Live review: Stray at the Carlisle, Hastings 16/10/26

Stray are possibly not the only band of a certain vintage to have played Hastings Pier in their 1970s heyday and then returned to play to an enthusiastic crowd at the Carlisle rock pub down the road some fifty years later. But after a very successful gig last Autumn (which, sadly I missed because I was at the White Rock down the road for Dave Hill and Slade), the irrepressible Del Bromham and his band are back to rally the troops for another Hastings gig. Following an impressive solo performance from guitarist Dylan Gers (son of Iron Maiden legend, Janick), Stray took to the stage and launched into an exhilarating ‘Time Machine’ from the band’s 1970 debut album. Although I was still too young to see Stray in the 1970s (at Hastings Pier or anywhere else for that matter), I have seen various incarnations of the band on the live music circuit and at various festivals over the years, going back to the early ‘90s. This current formation, however, is made particularly special with the…