Live Review : Michael Schenker + Wytch Hazel @ O2 Ritz, Manchester on May 11th 2025

Who are the most influential rock guitarists in the world? Well there’s a number of contenders, but not all of them are still out there plying their trade. Van Halen died, Page is retired, Blackmore is fol-de-rol-ing in the forest. One man who is definitely up there amidst the greats and still regularly bothering our ears though is Michael Schenker. Once the wunderkind who revived the fortunes of a somewhat flagging little prog band from London before returning briefly to his brother’s band and then embarking on a solo career that’s kept him busy ever since, today’s Michael Schenker is something of a living legend. Last year he revisited his youth, releasing “My Years With UFO”; a double album of his best UFO songs re-imagined with a plethora of fantastic vocalists, and now it’s time to bring the nostalgia fest to his still-adoring public. First though, the support…. 

Wytch Hazel are local lads from Lancaster and when they first appear on the stage many eyes are rubbed in disbelief. What decade are we in again? Because these lads just stepped right out of the 1970s and onto the Ritz stage tonight. They are uniformly dressed in white – spandex pants, knee high boots, white shirts, there’s even a couple of capes. They have long hair with centre partings, and there are a couple of beards. Our older readership might recall an American band called Angel from the mid-70s? Well tonight Wytch Hazel are channelling their look perfectly.

The sound too is pretty retro, bringing to mind influences such as Uriah Heep, Deep Purple and even early Iron Maiden. The lyrics have a flavour of god-bothering to them, with mentions of a higher power and tussles with the devil abounding. The other clue to that is that what I thought were dust sheets over the amps actually appear to be altar cloths, complete with candles and crosses. The musicianship is competent with some decent twin guitar licks and an impressive vocal scream, and the whole thing is an ever-so-slightly tongue in cheek romp through a paean to a bygone age. The band can’t quite believe they are on tour with the icon that is Schenker, but they are making the most of the opportunity and do their best to shine. In those dazzling white pants how can they not? 

The Ritz tonight is approximating a level of hell as Schenker and his band take to the stage. It’s hot, dark and impossibly crowded. Michael Schenker has always been able to draw a decent crowd but it appears that his choice to revive and revisit the classic UFO years is a popular one. The room is rammed with grizzled old blokes who can still remember when they had more hair and less belly, and they have come with their voices primed for a good old carouse. The crowd is definitely bigger and more enthusiastic than it has been for his last couple of solo outings, there’s a kind of buzz in the air that has been somewhat lacking previously.

The mainstays of the band (keyboardist/guitarist Steve Mann, bassist Barend Courbois and drummer Bodo Schopf) remain the same, but for this tour Michael has chosen his own wunderkind to take on the vocals. Many of you will be familiar with Erik Gronwall – winner of the Swedish TV talent show Idol, former singer with H.E.A.T, grammy-nominated musical theatre star, brief but incredible singer with Skid Row and indomitable cancer survivor. Despite his relative youth the man is a veritable tour-de-force, and we are curious to see if he can bring the same revitalising energy to Schenker’s UFO set as he brought to the table during his short-lived tenure with Skid Row. 

The answer to that is a resounding Yes. These are classic songs, the setlist is essentially 1979’s seminal live album “Strangers In The Night” with a couple of the weaker ones replaced by some lesser-know deep cuts from the four albums Schenker played on. All of the songs performed tonight are older than the guy who is singing them by some ten years, but in this case age meets youth and produces a glorious cacophony.

Gronwall isn’t just an excellent singer, he’s also a frontman, a showman, the perfect foil for the more sombre Schenker who prefers to just eke out the notes from his trusty flying v and leave the posing and preening to somebody else. Old favourite songs are given a new gloss, a shot of energy that revitalises them and makes them feel fresh and exciting again. Schenker’s superb noodling is of course the glue that holds everything together. Somehow the sight of him up there, swaying back and forth like he always has, furry hat wobbling to the beat, is both comforting and wild. He must be sweating like a mofo in here tonight with that hat on, but you wouldn’t know it as he smiles, fake-shoots the crowd with the neck of his guitar and generally seems to be really enjoying himself.

The rest of the band are visibly struggling with the heat but remain tight and together – there are more instrumental breaks than in previous Schenker sets. Indeed, between ‘Lights Out’ and ‘Love To Love’ we get a mesmerising medley of three seldom-heard songs (‘Lipstick Traces’, ‘Between The Walls’ and ‘Belladonna’) which would have had the crowd jumping if it wasn’t for their dodgy knees. Instead, there’s a lot of bobbing and nodding, and most of the choruses are sung back with gusto by the heaving masses. The final two songs are dedicated to the late Pete Way and Paul Raymond, which is a nice touch, and with a scream that could shatter glass Erik advises us that we are in the presence of Michael Fucking Schenker. As Wytch Hazel might say, Amen.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Michael Schenker + Wytch Hazel