Gig of the Week

Roy Wood Rock & Roll Band, Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday, December 4

CHRISTMAS is around the corner, so it must be time to roll out Wizzard's I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday.

Let the bells ring out, because here comes Roy Wood, Birmingham-born founder of not only Wizzard, but also The Move and The Electric Light Orchestra before Wizzard's blizzard of Seventies' hits.

Solo success followed, Dear Elaine and Forever both making the top ten in a career where Wood has written more than 30 Top 30 singles, including chart toppers for The Move, Wizzard and Jive Bunny and The Mastermixers. Yes, you read that correctly. Jive Bunny.

Not even Jive Bunny could stop Wood, now 72, being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in New York. Now he is marking the holiday season with what has become his Christmas tradition: playing festive concerts with his Rock & Roll Band.

Expect to hear California Man; Flowers In The Rain; Fire Brigade; I Can Hear The Grass Grow; Blackberry Way; Ball Park Incident; See My Baby Jive; I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday and many more. Maybe not Jive Bunny, however.

Tickets for Tuesday's 7.30pm concert cost £22 upwards on 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york.