Lytham Festival - 2

  by Shirley Procter

published: 19 / 12 / 2024

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Article

Saturday 6th July First up are Kid Kapichi, a punky rocky sounding band. I’ve not come across them before, they play a short set. They start with ‘Let’s Get To Work’, followed by ‘Rob The Supermarket’, both fast paced songs. Next up is ‘Tamagotchi’. This has clever, funny lyrics, which will resonate with anyone born in the mid-80s in the UK. They follow up with ‘I.N.V.U.’, more clever lyrics, with a catchy sound. ‘Zombie Nation’ follows, the video features a cameo with Suggs, which makes sense since they’re touring with Madness! Next up is ‘Can EU Hear Me’, a fast paced number, again with clever lyrics. ‘Thank you everyone for coming to see us - we thought we’d be playing to an empty arena, we really, really appreciate you coming. Next time, let’s do this somewhere inside!’. They play their last song ‘Get Down’ then leave the stage. Next up are the Lightning Seeds - somewhere at home I’ve a Lightning Seeds songbook for guitar, I’ll have to dig it out when I get back! The green is pretty full already, with a number of fez wearers ready for Madness later on tonight! They open with ‘Change’ and ‘Sugar Coated Iceberg’. ‘Thank you, cheers, thanks! It’s lovely to be here, we’re the Lightning Seeds from up the road in Liverpool. It’s bit like a wind tunnel here, isn’t it (Yes, it definitely is), but the windmill isn’t going round!’ They then play ‘Change’, there’s some great guitar playing on this one! Next is a slower tune, ‘Pure’, which segues into ‘Imagine’, and then ‘All You Need Is Love’, but to the tune of ‘Seeds track ‘It’s True’. The guitar sounds great, slow and funky, with the bass driving the rhythm, do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight, all to the same tune. The crowd claps, whistles and cheers. ‘Thank you for getting here early, we’re going to play a few songs then get ready to watch the football’ (the organisers have pushed the timetable forward and are showing the England match), and then they play ‘Lucky You’. The screen only had Lightning Seeds on it, the lighting isn’t really interesting. The song ends and the crowd cheers. Next up is ‘Sense’, a beautiful, melodic song. ‘Thanks very much, ta!’ Then they launch into a much faster paced song, with a long musical intro and strong guitar riff, ‘The Life of Riley’. Then they play ‘Three Lions’, the whole crowd have their hands in the air, there’s England flags waving, the crowd singing along and cheering as it ends. ‘Let’s hope so! 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, let’s just win!’ They leave the stage, and the England game starts with the National Anthem. England won. At this point, I think I should fess up to loving Rick Astley! I remember him first appearing on the local news station, and thought he was fantastic then! I still think that now. Appearing onstage with a guitar, first up is ‘Never Gonna Stop’, this is a great song, upbeat and the crowd cheer as it ends. He says: ‘Good evening, how are we doing? Are you in the cold? As the opening notes for ‘Together For Ever’ play. His voice is great, as good as it was when he first started. The song ends, he picks up his guitar again and says ‘So I can see a load of fellas wearing fezzes - are you waiting for Madness? Come on, we’re in the posh part of Blackpool!’ He then sings ‘Dipping My Feet’. His band consist of drums, two guitars, bass, sax, trumpet, trombone, keyboards and two backing vocals. This is an upbeat song with a great rhythm, that somehow segues to the Stones song, ‘Start Me Up’! It works really well. Next up is a song I love, I didn’t realise it was Rick Astly when I first heard it. It has a strong gospel feel to it, and is ‘Keep singing’. The song ends and the crowd yell and clap. ‘Are you with us? I don’t dance any more, I’m 58 years old, my knees are 58 years old, I don’t dance no more. But would you people like to dance with me? He starts ‘She wants to dance with me’ while the backing singers sing a completely different song, it works really well. He asks us ‘Have you got any singing left in you after the Lightning Seeds? The fellas in the fezzes don’t look like it, but you never know’. He plays ‘Hold me in your arms’, and the back screen has some trees on it and occasionally the words Rick Astley, but that’s all. He tells us part way through the song that he can feel a sway coming on, and the whole green has raised its arms and is swaying side to side with their arms in the air. He holds his mike out and we all sing ‘Hold Me In Your Arms’. He’s now singing the chorus to ‘Three Liosn’, and the crowd join in. “It ain’t going to Switzerland, it ain’t going to Germany, it ain’t going to Portugal” all to the Hold me in your arms tune, which he then segues back into. Everyone cheers. Rick tells us ‘I heard this on the radio, and it’s amazing, so we’re going to play it’ It’s a cover of Sam Fender’s ‘Seventeen Going Under’. The crowd sing along, and cheer when it finishes. Then he tells us ‘The Lionesses on this stage right here, you’ve heard them, but you ain’t heard them, but you will at the end of this song ‘. It’s slower ballad, with amazing backing vocals they’re singing ‘Cry for help’, harmonising beautifully together. Rick calls to a member of the audience ‘Did you just shout at me Play something from the 80s, woman?’ He immediately sings ‘Whenever You Need Somebody’, which then segues to ‘Good Times’ by Chic. He tells us ‘I’m in a dilemma now we’re either going to play Highway to Hell by AC/DC or we’re going to play one of mine.. basically, I’m 58 and don’t give a monkeys any more. I started off in Newton le Willows by playing the drums. Are you ready? Do you want it? He’s on the drums and the band start to play ‘Highway to Hell’ as he drums and sings! The crowd love it! He can even stick twirl! The crowd roars its approval! .And now for something completely different’ as he sings ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ a Capella, then we all sing it, then the band start up and he sings it properly. I’ve finally been Rick Rolled live! Each band member has a slot to play, he and his band take a final bow together, and as Mr Blue Sky plays, they conga off the stage! Utterly brilliant! The screen shows the ‘Thunderbirds’ opening scenes and Madness walk onto the stage. Suggs asks ‘Are you looking at me?’ We all shout yes! He says ‘don’t watch this, watch that! It’s the heavy, heavy monster sound of ‘One Step Beyond!’ The band start playing. The screen features a brick wall with M in the middle, and every time Suggs says the title the words appear on the screen. I love two tone music, was at uni in Birmingham when it exploded onto the music scene! The band the next song immediately, it’s ‘Embarrassment’. It finishes, and the crowd roar. Thank you, it’s lovely to see you all. I want to say thanks to the Lightening Seeds. Next is ‘The Prince’. Suggs tells us ‘The good news is after all these years, we’ve finally had a no. 1 album’ The band play ‘C’est la vie’, everyone is up on their feet dancing. The song finishes and he tells us ‘Thank you very much, it’s great to be back here, some of you might have had tickets for the Spice Girls reunion, but I’m not that scary, and he’s not that posh, cos we’re madness!’ They play ‘NW5’, quickly followed by ‘My Girl’ and ‘The Sun And The Rain’ ‘Thank you very much’, he says, ‘Did I mention we have a number 1 album?’ They all sound pretty pleased about that! Next up is ‘Hour Of Need’, followed by ‘Wings Of A Dove’. It’s funny how the song’s words simply pop back into my head, especially when I’ve not heard most of them for quite some time! Suggs tells us ‘We were in America recently, it’s the same words but a different language!’ and plays ‘Lovestruck’. The crowd are loving this set, making so much noise as each song finishes! They play ‘Run For Your Life’ and ‘Bed And Breakfast Man’ while I nipped to the loo - can still hear them clearly! ‘Shut Up’ is next, and part way through the song, Suggs starts singing ‘Engerlund, engerlund, engerluund’ and everyone joins in! Next up is ‘Round We Go’. The stuff on the screen is weird and a bit scary! This next song is about power and corruption, and is ‘Mr Apples’, very quickly followed by ‘Living On A Prayer’! Next up is ‘House Of Fun’ everyone is dancing and singing along. Suggs tells us ‘Thank you so much Lytham and other posh areas of Blackpool’. Next up is ‘Baggy Trousers’, swiftly followed by ‘Our House’ with the screen showing A-Z maps, houses, flats, lots of red lights with the lyrics superimposed. Suggs says ‘Thank you so much, we’d like to leave you, well, we don’t want to, but there’s a bloke with a watch. A simple sentiment’ ‘It Must Be Love’ I much prefer their version to that of Labbi Siffre’s. The crowd carry on singing, the band join in again. This was classic Madness; they had the crowd eating out of their hands! Day 3 Sunday 7th July 2024 I have Garden tickets today, so that means I’m in the posh part of the festival - there’s a champagne bar, really good coffee and food, and I’m right at the front. Kairos are up first, they’re a four piece band, drums, two guitars and bass. They’re loud and thrashy and quite good! First song is very thrashy, the second song is more tuneful. They tell us ‘We’ve only got you for half an hour, so we’d better crack on. This is another song off our EP, called ‘Better Late Than Never’.’ There’s some interesting guitar playing going on here, they clearly have talent! ‘I can see a few Kairos T-shirts down at the front here, cheers, guys’ Fourth song: fast paced again, with some good guitar riffs going on, lots of cymbals. ‘Cheers everyone! Did anyone watch the match yesterday? It was alright, for a change. They’re still rubbish, though’. Fifth song: ‘Live In The Fast Lane’. As the title suggests, it’s another fast number, with a couple of slower sections. ‘Let’s get you clapping, Lytham’ as the crowd joins in. They tell us ‘We’ve our biggest gig ever coming up soon in our hometown Liverpool, we’re a bit nervous, you’re all invited! This is another new song, it’s called ‘Rat race’’. It’s slower than all the others, with really good lead guitar playing. ‘Thank you everyone, we’re the Kairos from Liverpool, finishing with another faster one. They were a great warm-up band, fast tempo music, and they engaged the crowd well. Next up are the Magic Numbers. They’re a quartet, drums, keyboard, bass and lead guitar, keyboards and bass provide backing vocals to the lead guitarist. They come quietly onto the stage and open with ‘Forever Lost’. ‘Hello Lytham’ then they carry on with the song, slightly faster. The crowd are clapping and singing along. Their second song is ‘Love’s a game’, the keyboard player is playing one of those keyboard things you blow into, and is now playing a tambourine. The vocals are beautiful. The song segues into ‘People get ready’ by The Impressions, it works really well! Romeo tells us ‘Thank you, it’s great to be here, super honoured to be sharing the bill with some amazing artists. I’m Romeo, this is my sister Michelle, this is Sean, and his sister Angie. This is called ‘I see you, you see me’’. This is a gentle, melodic song, with beautiful harmonies. The song speeds up for a while, then slows down again, it’s lovely. Next up is a faster paced tune, with the bass setting the beat. It’s ‘Love me like you’ the crowd cheer and whistle as it ends. Romeo tells us ‘We’ve only got one last song, this is a special one for the most amazing mum out there, this one’s for you mama’. It’s ‘Mornings Eleven’ and is simply lovely! The song slows right down, has some beautiful harmonies again. The song finishes, they wish us an amazing night, then leave the stage. I’ve finally met up with Andrew Twamby, one of Pennyblack’s excellent photographers. We’ve covered a few gigs together, but haven’t seen each other for a while. It’s good to see him. Mancunians Inspiral Carpets are up next. They’re a five piece band, drums, keyboard, lead and bass guitars, and vocals. They walk onto the stage to cheers and whistles and immediately start playing. The screen has their logo on getting bigger and smaller in bright colours. They play ‘Commercial Reign’. It’s a fast paced number with a strong beat. ‘Hello Lytham!’ they tell us, then start another fast paced number, it’s ‘Butterfly’. The screen has butterflies and flowers on it. The crowd cheer as it ends. ‘OK, this one’s called ‘Weakness’’ another fast number, with a driving beat, with keyboards, drums and bass providing backing vocals. the crowd clap along. ‘Hey, it’s turned out nice, hasn’t it?’ They then play ‘Two Worlds Collide’. The screen has a planet with other planets spinning round it. That was excellent! The screen has a kaleidoscope pattern as a very fast song starts - it’s ‘I Want You’, a very punky sounding song. They say ‘This next one is one of our earliest songs, from 1986’, the screen has milk bottles with ‘Cool As Fuck’ on them, it’s ‘The Beast Inside’, and the crowd roar. ‘There are three people on a balcony over there who haven’t paid - cheapskates! Let’s give them a wave.’ The people on the third floor balcony of the house shout ‘We love you!’, he shouts back ‘We love you more. Wanna hear some music?’ Then a marching band on the screen and they play ‘She Comes In The Fall’ the lead singer blows kisses to the crowd, as the drummer does a solo to end the song. Clint Boon leads off on keyboard with ‘This Is How It Feels’. This is a pretty tune, with sad lyrics. There’s a battery clapping monkey on the screen, and they play ‘Dragging Me Down’. It’s a bit slower than the last song. ‘We were going to finish there, but we’ve time for another track. We’re going to do one more song, then the last song’. It’s really fast, and is ‘Find Out Why’. The screen has the cow logo on it. The song ends, the crowd cheers. They tell us ‘This is our last song now’. It’s ‘Saturn 5’. The song ends, the crowd cheers, whistles and claps, the band clap us and ask for a selfie with us all, wave, and leave the stage. Johnny Marr is next up. The screen shows his name and sirens are wailing. The band walk on then on comes Johnny. There’s drums, bass, keyboard/guitar and Johnny on guitar as well as vocals. He starts with ‘Armatopia’ and it sounds great! The song ends, the crowd cheer. Next up is ‘Panic’, (The Smiths song) a faster, rockier tune than the first. The crowd love it! ‘Hello there,’ he says, and immediately starts the next song, ‘Generate, Generate!’, a fast paced, pulsating song, with pretty guitar chords. ‘Thank you very much’ the next song starts immediately, and is ‘Spirit, power and soul’ There’s a drum machine playing the background beat, while the drummer is playing another drum machine. The guitars sound great together! There’s a couple of dry ice machines pumping out fog onto the stage, which is being picked up by blue spotlights. Johnny says ‘Check us out in the sunshine! How’s everyone doing? Has anyone got any requests?’. ‘This Charming Man’ is next, with the crowd all singing along. It sounds as good as it always has. The song ends, he takes a bow and says ‘Thank you very much. I’m going to go from a very old song to a new one. Don’t be scared, it’s not bad’. Johnny then plays ‘Somewhere’ on an acoustic guitar, it’s a pretty tune, he’s picking then strumming his guitar. The harmonies are quite high, and compliment the main vocal well. The keyboard sounds like violins. The crowd like it. ‘Thank you so much, told you it wasn’t rubbish!’ He stays with the acoustic guitar and starts to play … the crowd cheer as they recognise the chords, and sing along ‘Please, please, please let me get what I want’. It’s a really gentle song, again, the keyboards sound like strings; there’s just Johnny, his guitar and the keyboards playing. It’s beautiful. The crowd cheer, whistle and clap. The rest of the band return, and the crowd cheer as the opening bars of ‘How soon is now?’ play on a slide guitar. The crowd clap along with the riff. The song ends, and the crowd cheer. Next up is ‘Easy Money’ it has a fast beat and a brilliant sing along chorus. Stick around for a couple of more songs, this is a disco song from Manchester. You don’t mind if I play a disco song from Manchester, do you?’ He plays ‘Getting Away With It’ and it goes down really well with the crowd. Thank you, this Lytham is quite a nice place, isn’t it?’ He then starts the opening chords of ‘The Passenger’ everyone joins in with the ‘la la las’. ‘You guys just want to sing along, don’t you, if I’d known that, I’d have done the whole set like that, let’s start again, James won’t mind. Thank you for not throwing rubbish! I’d like to leave you guys with this song, dedicated to everyone here, and no one else.’ Its ‘There is a light that never goes out’. Everyone is singing along. ‘Thanks so much, Lytham’ the song comes to an end, the crowd cheer and Johnny leaves the stage with his band. James are today’s headliners, backed by a full orchestra. I decided to move from the front of the stage back to the accessible platform as I’d been surrounded by James fans all afternoon, and it was starting to get very crowded. As I reach the platform, an orchestra appears on stage, with lots and lots of strings; it looks and sounds amazing! The band open with ‘Magic Bus’ sounding very different with a full orchestral backing, as does ‘Dust Motes’, sounding much more mellow than the original. There’s something about the orchestra that really changes the sound of each song, making them sound more magical. The stage lighting is really good as is the screen full of psychedelic pop art flowers. Tim Booth and Co. perform ‘The Shining’ and ‘Medieval’, again with full orchestra accompaniment, the audience singing along with gusto. Johnny Marr comes back on stage to join in on ‘Laid’, adding superbly to the song. I’m loving how the addition of all the strings changes each song, including ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘All The Colours Of You’. Then, they play ‘Many Faces’, the screens really bring this one to life, I’m loving the lighting and projections! Next up is ‘The Lake’ it sounds so much better with the orchestra playing, and I think the crowd feel the same. The crowd are cheering after each number, singing along to every song. I’ll be really interested to see what happens when they play ‘Sit Down’! Next up is ‘Hello’, followed by ‘Shadow of A Giant’, they both sound so good, and the crowd roar their approval! They follow those songs with deep and powerful versions of ‘Someone’s Got It In For Me’, ‘Say Something’ and ‘Born Of Frustration’. Then, they play ‘Sometimes (Lester Piggot) and ‘Folks’, with the crowd loving the richness the orchestra brings. And finally – at least for me, as I love the song – they play ‘Sit Down’. I have fond memories of this, it was played at a wedding I went to and one of the younger children got us all to sit on the floor with them. I guess you had to be there to appreciate it! The entire audience joins in on vocals and roar their approval as it concludes. ‘Beautiful Beaches’ and ‘Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)’ bring a fantastic night to a close. Lytham Festival never fails to amaze me both with the variety and quality of their acts, I absolutely love coming here. If you get the chance, come along next year, you’ll be amazed. Photos by Andrew Twambley www.twambley.com

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