Grands Prés

After lunch in Mons, Brigitte, Melanie and I set off for the Beatles Day at the Mons exhibition hall. The Beatles day is an annual event that brings together a large lineup of bands and performers who play homage to the Fab Four. The event is attended by about 2,000 people of all ages (although the demographic leaned towards the 50+) and runs for 12 hours. In addition to the performers, there is Beatles merchandise from paintings and books and photographs to vintage clothing, jewellery, records and t-shirts.

We met up with a couple of Brigitte’s friends, Yves and Gerard, who are both very nice people, and who made me feel welcome and were patient with my broken French! Geertje and Gui joined us at about 9pm, as they had another engagement during the day.

The line up included bands from Belgium, UK, Spain and France: The Unpluggers, 2 OF US, CAJ-MIR, Invité D’Honneur: Michael Assayas, Handpan, Les Lionceaux, 2 DAY, The Low Beat, Beatles Day All Stars Band,The Cavernites and The Blisters.

We missed the first 3 acts. The first act we saw was a group of female students accompanied by their teacher; they were very good but appeared quite nervous. Next was an interesting group called Handpan; they played a Handpan and also a Didgeridoo - they were quite eclectic and I enjoyed a couple of their songs. Next a French group Les Lionceaux who were ok but sang their songs in French, which no one seem to appreciate. The lead singer left the stage after about 8 songs and then the band played a set in English, and this got everyone up and dancing.

Next was another Belgium band 2DAY. They were pretty good and the crowd became more animated. The next band was a French group, The Low Beat and in my opinion they were the best of the line up. They were energetic, engaging and tight and the lead singer had a wonderful voice and presence. The dance floor was packed.

There was a special group comprising of a number of Belgian stars in their own right who came together as Beatles Day All Star Band, and they were excellent, as one would expect. The band comprised of Julie Compagnon, Perry Rose - who is half Irish and half Flemish - and had a divine voice, next was Kevin Cools (De Machiavel), Saule - who is a very well known singer on the international stage, Xavier Bouillon, Loris Tils, Jules Scinta and leading this group was Antoine Goudeseune, who is an amazing guitarist.

The next band was a British cover band, The Cavernites from Liverpool. They were pretty good and very entertaining. The last band to perform were a Spanish group, The Blisters who were very good. They were full of energy and were lots of fun, and they played extremely well.

It was a great day and Brigitte had a wonderful birthday, although she may have over indulged drinking rosé, but she had a great time. We only got home about 12.30am and tomorrow morning we head off to Paris.Read more