There are various other videos from this gig and others. Absolutely awesome! For anyone intrigued it's Rick Astley singing Smiths songs backed by the Blossoms. e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_bKgpT4k2I
I went up, at a very modest 55mph to conserve fuel 😏. Decent weather for a sizeable crowd, difficult to judge but would guess nearer 10k than 5k. Mostly there for the 80s vibe and dressed accordingly (the rest of crowd I mean, not me), with colourful outfits and hats in abundance and what must have been all the remaining Frankie say Relax t-shirts in England gathered into one field. Good sound system which helped likes of Kim Wilde and Tony Hadley prove they've still got it before Rats did the same. Very much a hits set with exception of Eva Braun kicking it off (no complaints on my part of course). From memory it went into Like Clockwork, She's So Modern, Someone's Looking at You, preceded by an introduction to the bell bottom jeans, Banana Republic, Mondays, Diamond Smiles, Looking After no 1 and Rat Trap. Strict stage times meant no Boomtown Rats encore/finish which was a shame as crowd would have lapped that up. Didn't stay for Wet Wet Wet and seems I wasn't the only one. Tough act to follow to be fair.
Got home with fuel to spare. Just as well as even at 2am the queues were still lengthy, if there was anything on offer at all. Bit too knackered to make it to Protex tonight as well sadly. Hopefully another time....
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Unknown member
Sep 27, 2021
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@NeilJ sounds like Reload a few years back at the Showground from that description/lineup. I vividly recall Mark King's neon lit guitar. I don't mind Level 42 to be fair. Agreed on Rick Astley; I was also pleasantly surprised by the humour in his banter. Always strikes me it's very much an 80s circuit with all the cheesiness you would expect or even demand and I can never quite work out how the Rats get included. Without fail they get well received though. Same thing at Wacken with thousands of metalheads. Testimony to the songs and the show they put on obviously. Irony is the out and out punk festivals like Rebellion can be more sniffy about Rats being there, from audience perspective anyway. Lost count of the number of times the sheer presence of the band shifts that perception after just 2 or 3 songs of the set.
Following mention of Rick Astley a month or so back I just love this! Would have been great to be there. Gone right up in my estimation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH-OGtN6Opo
Have to agree, brilliant!
I went up, at a very modest 55mph to conserve fuel 😏. Decent weather for a sizeable crowd, difficult to judge but would guess nearer 10k than 5k. Mostly there for the 80s vibe and dressed accordingly (the rest of crowd I mean, not me), with colourful outfits and hats in abundance and what must have been all the remaining Frankie say Relax t-shirts in England gathered into one field. Good sound system which helped likes of Kim Wilde and Tony Hadley prove they've still got it before Rats did the same. Very much a hits set with exception of Eva Braun kicking it off (no complaints on my part of course). From memory it went into Like Clockwork, She's So Modern, Someone's Looking at You, preceded by an introduction to the bell bottom jeans, Banana Republic, Mondays, Diamond Smiles, Looking After no 1 and Rat Trap. Strict stage times meant no Boomtown Rats encore/finish which was a shame as crowd would have lapped that up. Didn't stay for Wet Wet Wet and seems I wasn't the only one. Tough act to follow to be fair.
Got home with fuel to spare. Just as well as even at 2am the queues were still lengthy, if there was anything on offer at all. Bit too knackered to make it to Protex tonight as well sadly. Hopefully another time....