W.A.S.P. at Hammersmith 2025 review and photos by Dawn Osborne

W.A.S.P. have taken their ‘Album ONE Alive World Tour’ across the Americas and Europe and were back to finish the UK, culminating in their London date at Hammersmith Apollo before going back to Europe. They have only grown in intensity along the way!

Before the London show Blackie hosted about twenty VIPs for a very special personal experience aimed exclusively at fans. While there was a chance to take a photo with Blackie this was not just a brief hello/snap a photo goodbye event, but was almost two hours full of thrills. Firstly fans were taken into the arena for a photo with ‘Elvis’ Blackie’s huge metal skeletal mike stand set up with two of Blackie’s bass guitars and his ‘Animal’ lyrics codpiece to start them off.

Fans were then led to the private bar of the Apollo which has been host to aftershows by many stars including Alice Cooper. The host representative ‘Jay’ took lots of photos per person with Blackie to make sure there were some good ones and after each person had had two items signed (Blackie will sign anything except musical instruments or gear or bodies and was asked to sign a wide variety of stuff from fan art to handbags).

Finally Blackie settled back in his chair and went round the room one question per person. Although we were getting close to open doors no one was hurried, he gave very full replies and several of the questions turned into a dialogue. We learned all sort of details such as Blackie is a history buff, his brother is an artist, exact details of Blackie’s studio gear and that his favourite food is Indian, although in England he is also partial to Shepherd’s Pie. Topics also included why he didn’t do the Terminator film – he was too tall, why ‘Elvis’ as a name for a mike stand – “they are both the first of their kind”, how some songs come very quickly to him (he dreamed ‘The Idol’ and ‘Headless Children), but others like ‘Last Runaway’ took 6 months to write. Songwriting he said is a  very a mysterious art “you pull it out of thin air” and as he wrote lyrics for ‘What I’ll never Find’ “will you hold my hand and ease me to the other side”, a song about suicide, he wept. ‘I Wanna Be Somebody’ came from a line in the American sitcom ‘Barney Miller’. When asked if he hated any music, he said he only listens to music in his car and used the analogy that those who fix brakes for a living don’t do that when they go home. He declined to criticise any form of music, however, saying if music speaks to people there’s nothing wrong with it.

W.A.S.P. used to get someone up on stage for ‘Blind In Texas’. One wag who had a W.A.S.P. tribute band asked if he could get up and play ‘The Flame’ that night. From that we learned that W.A.S.P. share a management company with Maiden and after an unfortunate incident where someone had got on stage with Maiden and alleged that something had happened which had not, lawyers had got involved and W.A.S.P. never have anyone on stage anymore.

One of the attendees was a teacher whose high school band had covered ‘Blind In Texas’ as she recounted. In response we learned that Blackie had been inspired by his English literature teacher Harold Gibbons who had taught him the power of language and how to choose exactly the right words in his songs. Mark Twain had pointed out that lightning and lightning bug are similar, but are worlds apart in meaning. Blackie gave his own example of ‘dragon’ and ‘dragonfly’. Blackie said that without that teacher he wouldn’t have been where he is right now.

One of the attendees had been attacked and almost murdered in her own home. She thanked Blackie and said his music had helped her get over the trauma enabling her to learn how to defend herself. Instead of moving swiftly on Blackie was really kind, really listened, asked questions and made her feel valued. He told her he himself believes in the necessity to be prepared should anything violent happen.

Touching on religion Blackie said he had thought he was mad with god, but realised he was mad with men for institutionalising faith. He then spent time studying the scriptures rebuilding his own faith himself. ‘The Bible is the only book where you read it, but it reads you.” On health he explained how he had fought to repair the damage to his back and that only after he recovered did he find out the doctors thought he never would. He said “It’s a question of how bad you want it. I wanted my body back”. His message for the world was “Think for yourself”. He explained he had some concerns about the way the UK was going and would be addressing everyone further on this that night. He did not think that there was anything he had not been asked that he would wish to be asked having done thousand of interviews, but said he loves these question and answer sessions with fans, mostly because the fans surprise him with what they say and things end up in interesting conversations. Having witnessed it I completely believe it, especially how he listened and was inspired by the people who attended, making it not just about him. He left shaking people’s hands. If you get a chance to do one of these sessions, don’t miss it! I was impressed by Blackie after I interviewed him as a journalist. I am even more impressed by him now I have witnessed him with fans.

On to the show! Armored Saint were main support precursored by their drummer Gonzo Sandoval coming on in a top hat and robe. They had some technical problems, and singer John Bush’s microphone stopped working for a while, leaving him to have to use the microphone for backing vocals stage right. He simply made a comment about “when shit goes south on stage” and “it’s pissing me off so will make a great show”.

They don’t let it spoil their enthusiasm, the smile rarely comes off Gonzos face.

Addressing the crowd Bush referred to how much they are enjoying this trip back to the 80s scene on tour with W.A.S.P. He told us how it was everyone’s dream then to play the Hammersmith Odeon, exclaiming they are now playing it after 40 years getting a huge cheer. Even if the technicals were a bit shot they grabbed the opportunity and made the most of it!

Onto W.A.S.P.! As billed for the main part of the show they played the whole of the first album live. Although Blackie was skeptical at first when they were planning the tour about opening up with ‘I Wanna Be Somebody’ and performing the first record in the same running order as the album, with another blockbuster ‘L.O.V.E. Machine’ coming up second, in fact it was a huge injection of adrenaline from the off and the audience were already shouting the lyrics, priming them to engage without inhibition at this early stage of the night.

Blackie has lost even more weight, looks even fitter, and is all over the stage all at once, dancing, twirling and eyeing up the audience as rightfully his. When he pulls back Elvis, knowing the weight of that thing, it seems that the spectre of trouble with his back is absolutely in the past… and with increased health has come an increased appetite for blowing the roof off venues! It’s incredible that 42 years on they are still putting on magnetic shows of this power.

One effect that amping things up with a few massive numbers at the start has is that the whole show seems to go by so quickly. It’s seems no time at all till we are hearing the mega solos of ‘Hellion’, and ‘Sleeping In The Fire’ following the latter’s haunting start,  still jaw dropping after all these years. At the same time footage of the band’s early gigs at Hammersmith and The Lyceum was playing on the screen behind them as they launch into the relentless ‘On Your Knees’. ‘Tormentor’ with its MTV video playing behind and ‘The Torture Never Stops’ with a background of clips from 1920s black and white horror films ‘Haxan’ bringing the first album tracks to an end, oh no too soon! You know a gig has caught your soul if it’s over when you’re only just getting started!

Fortunately there’s an extraordinary long encore coming. Blackie told me they wouldn’t play ‘Animal’ and they didn’t, but boy what they did play medleys of monsters ‘Inside The Electric Circus’, ‘I Don’t Need No Doctor’, and ‘Scream Until You like It’ with the famous video with Gremlins behind, followed by ‘The Real Me’! ‘Forever Free’ with its video of images of love and freedom is contrasted with stark images of Nazi concentration camps for ‘Headless Children’.  This is not an accident, nothing Blackie does merely happens. He is preparing to speak to the crowd and, after an amazing version of ‘Wild Child’ that starts with Blackie on his own just playing by himself before ramping up to the full electric opus, he spends time talking to the crowd about how many things are worrying in the UK today and the need for them to take action politically to maintain the right to speak their mind (echoing his message from the earlier q and a to think independently).

 

 

The mammoth ‘Blind In Texas’ is last, OMG what a show! This is almost the end for a very long tour and you wouldn’t know it wasn’t the opening night! Blackie is still here turning black the clock, his health issues overcome. He was fighting and biting tonight, spitting out his lyrics with every bit of passion as he ever did.

And the faithful were all there, watching his ever move, singing along and, despite an oral warning from the venue at the start not to crowd surf (which received loud boos) and posters everywhere saying it would result in ejection from the venue everyone who had been dying to do it (including girls) saved it till the last track and the pit was a conveyor belt of bodies over and out to the side like an old Disney cartoon! Fans were saying it was the best they’d ever seen W.A.S.P. and I’ve seen such verdicts on socials all over the place too. W.A.S.P.  is still living and breathing fire like a dragon. Blackie would never do it unless it could!

As a final act he launched himself to the top of Elvis looking like he was flying over the crowd. I only had permission to shoot the first few songs, but I made friends in the crowd (W.A.S.P. Gigs still have that old school metal community tribal feel) and thanks to Barbara and Paolo who got one of their friends Danielle Goncalves who was at the front and captured the moment to send me her picture of it here (see below)!

A beautiful moment at the end of a beautiful gig. Despite the band’s reputation the crowd was full of goodwill and joy, no violence or hate, the way things should be. What a wonderful night! Blackie is showing no signs of slowing down. On the contrary he is speeding up. Long Live Blackie, a rock star with heart and soul. If hard work, dedication and passion make you lucky he’s been lucky, he wouldn’t have it any other way!

Dawn Osborne