After my first Britfest last year I was really looking forward to this. A cracking line up yet again and this time I’m camping.
Getting to Britfest couldn’t be more simple, get to Altrincham and either jump on the free Shuttle Bus or get in an Uber for about a fiver. But me being me I over complicated it with the amount of gear I took and by the time I hit the campsite I was knackered. But the brutal carrying was behind me.
While I was raising my tent I realised I was about 100 yards away from Main stage, The Farm were playing tunes like Groovy Train and All Together Now………plus others of course but they were unfamiliar to me. I was actually gutted I missed James Walsh, Starsailor are such an amazing band and would love to have had a singalong to his set but it wasn’t to be.
Sleeper were the first band I got to see after getting settled in the media tent. I’ve seen Sleeper maybe 5 times but never really got into them, they have 2 or 3 great songs but they are more nostalgia for me. In-betweener and Blondies Atomic are always songs that bring back great memories. They were very good though, they always are.
Stereo MCs really surprised me, they were epic. They are another band that I only really know a couple of tunes…..Connected and Step It Up.
Even with the amount of songs I wasn’t familiar with it, the beats are what make them so good to me. I don’t think my head has rocked so much as during their set.
When you chat about Mancunian music legends, Peter Hook is always going to be in the conversation. With past bands like New Order, Joy Division and Monaco there was always gonna be a buzz in the air from the crowd.
From my aging brain I can remember No Regrets, Blue Monday, True Faith, Love Will Tear Us Apart and Monaco’s What Do You Want From Me? There were plenty of other tunes I was familiar with, he had the crowd eating out of his hands especially when he rarely played ‘World in Motion.
I’ll start sounding like a broken record again if I go into Cast’s set too much. They really are one of the best things to come out of the nineties and dont get enough plaudits for their songwriting and sound.
Sandstorm, Free Me, Alright, Fine Time and Walk Away……..do I need to go on. I would happily buy a ticket to see them even if they just played them 5 songs and buggered off home. They sound just as good as the first time I saw them.
Happy Mondays were the headliners. I first heard them when I was at school and Never saw them live until about 4 years ago.
Hallelujah has always been my favourite tune by them, especially the 12inch version. A trip through my childhood with Step On, 24 Hour Party People, Kinky Afro, Loose Fit and finally Wrote For Luck.
Bez was quite comical when he kept taking the Mic off Shaun to chat to the crowd. Firouzeh Berry is now the female vocalist and she was fantastic. With all the stage antics and an incredible performance, they were one of the highlights of the weekend.
I managed to get in the arena in time on Saturday. Nathan Moore and Dr and the Medics were the first two to play. Nathan Moore has a very good singing voice and really knows how to connect with the crowd. The Harder I Try and He ain’t No Competition were the Brother Beyond songs I remember and he performed them very well for the ladies in the crowd foaming at the mouth.
Dr and The Medics are probably one of the most unique bands of the eighties. Spirit in the Sky always goes down well at festivals and his humour about the history of the band is always spot on, he reminds me of Mark Morriss of The Bluetones when he cracks jokes at his own expense, The Dr is a legend of pop music.
For some reason when I see Claire Grogan I can only see Kachansky from Red Dwarf but Altered Images had some great tunes back in the eighties, they open up with possibly my favourite I Could be Happy, I always find myself singing to it at festivals.
Don’t Talk to Me about Love and Happy Birthday are also very good songs too. I really enjoyed watching them.
The Blow Monkeys were one of the band’s in the line up that I’d never seen live. They weren’t one of the band’s I followed in the eighties but when you have a tune on the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack then I needed to see them.
You Don’t Own Me, Digging Your Scene and This Is The Way It Has To Be were a walk down memory lane. They still really aren’t my kind of band but those songs will always be on my playlists.
Aswad always come as a shock to people who haven’t seen them live before. Their loud reggae beats always get the crowd going.
Don’t Turn Around and Shine are always crowd pleasers but I’m starting to appreciate the songs inbetween. You feel Reggae in your bones and Aswad are a very good band.
When Jason Donovan walked on stage it sounded like an eighties crowd full of women here to see one of the biggest sex symbols of the era. I’ve got to admit I was a bit in awe of him, Jason Donovan was huge in the late eighties.
I remember him being in Neighbours overnight after school with Kylie.
The was one particular song he released that was an absolute banger……Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat. A Great performance with Especially For You and Too Many Broken Hearts being memorable.
The unplanned irony of the day was waiting for Wet Wet Wet to come on in the pouring rain. When they did it was just Hit after Hit……they had so many great songs spreading decades.
Temptation, Sweet Little Mystery, Love is all around Me, Angel Eyes…….they just kept coming. I’ve always had a soft spot for the Wets, even when my girlfriend at school would shut up about them. Their songs are just too good. I saw them about 13 years ago at Manchester Arena with Marti Pellow and was the only Photographer there, nowadays it’s Kevin Simm who is a great vocalist.
Finally came the second Headliner of the weekend, Holly Johnson.
The frontman from eighties global superstars Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
Holly sounds just like in 1984 when they ruled the world with Relax, Two Tribes and Welcome to the Pleasuredome. Since then he had hits on his own with Americanos and Love Trains…. also great songs and all performed by Holly.
Day 3 had a few gems I was looking forward to seeing but a few I was curious about to say the least.
Mark Ratcliffe and Friends, I had no idea Mark was a bit of a singer.
His Irish Folk Band was totally not what I was expecting and to my surprise I thought they were brilliant. I’ve not got an ounce of Irish blood in me but there is something special about Irish Folk Music.
Normally I’d hear it in Irish Bars on holiday so to hear one live was a Sunday bonus. To be singing to Fairytale of New York in July was surreal but fun. Loved them.
Let Loose were a familiar name in the 90s but I’m gonna be brutally honest, I’d never heard one of their songs, probably due to where i socialised etc. They had quite a few fans in the crowd happy to see them.
They were a great band on the day and although I was unfamiliar with them, they were great though. They had a lot of fun with fans at the selfie area in VIP.
My sisters favourite band by a country mile were Space. They were the first band I ever Photographed thanks to her. At Factory in Manchester….2011/12 ish I think. Female of the Species, Neighbourhood, Avenging Angels are all on my 90s playlist.
A song that had totally vanished from my mind was The Ballad of Tom Jones, when they played I was in the press tent listening and editing. When Cerys Matthews started singing I panicked and jogged to the stage with my Camera, it was a video at the back of the stage. I felt a proper tool.
I’ll always have a soft spot for Space because of their timeless tunes and the fact they were good to my sister on many occasions which I’ll be eternally grateful for. Thanks chaps.
Now Rick Parfitt Jnr was a hell of a surprise. What was all that about?
The whole band were brilliant from start to finish. I’m not even sure if they did any of their own tunes because they were doing none stop medleys of the very best in music from Queen to Nirvana.
Rick was in and out of the crowd several times and the back and forth with the audience had them thirst for more and more.
Rick Parfitt Jnr is the son of Status Quo legend Rick Parfitt. He definitely gained legendary status himself in Altrincham ( and in a lot of other places this summer i hear ) This performance will be spoke of in years to come at Britfest.
Babybird and Fisherman’s Friends were unknown mostly to me apart from You’re Gorgeous. Stephen Jones wrote a song that will be still played decades from now on the radio. I saw a few of the photographers singing to it as well as me.
Fisherman’s Friends were a Folk Band from Cornwall who sang Sea Shanties, very different but added to the Irish Folk Music earlier they were really quite a special band to hear, they would have headlined Britfest 1789.
Eternal have so many great songs from the 90s and 00s that a few had been lost in my grey matter for a long time before they refreshed my memory.
I Wanna Be the Only One, Stay, Angel of Mine and Just a Step from Heaven were the ones I Still remembered. They looked so good when they came on stage that I had to check it was still the original line up.
I am Blessed was the song I’d forgotten but weirdly knew the words to. I’ll keep my eye out for them in the future, I’d like to go to one of their gigs.
ABC have one of the all time greatest pop albums with Lexican of Love. Martin Frys voice epitomises the vocal sound of the early 1980s.
The Look Of Love, Poison Arrow and All Of My Heart would all be in my top 20 best pop songs ever, Poison Arrow possibly in the top 3. Martin Fry has not lost any of his vocals considering Lexican of Love is 44 years old. What a way to close a very good festival.
My highlight of the day, possibly the festival was when I was saying my goodbyes to Jenny Powell in the Artist tent when ABC finished. Martin Fry walked straight in with an expression of a new dad walking out of the delivery room to tell everyone It’s a boy!! His eyes were lit up and you could see how much he enjoyed playing at Britfest. I will never forget that moment.
This was my second year and it just seems to be getting better. The VIP was fun and well layed out and the camping was great with the little bar on the way back in.
I’m not sure about the VIP enclosure at the front, it’s great late on but doesn’t really work when the place hasn’t filled up.
I can understand why Retro Festivals are so popular, you pretty much get nostalgia from start to finish. I only went to my first about 4 years ago and now I try to do at least 2 a year for a fix. I think Let’s Rock Shrewsbury was my first.
I’d like to thank the Britfest Team for looking after me and the crowd for not getting too angry with me being stood in front of them at times. I hope my photos make up for that.
See you next year!!
Words and Photos by Philip Goddard
