Great Amwell

We woke up around 5.30am to the sound of heavy rain drumming on our tent. It didn’t help the bladder and less than an hour later, I succumbed and braved the rain for a wee. Around 8.00am, we got up to a grey, but now dry start to the morning. After the normal ablutions in the almost spotless campsite toilet and a couple of cups of coffee, we got ready for the day.

At 10.00am sharp, we arrived at Andy and Tre’s van for the highly hyped and eagerly awaited Breakfast Extravaganza. We were greeted with a glass of soup - Prosecco and a lemon liqueur. After which, Andy made chorizo omelets, which were cut up and served in bread rolls. We then had a cheeky bacon roll, from bacon supplied by Jonathan and Emma. To finish the extravaganza we were served up a desert of very alcoholic eggnog with cream on top. All very delicious and nearly lived up to the hype………….Joking!

At 11.45am, Billy No-Mates (Me, if you hadn’t already guessed) rushed off to watch the 1st band, Voodoo Radio who I was really looking forward to. They came on stage at midday to an audience of sadly just 20 people, however by the end of their 35 minute set the audience had swelled to at least a hundred people, including Jackie.

Voodoo Radio are a 2 piece band, who claim to be father and daughter. Dad, Tony, was an accomplished session guitarist and apparently during Co-Vid he suggested to his daughter, Paige, that they form a band. Paige is the singer who also energetically plays the drums standing up. I would describe her as a young, punky Victoria Wood and between songs, it was almost a comedy show with her taking the mickey out of her Dad. They were excellent and a fantastic start to the day.

The next band were Shanghai Treason, who were ok, but probably best described as a 2nd rate Ferocious Dog.

Afterwards came The Signatures, a Northern Soul band, who I was really looking forward to having heard their album. They were a big band and also a big disappointment. The lead singer was charisma free, but despite this the mods and skins and rude boys seemed to enjoy it with their little dances.

Next up were The Blockheads, who played all their hits, except Wake Up And Make Love To Me, but I think it was because they ran out of time. I was curious to see who would be the singer. It turned out to be a bloke called Mike Bennett, who is best described as an Ian Dury / Del Boy hybrid, who did his best to impersonate Ian Dury. It was a very enjoyable performance and a great singalong.

Next, was Republica, who were pretty good. Saffron the lead singer was trying to be all coy, which I imagine could be pretty annoying after a while. Andy and I enjoyed their show, but the others didn’t. Jackie and Tre actually left before the end of the set, but I think it more to do with Loupe playing up. In fact that turned out to be the end of Loupe’s festival.

After Republica, we joined Jackie and Tre for a couple of cheap/free wines, whilst The Cockney Rejects were playing.

I returned in time for The Buzzcocks who were next up. They were much better than when we last saw them 2 years ago, but original guitarist Steve Diggle is no Pete Shelley as a lead singer. They played a mixture of new and old, including the all time classic, Ever Fallen In Love.

The penultimate band were Inspiral Carpets, who were just ok, didn’t really float my boat.

Finally, it was The Stranglers, who put on the ultimate professional performance, including No More Heroes, 5 Minutes and my favourite track off their new album, White Stallion. It was an hour and 15 minutes of perfection…….if you like The Stranglers! However it has to be said that a few of our group were not overly looking forward to hearing them, but they were won over. Although Jean-Jacques Burnell is now the only original member of the band, Baz Warne looked and sounded the part as their official lead singer. He probably should do having joined The Stranglers in 2000. Fun Fact : He was previously in The Toy Dolls and is just 2 days younger than me.

It was a fantastic end to a fantastic festival. We all said our goodbyes and parted to our respective festival accommodations. Jackie and I had a final nightcap before calling it a night.

Song of the Day - White Stallion by The Stranglers.Read more