HAPPY NEW 2026 FOLKS. Here we are. Born to be Kings. We’re the Princes of the Universe.

I believe Queen sang that little dittie on A Kind of Magic if you get the reference. If not, go study your rock history 😉

Anyway… It’s been a little over 7 years since we took to the stage, for the very first time, in December of 2018. FIFTY gigs (including those that were sadly canceled or otherwise) have come and gone since then, including our debut with Firepower, and what a mental 7 years it’s been.

We may have had some disappointments towards the tail end of last year, but I think it was probably our best year to date as a band.

I say our best year, and I still think it was, because although we had a couple of cancellations in Wakefield and sadly in Glasgow in December, August alone probably topped it all off for us.

WV1Fest, and an everlasting tribute to Ozzy. What a bittersweet gig to be playing.

Sabbath took to the stage at Villa Park, for the last time ever, at the start of July. We didn’t know it at the time, but it was to be a true farewell to Ozzy. A true farewell to a man we had all grown up with as a bonafide rock GOD.

WV1Fest in Wolverhampton, in August, was supposed to continue that grand farewell. And it did. But it took on a whole new meaning, following the sad news of Ozzy’s passing at the end of July.

UK Tribute Festivals have always been brilliant to us. We’ve not played nearly as many festivals of theirs as we would have liked (and I’ll admit that’s mostly down to me), but they have always looked after us. WV1Fest was already shaping up to be a tribute to Ozzy, when we were approached to join the bill. A mirror to the actual Sabbath gig at Villa Park. We couldn’t say no. We didn’t say no. We wanted to perform our own tribute.

Allan has always been good with ideas on how to approach gigs, stage gear, and being on point with the brand, and WV1Fest was no different. Anthrax had these awesome tees specifically for the Sabbath gig that we replicated as best we could. It felt a fitting tribute to our set, that we don the same gear. It felt cool. It felt the right thing to do. It felt like we were in some small part paying our respects to Ozzy…

There was something about being up on stage, with that big OZZY 666 on my back, that felt special, that I hope he would find we did him, and Anthrax, justice, as we played to the crowd at WV1Fest. There was something totally rock and roll about the whole weekend truth be told.

We nearly didn’t make it down. The van was playing up. We had an emergency stop in Lockerbie to repair an oil leak, saved by an amazing guy at McConechy’s Tyres who was a godsend. It was as if Ozzy was writing our very own Rock and Roll Journey. You could not have made it up. But, of course, we made it… and we played it.

It’s a gig that will live long in the memory for me. Something that I can say I had a small part in, while paying our tributes to one of the Gods of Rock and Roll.

We, of course, also made sure we celebrated Ozzy’s life in true rock and roll style afterwards as well. THAT weekend will also live long in the memory… but as they say, what goes on tour, stays on tour 😉

Two weeks later, we were back on the road again, travelling to one of the farthest south gigs we’ve been to in the UK. The very first Dubs of Rock tribute festival. Cattows Park. Home of Bloodstock. How could we say no!

Dubs of Rock was on a whole other level. From start to finish I truly felt like a 100% proper musician. Band passes, backstage passes, riders, private changing areas, did I say riders, great bands, brilliant music, big fields, a huge crowd… it was FUCKING AWESOME.

Words honestly cannot express how good this gig was. We had no idea what to expect. We had no idea what kind of crowd we would have, but it was too good an opportunity to miss.

So down we went, and on we came… and DUBS… you did NOT disappoint

I’ve been in bands since high school. We all have, truth be told. From the late 1980s into the 1990s and beyond. But, for me, August 2025, I don’t know if I’ll ever get the experience we had at Dubs.

Best part of almost 8,000 folk, watching us, listening to us, cheering us, interacting with us, being one with us on stage. That my friends is magical. That was the experience of a lifetime. I’m not quite sure if I’ll ever feel like that again. It was memory making. It was a life experience. It was nothing but fun fun fun!

I have no idea how we’ll top that in 2026, but we’ll give it a try 🙂

As with all highs, they tend to be followed with crushing lows, and that followed suit with us when our Wee Four gig was cancelled in Wakefield. It was a come down of the highest order. From the highs of August, to a crashing low of September as ticket sales failed to materialise.

We tried our best to put it behind us, knowing we had a trip to Newcastle ahead of us. But it felt like we had been sucker punched. We had been on a roll, with cancellations only coming about due to illness truth be told. Wakefield had been brilliant the previous few times we’d been down, but this time, for whatever reason, it just didn’t happen.

This happens to all bands, at some point. You maybe feel as a tribute band there’s a degree of untouchablity to you, that folk will always want to come see someone play songs they love. Sadly it was not to be, and was repeated in Glasgow in December to end the year on a sad note for us.

THAT however, is all I’m going to say negativity wise.

Newcastle. Trillians. Is where I choose to end 2025. Allan’s 50th birthday (yep, he’s THAT old, but still not as old as me). It was a blast. It was a proper rock send off to the year for us.

It seems only fitting I end my look back on 2025 with these two above me. For Allan’s 50th, and for John’s first full year with us as a band.

2025 was a rollercoaster. We climbed to the peak, then descended to some disappointing lows.

2026 however, is here, and we’re hitting the road, and hitting a few new places.

A kick off in the Lakes. A solo tribute gig on the coast. A visit to Whitehaven, and the Twisted Tongue courtesy of Rock The Foundry Promotions, will see us hopefully pull a crowd in, and enjoy some proper rock on the road before we make what can only be described as a pilgrimage to the Cart & Horses in London in March. Birthplace of Iron Maiden.

We come home to Glasgow for a Maiden, Megadeth, Anthrax beast of a gig, before being on the road once more taking in Birmingham, Manchester, and a return to Glasgow for our first ever NOT-FEST.

It’s going to be quite the year if it all goes to plan. So, from me, and all the lads in ArrAnthrax, thank you so much for all your love, support, and more over the past 7 years. We hope 2026 is going to be our best yet!

We’ll see you down the front!