The UK Connection-Magnum: Favorite & Least Favorite Albums

[@mahogany174]

I latched on to Magnum with the very first album when Geoff Barton (who came up with the term NWOBHM) raved about it. I wasn’t sure what to make of it at the time but I loved the second album. Seen them several times and consider myself a fan. On a Storyteller’s Night is an absolute classic but they never fail to deliver every time.

[@conailrutherford6688]

Classic band. If you haven't come across Magnum before, please do have a listen.

[@guillermomaldonado6277]

Been "in love" with this band since 1998; Bob's voice, Clarkin's guitars, Stanway's and now Benton's keyboards, and overall the lyrics and melodies ...my favorite rock band for the past 20+ years!; only album I could put in a "least favorite" category is Rock Art, and even that record I mostly like. Thanks for a fun show, as ever, and for give Magnum the time in the spotlight 🍺🤘!!

[@747jono]

Favourite Magnum concert moment Manchester Academy 2 way back. Bobs Mum R.I.P was to the right of the stage perched upon a stool she looked so proud of what her son had achieved 👏. Precious

[@robertwatt4248]

Great show guys of one of my favourite bands. First saw them at Wembley Arena when they briefly hit the premier league. Seen them many times since in much smaller venues but they are always a class outfit. Am planning on going to see 'Kimgdom of Madness' which features Mark Stanwey & Micky Barker playing the classics. My top 5 1.Vigilante 2.Wings of Heaven 3.On a Story Tellers Night 4. Goodnight L.A. 5. Sleepwalking

[@shaunsmith3538]

Looking forward to this one for a few reasons. Firstly, Magnum are one of my favourite bands and secondly it's the UK connection show and I cannot wait to hear the views of Mr. Steven Reid and Mr. Simon Bray. And obviously , it's all on the excellent Pete Pardo's Sea of Tranquillity channel! Saturday evening viewing hasn't been this good since Starskey & Hutch were on the telly! My picks are as follows:- Favourites: On a Storytellers Night & The Serpent Rings Wildcard: Escape from the Shadow Garden Least Favourites: Breath of Life & Brand New Morning 👍

[@geruto17760]

Starskey & Hutch? Maybe they'll bring back Magnum. ( No pun intended obviously)

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Thanks Shaun! Love the Magnum quip Gert!

[@martinkulkarni3569]

Great video people! One of my favourites and great to hear about all the Magnum stuff after the eighties which I don’t have! I have long promised myself I will buy the whole Magnum and Saga catalogues! It’s time!

[@Tangram62]

This programme with the chaps made we realise how many brilliant albums I am missing which which I need to rectify. Most of my collection is from the earlier years. thanks Steven, Pete and the chap boogying somewhere near Padiham 👍

[@JuhaHietasaari]

Magnum is one of my absolute favorite bands. I have now over 500 titles with them! I've been a fan since 'Chase The Dragon', and I have seen them live 20 times! My favorite album is 'The Eleventh Hour!', the songs and lyrics is just phenomenal! The least favorite is 'Rock Art', but I love them all!

[@TranquilityFireReid]

500titles? Amazing Juha!!!

[@martinkulkarni3569]

Great shout out for ‘The Eleventh Hour’! My favourite Magnum along with ‘Storytellers’!

[@rushshukla4636]

Same as. Eleventh Hour is their finest hour. It's a masterpiece.

[@maddysmith8846]

When Steven talks with passion and love for bands/music he really loves, his voice becomes quite mellifluous. I didn’t get into Magnum until I bought a cassette of Sleepwalking and loved it. Oddly, my next purchase was a double CD Magnum Spirit A History, with one CD a compilation of studio songs and one live recorded on their Goodnight LA tour, although doesn’t say which shows. I really fell in love with the Live CD and play it still, lovely sound. I own about 9 albums so can’t really offer bookends but for a wildcard, I often listen to 2017’s The Valley of Tears The Ballads. It has a mixture of newly recorded old songs, remixed and remastered and remastered. It says that Dionne Clarkin came up with the idea, no sure if Dionne is Tony’s wife or daughter but thank you for that great idea!

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Thank you Maddy! Really appreciate that comment!

[@paulwheeldon3075]

I loved the Sleepwalking album! I remember seeing them at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham (Simon might know) on that tour and they were great! Looking forward to (hopefully) seeing them in Manchester in a few months.

[@darrensutherland4399]

Huge thanks to Steven for bringing Magnum and Thunder into my world bands up until a couple of years ago had no idea existed

[@TranquilityFireReid]

My absolute pleasure Darren. Two top notch bands!

[@johnmichaelwilliams6694]

Another splendid episode, gents. Introduced to this band when Pete reviewed the album The Serpent Rings shortly after finding SoT in 2020. Bought it, highly enjoyed it and then waited on the then-announced ranking show with Pete and Steven. Bought On A Storyteller's Night after that and another great album. Been streaming some others but now show by the UK Connection triumvirate, time to go add another CD or two to the collection. Haven't listened to enough to have least favorites at this point but glad to see the recent albums getting lots of recommendations in the Wild Card phase today. So thanks as always Pete, Simon, and Steven for another great time sharing laughs and discussions of this great band. Cheers!

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Great stuff JMW!

[@laurencegoodwin3430]

What would I do without you guys, I fantasise about sitting in a pub and spending all eternity chatting about music . Pete , Ive said it before , we had a guy here in the UK , Tommy Vance who was our leader and now we have you , thank you , what you do is amazing , on behalf of myself and all of the UK , keep it up , you've become our leader

[@sotdude7]

Thanks!!

[@DR-lc9qg]

Great show, Simon had me nearly rolling about the floor laughing 😂 at 55mins in, hillarious. Magnum always felt to me, back in the day as second rate to American pomp/prog/AOR bands, but, I was wrong. Due to this show I have gone back and listened to Kingdom of Madness and 2, and there is nothing second rate about these albums. I think it clear I was being a music snob. I am going to see them in September, their postponed march 2020 gig, looking forward to that, though covid anxiety is high. Last time I saw them was the Goodnight LA tour, which was a good gig. I regret ignoring Magnum, I guess it was cooler back in the day, to chase the obscure Derek Oliver ‘mega excellent’ aor/pomp/prog American, Canadian rarities recommendations he wrote about in Kerrang, than a very good uk band. I only have Magnum on vinyl, not a single cd.

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Excellent post D R. Always great to see someone giving a band a 2nd chance and discovering they really like them!

[@jimekberg]

Favorite top five albums: 1. The Eleventh Hour 2. Magnum ll 3. Chase the Dragon 4. Vigilante 5. Brand New Morning

[@Tangram62]

Big Magnum fan so I have been looking forward to this all week. Love the UK connection with Steven and my neighbour from up t'road Simon.

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Thanks for watching!

[@CygnusUren]

Great show as usual! You've made me laugh and also inspired me to rediscover Magnum, who I haven't listened to in years. Re-listened to the first 4 already and they're great. Can't wait to hear the rest.

[@martinkulkarni3569]

Amongst all of my teenage artwork portfolio, I’m really proud of a freehand drawing of that classic logo!

[@martinkulkarni3569]

I will always remember on one occasion, seeing Magnum at Newcastle City Hall on the Storyteller tour when Bob Catley, with the crescendo ending of Just Like An Arrow, pointing to the audience a number of times repeating the title, and the crowd were going beserk! I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it now! Memorable!

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Love it!

[@jerryattwooll4864]

Another great, entertaining show from UK Connection. Love the banter between the 3 of you. My 2 favourites I'm sure coincide with many Magnum fans and coincide with Pete's choices. On A Storytellers Night and Chase The Dragon. They have no real turkeys in my opinion, but if I have to pick 2 lesser favourites then I would pick Sleepwalking and Magnum 2 I would stress that I still like both the above albums, but not as much as their others My so called wild card is Rock Art. Magnum are, along with Uriah Heep, one of the longstanding bands still releasing a series of excellent albums.

[@shaunsmith3538]

Great show Pete Pardo, Steven Reid & Simon Brayby Sham. 😂👍

[@OlegRyzhikov]

I adore Magnum! Practically every record is great. "Lost on the Road to Eternity" is my favorite right now: this title track with Toby Sammet, just brilliant! Welcome to the Cosmic Cabaret, Without Love - wonderful!

[@denman7027]

I saw Magnum for the first time waaay back in 1979/80. They were support band for Blue Oyster Cult. They were promoting their Magnum 2 album. Absolutely fantastic, memorable evening all around from both bands. Still my best musical evening EVER!!! .......and I've seen them all.

[@MAGNUM2F]

Their best album.

[@mattyboywalker9094]

I got some catching up.to.do here a clasxic act as always from the 3 of you and this....one of my all time.fav bands massively underrated can't wait to see what we pick.

[@andreasb4202]

Nice episode. Love Magnum. I am planning to travel from Sweden to UK and see the christmas show in Wolverhamton.

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Great stuff Andreas!

[@rsqyoung]

This may be Magnum... but Bob Catley's Solo with Gary Hughes and even better Tobias Sammett's Avantasia is really worth a listen.

[@daniellothgren157]

Underrated band and underrated vocalist! I love how much emotion there is in Bob's vocals. Favourite albums, as in, the ones I most frequently listen to: Vigilante and Wings Of Heaven Least: Goodnight L.A. and Sleepwalking, but that's mostly because I've only recently picked up them. I still need many of the post reunion albums, but they're not the easiest to find. Wild Card: The Serpent Rings

[@martinkulkarni3569]

And Bob is also a huge Kansas fan, so he’s doubly great in my book!

[@747jono]

This is a very hard one guys as a Magnum one of my favourite UK bands. Seen on every Uk 🇬🇧 tour since Kingdom of Madness. Supported every one from Diamond Head Saxon Etc etc

[@martynhewitt91]

Great show guys! I'm spending father's Day going revisiting a three-disc compilation called Long Days Dark Night's. How I missed buying On a Storytellers Night amazes me but Wings of Heaven was my Magnum highlight then I gave up after Goodnight LA. Finally got on board again with Princess Alice and most recently The Serpent Rings. Thanks to your show I'm definitely aiming to plug a few gaps. Hope you all get together for that Magnum concert! Cheers.

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Great stuff Martyn!

[@kennycraig6769]

I have a confession to make that I have never really listened to Magnum but I will after this programme. One question I would like to ask is, and I may be wrong in asking this, why do they keep changing the M in their logo? I mean the M shaped like a sword/axe is so memorable and iconic. Edit Steven just spoke about the multitude of logos.

[@GordonHeaney]

I think it was because Tony wanted to move away from the fantasy image and gain more popularity in the mainstream. The D&D image didn't really allow them to do that. Just my thoughts.

[@SJHUE]

Another great video guys! A lot to enjoy in Magnum`s catalogue. `Wings of Heaven`, `Vigilante` and `Chase The Dragon` are the three I tend to listen to the most. My favourite Bob Catley vocal is on the song `Wild Swan`.

[@jedw9983]

On a Storyteller's Night was a classic. Beautiful song writing, and part of the soundtrack to my teenage years. Good live band too.

[@franciskocher200]

I agree.It's my favorite Magnum album.

[@mikebruce3933]

In honour of their essential Englishness: Cor Blimey! Stone the crows! Lor' love a duck! Well blow me down! All these quaint English expressions of surprise could be applied and you still wouldn't express my level of surprise at how stonkingly good the new Magnum album is. Thanks guys 😊

[@donaldwrissler9059]

Never having heard of Magnum, I picked up a used copy of "Chase the Dragon" in late 83/84; purely on the strength of the artwork. It is still my favorite album by them; and one I listen to regularly. Even though many of the albums are good they dont elicit the same response, although some of it may be due to great memories of doing a cover version of "Soldier of the Line" in the late 80's.

[@jamesmackinnon279]

Thanks for another great show. I have been a Magnum fan from the beginning. I would agree that On a storytellers night is probably the best and one of my favourites.i would also go with Kingdom of Madness as that was my introduction to the band. A I would als agree no bad albums but I wasn't so keen on Goodnight LA. Monsters Roar would also be my wildcard but also would give a mention to Princess Alice. Looking forward to seeing them in September. Sorry Pete I have seen them quite a few times and they have always been excellent.

[@kennycraig6769]

Well guys thanks for costing me a fortune as I have now listened to On A Storytellers Night and will now have to buy the whole back catalogue and I have booked to see them at Nottingham Rock City in September. P.S. That box set Steven had, The Gathering, is mega bucks(don't tell the wife)!!😂

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Great news Kenny (other than the empty wallet and angry wife!). I had no idea The Gathering was a bit 'spenny' as the kids now say!

[@stevesmith3990]

I saw Magnum a couple of times in the early 80's in London, they were great. I also remember seeing Tony Clarkin outside the Hammersmith Odeon at a Marillion gig; he was dressed as a sort of western gentlemen in an all black suit complete with waistcoat and big black hat flanked by two beefy and mean looking roadies. I looked at him with a big grin and and he smiled back. I didn't feel brave enough to ask for an autograph :)

[@michaelrichards8496]

Fair play guys , you’re always an entertaining watch.

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Thanks Michael!

[@roccomancini5875]

One of my local bands , seen them a few times in Birmingham UK. Always loved this band, awesome live outfit. Fantastic Albums. Rate them highly.. one of the Legendary metal bands that came out of the west Midlands and the Black Country.. these areas have created more metal bands than the rest of the world...

[@lie188]

i've only heard the album 'Wings Of Heaven' and loved it. if it turns out this is the 'best' album, i'll definitely play no.2 on the list. i must find the time to play ALL their albums 👏

[@Tillydog111]

And now I have to go listen to Les Morts Dansant. No idea why but I bloody love that song!

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Because it's bloody awesome!

[@matsetizar65]

Thanks Simon for the live in brum recommendation, it is the bees knees!

[@MauriceHotblack]

I had Magnum II and Kingdom of Madness on vinyl back in the early 80's. I still have Marauder, the live album, and a double live single released in support of the album. Saw them on a triple package tour with openers Tygers of Pan Tang and headliners Def Leppard at the Manchester Apollo in 80 or 81. The consensus in school the next day was that Magnum blew 'the leppard' off the stage that night. Babycham was a brave choice Simon.

[@martinkulkarni3569]

Marauder is a great live album! One of my favourite ever live albums. I’ll have to invest in the Live In Birmingham vinyl!

[@MAGNUM2F]

They never bettered Magnum II. The last decent albums before the split was WOH and Vigilante. Loved Princess Alice. Ill always love Magnum but downhill from Breath of life tbh.

[@motygrusman448]

1. Vigilante ; 2. Chase The Dragon; 3 .Kingdom Of Madness. i agree this is the most consistent band through the years alongside Scorpions

[@bobtailedcollieradford3682]

I really enjoy your regular Saturday night show. Just lovely to sit down and watch with a packet of cheese & onion crisps and a Dr. Pepper!

[@geruto17760]

Exactly, unfortunately I did a Pete here and my beer spilled over. Thanks Pete for the tuition...not.

[@TranquilityFireReid]

The perfect combination BCR!

[@darrensutherland4399]

You lot never fail to make me laugh well done Simon you got the moves

[@simonbrayfromsot1375]

I always thought I could be a professional dancer!

[@rezner101]

This was a very entertaining watch. And I love everything about Magnum, except for the music. Might give them another go but, can't see me changing my mind. Great show as always guys. Pete, you need to step up your beer game ;-)

[@Arutha_Con_Doin]

Steven already did an excellent job 2 years ago with his ranking of the Magnum albums. Looking forward to some insight from Simon on this subject.

[@tmc1054]

Simon has as much depth as a paddling pool. His insight is akin the contents of a ping pong ball. More importantly, he will make you laugh and smile, and I appreciate him for it.

[@simonbrayfromsot1375]

@@tmc1054 Don't know how to take that.

[@tmc1054]

@@simonbrayfromsot1375 You have my sincerest appreciation. You've been and continue to be great company. Thank you.

[@tmc1054]

@@simonbrayfromsot1375 With a pinch of salt, Simon.

[@MalditoMendoza]

@@simonbrayfromsot1375 Well, the contents of a ping pong ball can be substancial, and quite valuable as well. If you fill it with cocaine for instance.

[@merikblackmore]

Good show with many, many wildcards. I've no idea how you can discuss Vigilante and make no mention of the magical pompness that is When the World Comes Down, certainly a top 10 track of theirs for me. Invasion was recorded when they were supporting Ozzy in the US in April 82, maybe that's their only US tour. I think Eleventh Hour and Wings of Heaven are my favs, I already had a twofer cd of Eleventh Hour/Vintage Magnum comp but it was those singles from WfH and then the album that cemented by fandom. I didn't like the American production of Goodnight LA but first saw them on that tour in 1990, supported by Roko iirc. The latter 2 albums had their moments. I have all the albums to RockArt but didn't know about Hard Rain and despite seeing them 3 times since they've reformed (2002 in a tiny club, 2005 and 2016) I've not given any of these new albums a proper listen. I'm guessing the new songs they played didn't stick in the memory. Discogs tells me that I have a 5 albums in 1 box collection (Breath of life, brand new morning, princess alice, moonking & visitation) will have to go hunting for that tomorrow and give them another try. Pedants hat on: Simon, there is no such thing as perry cider, there is perry (drink made from pears), there is cider (drink made from apples) and there is even something called pear cider (apple drink with pear flavourings). Being from the west country, I have studied this extensively over the years & love a pint of perry (not babycham) when I can find it.

[@jondevon64]

Just got around to watching this,Magnum are an institution don't have as many as i should do .I love On A Storytellers Night and Vigilante.The are a band you don't skip or turn off when they appear.

[@mprofo.indogwetrust]

Favourites Magnum II & Storyteller's Night. Of the recent stuff Lost On The Road To Eternity. Least favourites probably the first two after the reformation, mainly because I don't remember much about them. Live album The Spirit. Wild card Goodnight LA, seems to be near the bottom of everyone's list but I like it. Hope to see them in Manchester in September. B^)

[@notnowjohn765]

Saw them in Cambridge the other month to celebrate my 18th birthday. Still such a tight act even now, and they had such a cracking set list! A mix of The Monster, Serpent Rings and classics (with some deep cuts: Dance of The Black Tattoo). Also great shirts available with luscious Rodney Matthews art.

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Sounds like the perfect birthday celebration!

[@notnowjohn765]

@@TranquilityFireReid It sure was! Seeing my childhood heroes as I reached adulthood meant a lot to me. PS: Love your work on the channel Mr Reid. Yourself, Pete and Simon keep my young mind more entertained than anyone else on the whole of KZbin! Keep up the awesome storytelling and general Scottish-ness 🤟🏻

[@TranquilityFireReid]

@@notnowjohn765 Thank you! Fair to suggest we have just as much fun putting the shows together!

[@ronhaller2143]

Always loved Magnum! But it took me a while to rediscover them after their reunion. I didn‘t like the first two albums they did at that time, I also never liked „Rock Art“. But I‘m more with Steven than with Peter. I really love Spleepwalking and Goodnight LA. My favorites of course will always be Vigilante and Storyteller‘s Night. But hell, „The Monster Roars“ is brilliant… the only things where they tend to mess up once in a while are the covers and the undecidedness in terms of a band logo. I wished they would have stuck with Rodney Matthews throughout.

[@rocioiribe5841]

Yesterday's UK connection episode ranking the songs of "On a storyteller's night" brought me here. Somehow I missed this. 🤘

[@grantporteous6244]

I am going to pull a Catino here and say that I find it difficult to split On A Storyteller's Night, Wings of Heaven and Chase the Dragon. But if absolutely pushed then I would pick Chase the Dragon. Sacred Hour is hands down my favourite Magnum song. That intro gives me goose bumps every time I hear it. Least favourite but still really strong would be Breath of Life., still re-finding their feet here and Goodnight L.A., record company pressure spoiling things a little. Wild card I would agree with Mr Reid in that The Gathering is a phenomenal box set. Essential purchase for any serious Magnum fan. Well done on another excellent show guys!

[@marksimpson4258]

Peter is absolutely correct about magnum and the USA, now I can absolutely confirm that back in the late 70s early 80s magnum live were better than, maiden, Leppard, saxon, yep they were, I must have seen them live more then any outher bands back then, musicians everyone of them 👍 should have been massive in UK 🇬🇧 and the USA 🇺🇸. Good thing I don't have to go out and buy anything from this episode of SOT.... Because I have everything from magnum ❤

[@orchidcarpetcleaningrp6061]

Totally agree .Saw first at Marquee in 1984 amazing.

[@marksimpson4258]

I've been following magnum from 77 /78, support for judas priest in Lincoln way back, brilliant band love all the albums, but I am struggling a bit with the monster roar. Best album wings of heaven, then the 1st album and in 3rd.... O all of them 👍 brilliant live all the dam time! Thanks SOT for doing magnum they deserve it ❤

[@guillermomaldonado6277]

Yes! how on earth songs like "Midnight" or "Days of No Trust" were not massive hits in the 80s?? Can't begin to explain that.

[@rikgay857]

I don’t like magnum but you three are the best thing on KZbin! Unmissable👍👍🍺

[@747jono]

Sorry for lateness. Favourites -On A Storyteller's Night & Wings of Heaven Least Favourites - Sleepwalking and Goodnight LA . Wild card - Kingdom Of Madness. And as said not a turkey in the catalogue. Cheers guys

[@lazarossamaras4427]

Another great band. My faves : On a storyteller 's night, Wings of heaven. As far as least but I like them, Goodnight LA, II. My wildcard would be Escape from the shadow....

[@geruto17760]

I dare you to go for the concert in September in the UK. Having said that, we DO expect a detailed concert review here on SOT. Well you know the score. All the damn time.

[@johnhenfrey5936]

One of my favourite bands too, though haven’t bought Monster yet. Favourite albums are, The Serpent Rings and Lost on the Road to Eternity. Least favourite I can just come up with Rock Art. BEER Steven go down to Edinburgh and between, Haymarket and Shandwick Place, is The Vault City, Brewery tap. Pete no one uses the word Samuel Smith, I live down the road from the Brewery, but everyone calls the Brewery and it’s Beers Sam Smiths.

[@daicullinane7746]

Great show and really good choices for favourites. Only finding out on Wednesday that you were doing Magnum, I didn't have as much time to listen to the huge catalogue. So, I have no least favourites, but I have more than two favourites. Basically every album from Kingdom of Madness to Wings of Heaven. However, one of my fave Magnum songs is Back to Earth, which should have been on Chase the Dragon instead of Walking the Straight Line. I managed to listen to several of the albums from 2009 to 2020, and they were all pretty good . Not listened to The Monster Roars, yet. My wildcard is Marauder. All I have to say is "Reborn"!!.

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Which is pretty much the correct answer!

[@daicullinane7746]

@@TranquilityFireReid having relistened to the early Magnum and listening to Styx recently I noticed particularly on The Grand Illusion elements where they crossover. So, why weren't Magnum huge in the USA by the time of Chase the Dragon? Was Don Arden not pushing hard in that sector?

[@TranquilityFireReid]

@@daicullinane7746 Another one of life's great mysteries.

[@matsetizar65]

I came in with Chase the Dragon, picked it up because of the cover (no internet back then), and loved it. Another fave is Wings of Heaven, their best. Didn't like Goodnight LA, but probably need to give it another listen. The latest one is pretty good, it's just that I listen to so many albums in this streaming age, I don't linger on one for too long.

[@Foofang65]

Poughkeepsie n.y. I lived in new paltz for a spell. Late (80’s to early 90’s ) I went to the chance, for a few shows. Loved that place. Hey is birdie’s bar still there? I remember the basement bar with the Black and white checkered floor.😜

[@iainhead9898]

Hi guys, better late than never... and it is late, 3.15 AM to be exact, so yes, I'm listening at work again, so no beer this time, sadly, just Strength #4 Columbian coffee... Hey ho.... So, #1 favourite is, yes, predictably, Storyteller's Night: I already had the 2 or 3 before it, but this was made doubly special for me as this tour was the first of only 2 occasions I've seen the band live, and it was the only time I ever made it to a gig at the Marquee in London. Packed, sweat running down the walls... Great night Then it gets harder. Way harder, but I'm going Princess Alice & the Broken Arrow.... Could have been any one of about 7 albums.... Least fave, yes, I'd picked two that were mentioned by you guys, namely Goodnight LA and Sleepwalking... . ..and my Wildcard is Wings of Heaven, mainly because of Steven's Favourite Song... That said Pete, I, like you, am still listening to their newest classic every couple of weeks, along with Saxons Carpe Diem as it happens... OK, shutting up now. See you next week!

[@oliveroliver2828]

Feels a bit inappropriate but you guys put a smile in my face every Saturday. A great friend of mine was killed in a motorbike accident yesterday and you still managed to bring me some relief. Thanks for another fantastic show and well done on pronouncing Lancashire correctly, Pete!

[@simonbrayfromsot1375]

I'm glad we could help in a small way

[@seaoftranquilityprog]

So sorry Oliver...my condolences on your loss. Glad we could bring a smile to your face on an obviously tragic day. Stay strong.

[@kimberlywalker3970]

Cheers from the West Coast. I'm not a Magnum fan. I'm just here for the drinks and conversation which is always interesting. See you next week😁

[@stephennorris2524]

My Introduction to Magnum was hearing Soldier of the Line on the friday rock show & finding the 7" single Kingdom of Madness in a corner shop, My top 2 are always the same. Chase The Dragon and On a Storyteller's Night. Bottom 2 are Goodnight LA and Breath of Life w/c is Sleepwalking.

[@TranquilityFireReid]

Excellent choices!

[@stephennorris2524]

@@TranquilityFireReid Thanks, love Magnum.

[@growlers90]

Just a suggestion: I know Pete isn`t too enthusiastic about them but following Simon`s excellent concert review a few weeks back would a ranking of Hammerfall albums be possible?

[@Iainrankingtheobscure]

As Ever great Show Here's the Votes From R.T.O Favourites 1.On A Storytellers Night (Just defines this band) 2 Wings of Heaven (Don't Wake the Lion is a Killer Track) Least Favourites Goodnight LA Breath Of Life (These though are two good albums ) Wild Card Hard Rain (Debut Album which also had Al Barrow on the bass guitar) When I ranked the Magnum Albums on my channel Top 4 1 On A Storytellers Night 2 Wings Of Heaven 3 Vigilante 4 Chase The Dragon Great Minds think alike

[@GordonHeaney]

Saw them live in 1988, note perfect and great sound

[@abe3802]

Chase The Dragon will always be my fave album. One of my fave albums of all time.

[@daxtear]

My Magnum rankings have changed around quite a bit over the last... well basically they're always in turmoil. And recently On A Storyteller's Night has climbed to my nr. 2 spot. The more I listen to it the better it gets I guess. But my favorite album of all time is Kingdom of Madness and this has stayed the same. Magnum is a band that got me on the path of a lot of genres either directly or indirectly, with Kingdom Of Madness I started listening to pomp-prog which got me on the way to styx, kansas and city boy, eventually leading me into going more into prog rock. So then I went back and suddenly really started liking AOR, as prompted by Storyteller's Night. Really important band to me. Now to the stinky ones, I'll keep this short. I don't really care for Sleepwalking and Wings Of Heaven (sorry Steven) As a wildcard... THREEE WAY TIE TIME!!! Vigilante, The Eleventh Hour, Chase The Dragon. All of these albums have half a fantastic 10/10 best album ever, and half Wings Of Heaven. I find it interesting how songs like The Great Disaster and Hit And Run can be on the same album. Gotta say tho 11th hour is my favorite of these 3 by a smidgen. Anyway love the band and great show guys!

[@martinkulkarni3569]

Great shout out for the band City Boy, and The Eleventh Hour album. In my top two with Storyteller!

[@747jono]

Simon you never fail to amaze us lol. Very Abigail's Party 🥳

[@terryjohnson5275]

I first saw Magnum supporting Whitesnake in 1978 and taped their BBC In concerts and Reading Broadcasts from 79 and 80. I make no apologies for preferring their earlier Pomptastic stuff and to be honest while I still really liked them from Storytellers Night onwards I didnt love them as I did for their first four studio albums. Their albums since Princess Alice have mostly been pretty damn good though, however, as with a lot of the music I love to listen to I'm solidly stuck in the late 70's and early 80's. My Favourites - 1. Magnum 2 - production could have been a bit better but for me this is and always will be an absolute classic slice of prime British pomp rock. 2. Kingdom of Madness - only marginally below Magnum 2 due to Baby Rock Me a good song but a naff title and maybe they shoud have replaced that with one or two of the demo tracks that they released on the bonus disc to the 2005 remastered CD like Stormbringer,Captain America, Find the Time or Everybody Needs. Side 2 is just about perfect though -love the way the last tree songs flow into each other. Least Favourites - Sleepwalking and Rock Art. When I listened back to these I found the drum sound a bit irritating and that's the main reason I've put them as least favourite although I could equally have picked their first couple of comeback albums Breath of Life and Brand New Morning though as they hadnt quite got back into their stride as they did from Princess Alice onwards. Goodnight LA has detractors but I dont mind it. Wildcard - if there is one for this show - would be Marauder and the Live EP that came out at the same time - it was a pity they couldnt have extended Marauder into a double live. I love it because its live versions of the songs from Kingdom of Madness and 2, so I'm bound to. If I had to pick a middle album I'd probably go for one of Lost on the Road to Eternity, The Visitation or Escape from the Shadow Garden, all very very good albums - not so keen on On The 13th Day though, its good but not as good as the ones beofre and after it -seems to have the keyboards lower in the mix or less featured.

[@niallstranix5412]

Me too! Went to see Whitesnake 1978 Manchester Apollo, never even heard of Magnum then, but came out loving them. To this day my favourite band. So with you on the early stuff - classic. Like you, wish they hadn't included Baby Rock Me on Kingdom of Madness. I remember saying in the now long gone fan club magazine it was my least favourite track and not in keeping with the rest of the album. I actually think Bob Catley's solo stuff is as good as any more recent Magnum stuff, and dare I say in some cases a lot better. I know he had good writers for them but as with Magnum he can paint pictures with his voice.

[@davidclark2208]

Hi Pete and Simon and Steven fun as always ,this is a great band the very first Magnum album I got was The eleventh hour , but I did not know them but I like the cover and the rest is history my picks are on a storyteller night and Chase the dragon ,the only one I don't listen to much is on the 13 th day, and for my wild card is dance of the black tattoo,this is a band that should have been bigger

[@martinkulkarni3569]

Great album ‘Eleventh Hour’. One of my favourite Magnum albums. And yes, they should have been huge. Great band! Also, Bob Catley is a huge Kansas fan, like me!

[@parishofrock2963]

Come fall circle. Whilst I was aware of Magnum, I’m ashamed to say I couldn’t get over the fact they were named after an expensive ice lolly. However the ranking show got me to face my prejudice and listen to them & I now really like them. Favourites - On a Storyteller’s Night & Vigilante. Least favourite - The Spirit. Wild card - also going with the latest The Monster Roars. A request for a future episode - Favourite & Least Favourite Def Leppard. I suspect we might not get such a harmonious show which could be fun. You could also review their latest album (which I quite like btw).

[@simonbrayfromsot1375]

I'd have to listen to the Leps for the first time in decades in order to join in with that request.

[@TranquilityFireReid]

I'm guessing the band came before the iced delicacy! lol!!

[@parishofrock2963]

@@TranquilityFireReid they did to be fair but that probably means they were named after after Magnum PI.

[@TranquilityFireReid]

@@parishofrock2963 Hahahaha!!!! That made me laugh out loud!

[@steevenfrost]

I've heard storytellers Night which I liked. Don't know anymore so this will be an education.

[@ashleygeisler1003]

This is one band that I haven't really listened to. I will now check them thanks. Any chance the UK connection could do a fav least favourite and wildcard show on suzi quatro??

[@simonbrayfromsot1375]

I've always had her down as more of a singles act and don't own very many of her actual albums.

[@ashleygeisler1003]

@@simonbrayfromsot1375 you should check them out. She has released some great albums

[@jandecuyper4477]

As far as US gigs go, apparently they opened for Sabbath in Pennsylvania on Octber 19th 1980. And there are 6 dates on the Ozzy Diary tour in April/May 1982. But that seems to be it.

[@henrikkarlsson1088]

1. Vigilante 2. Wings of heaven 3. On a storyteller´s night 4. Chase the dragon 5. The 11th hour 6. ll 7. Kingdom of madness 8. Brand new morning 9. On the 13th day 10. Goodnight LA 11. Lost on the road to eternity 12. Sacred blood & divine lies Bottom three Escape from shadow garden Breath of life In the valley of the moonking

[@steinarskaaland1570]

Top five albums for me are: Chase the dragon Vigilante Goodnight LA The serpent rings On the 13th day Bottom three: Brand new morning Breath of life Sleepwalking

[@dargbarnett]

I first saw Magnum supporting Krokus, 1982, and was hooked from the moment they opened with Soldier of the line. I would agree with Pete as to my favourite albums. It is a shame that they weren't as successful as they might have been, possibly not prog enough for the prog guys and too prog for the mainstream rock fans? They also struggled with image. As for Babycham....only in Burnley would you be able to buy Baby Cham still....that said surely a Stones, Mackeson or Double Diamond could have been sourced?? I guess that's Lancastrians for you??

[@simonbrayfromsot1375]

Pretty confident I sourced the Babycham in Rawtenstall. Definitely seen the other drinks you mentioned on the shelves recently. I'll see what I can do here on the right side of the Pennines!

[@PaulMcGarry-bo3jg]

I saw the band on their Magnum 2 tour supporting Def Leppard in Blackburn and soon after in Burnley. Their best period IMHO, which ended with Chase the Dragon.

[@mikephillips4844]

OK- was always going to buy On Story tellers..... but I think a live album may also be a shout. Top entertainment again. Cheers 🍻

[@tmc1054]

Whitesnake last week, Magnum this week. We're being spoiled.

[@franciskocher200]

Yes.And Saxon 1 month ago...

[@merikblackmore]

Has Richard Bailey been in any other bands? Could be a predictor for next week. 🤔

[@brianhart5620]

Chase the Dragon....hands down fave

[@stevendavid5370]

I've watched this video at least 3 times and still gleaning insight. I have coming 24 albums and who knows how many DVDs of this band. I can't believe Magnum was not popular here in the USA. Everything about them is so awesome, music, long writing, production, and every other factor worthy of consideration. I think Pete it on the nose, timing wasn't right, 4 years earlier and they would have been really big here. But they are really hitting an Internet get to know us campaign and with other KZbin channels such as SoT the word is (slowly) getting out. Too bad we won't to able to see them in their prime. So F-ing good. We're the losers in this one.

[@vayres7512]

Thank you for the video. Never heard about this band. Why?

[@jimhawkes]

Also on the lager tonight as it's been stupidly hot down here - Singah "The Original Thai Beer" Favourites: "On a Storytellers Night" & "Vigilante" - absolute classics! Least Favourites: "Brand New Morning" & "Breath of Life" - the closest they have ever come to dip in quality - and its not much of one. Wildcard: "Kingdom of Madness" Their first album and a little different from the later stuff much proggier!

[@orchidcarpetcleaningrp6061]

Those wonderful Rodney Mathews covers

[@stephenheap6296]

Great show im a big magnum fan and it’s hard to pick as there’s not a bad album.Sorry to be predictable my favourites are story tellers night and wings of heaven .My least favourites are breath of light and goodnight L A .My wildcard is the visitation

[@davidking2799]

Babycham 😂 used to nick that when I was about 12 at Christmas from my parents pantry

[@JohnSmith-rv7my]

What better way to spend a Saturday evening listening to my favourite show of the week talking about one of my favourite bands but have you read Mark Stanways book "Close to the Mark"? It's really good with some great personal stories of Magnum on the road. My wife got me a copy one Birthday personally signed by Mark with a signed bookmark and postcard.... All signed "To Shirley, Best wishes, Mark Stanway". Yup she forgot to mention my name when she ordered it!!! 😂

[@actorJSB]

Haha, similar story, but my copy is dedicated to my father in law! :D

[@simonbrayfromsot1375]

Oh no. My OH has just ordered it for me for our forthcoming holiday.

[@simonbrayfromsot1375]

Aaaaaand it's not signed for me!

[@JohnSmith-rv7my]

@@simonbrayfromsot1375 You can have one signed "To Shirley...."! 😂🤣😅

[@MrSpireite]

Magnum hold on of my brains Mandella effects, I could swear the Vigilante album was called Mirador and I have no knowledge of the actual Mirador compilation album that came after it as I only discovered Magnum with Wings of Heaven, then Mirador(Vigilante) and finally On a storytellers Night back in the 80s