Cornbury Music Festival - Great Tew Park, Oxfordshire, 10/7/2015...12/7/2015

  by Nick Dent-Robinson

published: 25 / 9 / 2015

intro

Nick Dent-Robinson is impressed by the Cornbury Festival which saw sets this year from Martha Reeves, Lulu and Tom Jones and a fantastic greatest hits performance from the Trevor Horn Band, whose members also include Lol Crème from 10CC and Stewart Copeland from the Police

Cornbury – or “Poshstock” as this rarefied Cotswolds music festival has come to be known - has never sought to be remotely “cool”. Its acts are chosen to appeal to its unapologetically middle class, Radio 2-listening clientele but always with sufficient diversity to keep things interesting. The event takes place in the glorious surroundings of a beautifully tended private Oxfordshire estate and there are VIP areas, beauty salons and cocktail bars. Children are especially well catered for too. Yet this year old Etonian festival director Hugh Phillimore somehow managed to put together a cast of performers that in a strange way made Cornbury seem rather hip. The younger generation have been enthusing about this event across university campuses all over the UK and beyond whilst many from the worlds of fashion, film and theatre are already chalking up Cornbury 2016 as an occasion they must not miss. This year, the country artists the Shires and Ward Thomas were mixed in with avant-folk acts Moulettes, Paper Aeroplanes plus Larkin Poe as well as the ultra-trendy Americana act the Felice Brothers. And there was Martha Reeves, Staxs Soul with Jess Stone, Lulu and Tom Jones. Cutting edge comedians Joe Ycett, Aisling Bea and Katherine Ryan were there too. Plus there was the really memorable Trevor Horn Band - perhaps the most impressive performers of the whole event. Veteran record producer and talented multi-instrumentalist Trevor Horn with his Oxfordshire recording studios has been responsible for some of the best-selling sounds of the 1980s...from 10CC, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Grace Jones, Cher, Tom Jones, the Police, the Buggles - the list goes on. Trevor was joined in his band by his fellow producer Stephen Lipson, 10CC's Lol Crème, the Police's Stewart Copeland, Seal (in a guest appearance singing Kiss from a Rose) plus some of the UK's top session players. They then set about delivering non-stop performances of their greatest hits...like 'Video Killed the Radio Star', 'Relax', 'Message in a Bottle', 'Crazy', 'I'm Not In Love' and 'All the Things She Said'. Hearing some of the best versions ever of these huge hits, the crowd went wild. Sir Tom Jones also achieved a great performance with back-to-back versions of his biggest hits - all in chronological order. And, again, the whole audience were ecstatic and Sir Tom seemed genuinely thrilled and touched by the reception he received. But, for me, Trevor Horn and his band made the biggest impression. They really were amazing.

Also at Great Tew Park, Oxfordshire

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