Suzi Quatro Reigns Supreme At The London Palladium

November 16, 2024

Tonight, The London Palladium saw the first night of the Suzi Quatro UK tour celebrating her 60th anniversary in music. There really is still no holding this lady back. She very much remains the Queen Of Rock ‘N’ Roll and sets the benchmark for younger female artists to follow. With an introduction from ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris, we knew that we were in for something special.

Suzi Quatro

The London Palladium – 13 November 2024

Words: Adrian Stonley

Photography: Robert Sutton

'Whispering' Bob Harris - Suzi Quatro - The London Palladium - 13 November 2024. Photo: Robert Sutton/MetalTalk'Whispering' Bob Harris - Suzi Quatro - The London Palladium - 13 November 2024. Photo: Robert Sutton/MetalTalk — ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris – Suzi Quatro – The London Palladium – 13 November 2024. Photo: Robert Sutton/MetalTalk

The show was split into two sets, which were both balanced with material from across her career. The first part of the set was predominantly comprised of classic tracks from across Suzi’s career with a few deeper cuts.

There was also some newer material from 2019’s No Control and 2021’s The Devil In Me, showing that she continues to write high-quality new material and is not just here to live off past successes and the nostalgia gravy train.

Although, of course, as expected in an anniversary tour and with a career as long and distinguished as Suzi’s, all the greatest hits were still there. There were also some covers thrown in for good measure.

Starting with a few older favourites, The Wild One, Daytona Demon, and Tear Me Apart, she ensured that the audience knew from the outset that they would be in for a good time.

Shaking her ‘ass,’ she has never held back from shaking her award-winning “notable feature,” and dressed all in denim, she was not holding back tonight. Suzi is still very much a livewire on stage and surrounded by an impressive band, horn section and backing singers, it was clear that tonight was going to be a triumph throughout.

Interjecting the songs with stories from her career, she added colour to those familiar tunes, and though some of us had heard them before, there were plenty of Quatro virgins here tonight who had not, and this definitely enhanced their experience.

48 Crash had the audience rolling back the clocks to the ’70s glory days before she introduced three “newer songs”. Two were from The Devil In Me, the first being the title track of her 2021 album, which was co-written with and produced by her son Richard Tuckey, showing she is very much a relevant rock ‘n’ roller and that her spirited attitude has not dissipated over the years.

I Sold My Soul Tonight showed that this is one lady who is not ready to slow down or surrender her crown just yet, either.

Slow Down, the old Larry Williams song, gave her horn section a chance to shine, adding depth to the rocking sound. Following this, Suzi cranked matters up to eleven for a further cover, that of Neil Young’s Rocking In The Free World. This had the audience singing and shouting along.

The first set finished with Suzi showing that musically there is more to her than playing the bass, stepping up to the piano to show that she is an accomplished all-around musician. Following a dedication to her parents, she reduced the tempo with the soft, heartfelt ballad Can I Be Your Girl, which brought the first set to a close.

Following the gentle end to the first set, the second half of the show got proceedings back onto the rock ‘n roll treadmill. Suzi returned to the stage in trademark black leathers for Motor City Riders, also from the Devil In Me album before a rousing Bad Moon Rising, a cover of the old Creedence Clearwater Revival classic.

With the interjection of one newer song, Shine A Light, a number written with KT Tunstall, the rest of the second half of the set was a step back to the classic days of the early ’70s with songs such as She’s In Love With You, Too Big, with Glycerine Queen getting the audience roused and rowdy and singing along as though it was the heady glam days of the 1970s.

Yet the pièce de résistance from that era was still to come.

If Glycerine Queen had the audience fired up then it was nothing compared to the two obvious set closers. Suzi Quatro shared the drum stool and undertook a drum playoff before the familiar beats of Can The Can kicked in. Devil Gate Drive would follow.

The encore was a mixed bag, with Suzi returning to the stage with the country-tinged If You Can’t Give Me Love before she and the band rocked out to the Chuck Berry standard Sweet Little Rock ‘n’ Roller. This in itself could be Suzi’s anthem, and saw some banter with the backing singers as they invaded her stage space.

Like the first half, the second half of the show ended on a quiet note, with Suzi on a stool singing a beautiful and emotional rendition of the Eagle’s Desperado.

Perhaps it was not the rollicking ending to the show that we had expected, but it certainly was a poignant moment. One thing is for sure, though, and that is that Suzi Quatro still takes no prisoners.

Long may the Queen Of Rock ‘n’ Roll reign.