you want' Kev said.So a much easier lug into the gig,was to be our reward.
After an easy set up we started the first set, and went for our new 'All Classic' set , lots of every one's favorite tunes backed into the first 45 minutes.The Hamster with his new toy ventured behind the bar for a quick half, shame he can't pull a decent pint though !!!.
A brief 15 minutes off and we blasted into set number 2 , and what do you know , it's had ended our night at the Travellers Rest ( the night just went ).Many Thanks to Karen and John, you do a great job and always make us feel so welcome, Kev says 'Cheers for the new light-bulb'.
We will be back real soon, @ the Travellers Rest , and hope to see you all then......

A Warm Welcome @ The Fellsider

A new Venue .. for us
Well even though it's coming up to the bands second year of gigs , we still get the jitters at a new venue.But the Fellsider made us feel so welcome you would have thought we were the resident band and not a first timer to this amazing venue.
We would like to thank Sarah, all the staff and the customers at the Fellsider, 'You really made our night, something to remember' said Kev.We decided to go for an all out Classic line up of tunes to get everyone in the mood, and to chase away the thoughts of the cold night outside,and we are glad to say it worked a treat.
It's not very often that you get to play 5 encores but last night was one of the best nights we have had,and we hope to be asked back later in the year, for SPARTAN II ( The Sequel ).

Thanks for a really Great Nite ...........

The Fellsider Rocks.........

Oh we do like to be inside the Bebside.......

Another welcome return to a Great venue
We had a fantastic night,after a record set up time of 45 minutes,and a new set up for our trusty old lights we braved the elements ( it was very cold in there ) and took to the stage.It was great to see so many of the SPARTAN Army visible at the Bebside, and as per usual you did us proud.
Big thanks to Phil's new hat, cos he would n't have been able to play otherwise( Phil rekkons he's trying to grow his hair again, we think it's a bit late , but you never know ?)
We will have to wait and see if it makes an appearance at the next gig.

( the hair ...not the hat !!!)

SPARTAN ROCK THE TOON.....

Good to be back at the Star
As it is always a great night,fantastic people and a wonderful atmosphere.
We nearly had to cancel the gig due to transport problems so a 'BIG' vote of thanks to Arnie for the use of his van, if it had n't been for him Kev would have had to bring the gear on the bus.
As this was the FIRST Spartan gig of the year we wanted to make it a good one,and the Star is the place to do it,The lads would like to thank everyone who came out to see us as you made it a Brilliant night, Spartan march onto Blyth for our next gig on the 30th of January at the Bebside.

A perfect way to end a year of SPARTAN

New Years Eve at the Fat Ox.
What can we say except it has been a fantastic year for the band,and we aimed to celebrate it in style and we did.The Fat Ox was our very first gig as SPARTAN way back in 2007, and it was great to be asked to play on New Years Eve.After a tiny set back with our backdrop stands ( hope we manage to fix them)we were ready to Rock the night away,we tried to keep an easy paced first set with some 'old' classics to get the place into the mood.
And after a little break Kev emerged in full 'JOKER' face paint ready for the second set.We launched into the second set with some of the bands favorite songs,we still find it hard to change our second set as it is so well paced.But sadly at 11.55 our set had come to a close with just enough time to listen to Big Ben's chimes at midnight.We would like to say a 'BIG' thank-you to everyone who came to see us, you made the night so special, the perfect end to 2008 and the perfect start to 2009.