KING King conquered Salisbury City Hall.

“Last time we played here we were supporting John Mayall, so we hope you enjoy it,” said King King’s frontman Alan Nimmo. He needn’t have worried.

King King launched into the penultimate night of their spring tour with trusty opener Lose Control, and by the time they’d paid homage to The Fabulous Thunderbirds with a rollicking version of Wait On Time, City Hall was in full swing and the large crowd were wearing smiles.

Despite only releasing three albums to date, they’ve built up a loyal fan base, and very soon fans were singing along to the anthemic tracks from last year’s Reaching For The Light album, a sure sign that their music is making a mark.

Alongside Nimmo’s charisma and wonderfully clean lead guitar, King King have another weapon in their armoury – the band; part of their appeal is the ease they exude as they go through a 90-minute set that never drops off the high level.

Drummer Wayne Proctor snaps his snare with his eyes shut, bassist Lindsay Coulson smiles gently as his fingers ghost over his strings, whilst Bob Fridzema’s Hammond organ is just joyous – and after King King effortlessly take their audience through a mix of blues, rock, soul, and funk, everyone heads home feeling like they’ve all taken part in the night, not just watched it. And they had.

Guitar genius Dan Patlansky proved to be an ideal opener, as the catchy rock from his latest album Introvertigo received the sort of unilateral approval rare for a support act.

Adam Blackmore