REUNIONS MAY VARY: THE PROBLEM IN "GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER"

That whole thing about the Mayans, 2012 and the spin-off of a concept that was the terrible film with John Cusack in can’t be true. With KISS having made yet another grand return this year with the regrettable, forgettable Monster, do you think ol’ Genesy Simmonsy would let a little thing like the end of all time dam up his revenue streams? As the leathery bass man would probably tell you himself, “you betcha bottom dollar I wouldn’t, pal!” (what IS the ‘bottom dollar’ anyway?). The year of our Ford 2012 has been one to entertain a number of well-publicised reunions. Download Festival rocked gently to the sounds of re-cooked versions of 40 year old songs from Black Sabbath, Soundgarden shattered the goodwill afforded to them with a limp song for the Avengers movie and Aerosmith reminded everyone of the true horrors of senility with an unnecessary and altogether rubbish album. Even ZZ Top are back in the game. ZZ TOP!

The man born Gordon Sumner opted for a new
look for his band's comeback tour

Reunions are hardly a new trend. Even the briefest trawl through a Sunday tabloid’s show adverts provide a rich vein of who’s who from the past; Kid Creole, Inspiral Carpets, Four Tops (basically the Harlem Globetrotters of karaoke soul) and lots more besides. The nostalgia and cabaret circuit is a little different; you’ve got to make your money somewhere. But reunions from groups operating on a higher level can be viewed more cynically. At The Drive-In’s much-anticipated 2011 get together was essentially a smash and grab job for the money, as revealed by Omar Lopez-Rodriguez to a number of other publications. Speaking of money, Sting & The Police raked in £zillions following a lengthy and lucrative world tour. The prominent green activist Sting did his bit for the environment by being partly responsible for the deployment of massive convoys of trucks carrying stage equipment and countless chartered jets to ensure prompt venue arrival time.

This year’s crop have at least released or planned new recordings. ATD-I and The Police got away with the old hits. Soundgarden’s King Animal is passable and Black Sabbath’s mooted album should at least have some decent musicianship. With Aerosmith and KISS having dumped duds on our collective chest, the average score for our 2012 Comeback Kids is wholly unremarkable.