Steel Panther + Kelsy Karter & The Heroines + Black Sonic Pearls – O2 Academy, Manchester – 21st July 2026
STEEL PANTHER
It’s the Europe Twenty Twenty S£X tour – of course it is – and Steel Panther is in town. So are all the Manchester Uni graduates for it’s Graduation Day, so Oxford Road is lined with a heady mix of academic gowns and varying degrees of Eighties hair Metal fashion. Some more, erm, ‘evolved’ than others, so first clas shoniours to those who’ve gone the whole hog with bouffant wigs, the obligatory headband and luridly coloured and very tight leggings and animal print jackets. And big beards…
Of course, Steel Panther aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. Their simply outrageous audacity in being totally and politically incorrect might ruffle a few feathers, maybe even have some pitting them, but on their own patch, on their own tour, with their own fans…it all gets lapped up. The (padded? naturally!) envelope that’s stuffed with chutzpah and banter, can be pushed even further as they command their own playground. The same playground where the fashions are built around White Goodman Dodgeball-style multicoloured spandex that can be either unforgiving or used to impressive advantage, especially combined with some hip pumping bravado.
HEROES + HEROINES
Prior to their set, a return to the age old ritual of inflated condoms bobbing around is greeted by lashings of disapproval when one (and then a second) bites the dust. And yes, a spot by the merch desk did see us witnessing a brisk trade in the souvenir butt plug keyring – surely a steal at £15 for its multipurpose options. Les takers though on the £1K for the decorated guitars… The feeling was a packed O2 Academy out for a fine time; a little like the World Cup Final where the mains attraction (the match / the band) was just part of the entertainment.
That’s not true of course, with Manchester thoroughly revved up enough for the opening sirens and lights, the arrival of their heroes and a couple of heroines who provide the first, erm, visual foil (or could be a distraction?) as they mount their poles to sashay to the tones of Eyes Of A Panther. David Lee Roth might be struggling to keep up his standards in the US, but his acolytes live on.
THE SENSITIVE SIDE
Part musical extravaganza a la Kiss, part innuendo packed stand up, with all four band members equally at home and on the same page with their chat. It must have a been a red letter day in the SP rehearsal room when they discovered the rhyming potential of ‘motherf**ker’ and ‘c**ksucker’. The quartet declares Death To All But Metal, and seemingly address their sensitive side with The Mother’s Day Song, with the usual tweaks, while never a moment is wasted to throw in a hand shape or pose that’s never anything less than outrageous but at times, the banter is simply very funny and actually, some of the songs might even rank in the ‘classic’ bracket.
Just Like Tiger Woods has a terrific riff and alongside firing out some carefully rehearsed ad libs, Satchel plays some mean shreds on his lovely red guitar. When you think that there are the same number of pole dancers as band members, there’s another surprise (well, not really if you think about it) for Seventeen Girls In A Row where the stage is packed with…needs no saying. Comedic Metal, Ben Dover and The Inbetweeners in musical form, readers en masse of Viz Comic, no-one care if its puerile as the comedy routines big up Manchester and the band make absolutely certain that they do their best to take care of any inclusion issues by attempting (and likely succeeding) in offending everyone. Parody and profanity in equal measures with an overdose of Glam Metal – what more could you wish for?
KELSY KARTER + THE HERIONES
We love it that The Heroines are three blokes (from Derby), and as the night is about fun and tongue-in-cheekiness, it all fits the bill. Up front, making a subtle-ish entrance after the band has slinked on, Kelsy Karter launches her sassy-and-sultry-in-Suzi-Quatro-leather set. Straight away, the sound is much clearer and cleaner. She’s on a mission to make us feel something – sounds like she might have been listening to too much Steel Panther, as she belts out how “God knows I’ve tried to be good!“
From West End canaret to the Steel Panther tour, she seems quite a home, bellowing how she “f**king loves this city” and then “we’re small but we’re loud – what’s your f**king excuse?” . Sassy? You bet although the classy veneer drops briefly when they make their place on the bill a little more obvious with a song “about shagging.” The version of Bonnie Tyler’s Holding Out For A Hero has an added poignancy with the singer’s recent death as Kelsy wrings out every drop of emotion accompanied by just Matt Peach’s acoustic guitar. Short and sweet – the set, not Kelsy…although…
BLACK SONIC PEARLS
Kicking off the night, Black Sonic Pearls. Delivering a set of exactly what it says on the tin. The unusual two guitars and drums plus vocals and a little help from some samples. Sadly, the mix seems a little on the muddy side, so any nuances get lost as they work through a selection from the Sonixomnia album. All is accompanied by Metal/Alt Rock And Roll – baseball caps, boxing moves 9and top knots)
One place the lead guitar makes its presence felt is the unexpected “song written by the greatest artists of all time.” No-one would expect them to launch into Jacko’s Earth Song, but they do and willingly, Manchester joins in with the “ooh-ooh-oohs” unashamedly. It looks like it’s going to be a night for not holding back with Black Sonic Pearls setting the ball rolling with, if nothing else, one we all know.
All photography by Andy Pountney (Event Photography Awards Winner 2024 and 2025). You can check out more of his work on shot_in_the_dark_photography2 on Instagram.
Steel Panther: Website
Kelsy Karter & The Heroines: Website
Black Sonic Pearls: Website