Nazareth, Alhambra: a glorious homecoming gig from Fife’s most enduring rockers

It’s more than a decade since Nazareth last played the Alhambra - their last Fife gig at East End Park was the late Dan McCafferty’s farewell to performing live - but the band is still logging the miles with gigs across the globe.

This may have been a homecoming gig with many folk in the audience knowing bassist and founding member Pete Agnew personally, but there were also fans - and friends -from Brazil and Norway, underlining the band’s widespread, enduring appeal. More than a few came with their air guitars.

The songs and the audience have grown older together, but the band’s sound remains unmistakable. They may rock, but they always did have an eye for a good hook and a chorus that lodges in your brain. Broken Down Angel, their first chart hit, remains as radio friendly today as it did in 1973 - if radio stations today actually lifted their eyes above the pre-determined playlists which are smothered in sameness.

This was a greatest hits show with everything from Shanghai’d In Shangahi to Razamanaz Love Hurts, Hair Of The Dog and My White Bicycle before they wound up with the defiant Go Down Fighting. In between, Dream On was dedicated to Dan McCafferty whose passing last year left Pete as the sole remaining founding member of a band that remains one of the most successful, and certainly the most enduring, to emerge from Fife.

It was the singer’s wish that Nazareth continue after he stepped away from performing live, handing the mic and lead role to Carl Sentance. It’s remarkable to think that he has been part of the band since 2015, and that this was his first gig at the Alhambra.

Tip of the hat too to Lords Bishop Rock for a cracking support set which got everyone in the mood for a great night of live of music. “If it’s too loud, you’re too old,” said their lead singer. It wasn’t and, judging by crowd at the Alhambra, we ain’t