The threat of evil weather was no match for a second successive stellar showcase as legends such as RODDY FRAME and INSPIRAL CARPETS headlined a supporting cast made up from some of the region’s strongest contenders as hand-picked by an all-star cast of promoters.
As a festival space, Rammy cricket club was perfect. It’s idyllic location on the edge of the West Pennine moors provided a picturesque backdrop to match the drama of proceedings on the main stage, whilst artists and fans alike whipped up a unique mini-cauldron of frenzy in the Ladybird marquee, where opening act BLACK LIGHTS defied their early-bird billing to get the opening night off to a flier.
AIR CAV then brought their majestic and appropriately huge sound to the big stage; where they calmly sidestepped a few technical problems before going on to hit the epic heights.
Razor-sharp inner city troubador DANNY MAHON hit home with deadly and caustic accuracy once more in front of a fully appreciative crowd of mainly like-minded lads.
Anti-Devvo rant‘AK47’ hit home with caustic accuracy. Funny and deadly in equal measures, Mahon (“I speak my mind/and you gotta listen”) has the undoubted knack of tapping into our shared consciousness, often turning unspoken thoughts into uncompromising rallying calls peppered with sudden and unlikey bursts of breathtaking melody.
Nursery rhythmic caricature eulogy ‘Twat’ defied its harmless sounding folk simplicity as Mahon went straight for the jugular with a merciless pisstake of plastic cangsterism delivered with deadpan ‘adapted for kids’ TV’ irony.
And yet beauty and romance fair shimmered beneath the street-lights as ‘Council Estate Love’ prompted a mini-stage invasion with its irresistible sing along chorus.
The main stage saw another fast-emerging gang of homegrown heroes did themselves proud. Now signed to eclectic major Acid Jazz, THE JANICE GRAHAM BAND defied their (still) baby-faced aura with more stunning, sleaze-filled chunks of reworked dub soundsystem excellence.
Both sides of their debut Double-A single reverberated into the night sky, still prominent parts of this modernised skank master-class, with ‘Murder’ sounding more razor edged and evil than ever.
Crack-whore dancehall monster ‘No Money Honey’ never ever fails. The gravity-defiant centrepiece of their act once again hit home as this fresh-faced white-boy crew demonstrated their ability to roll back the years with three generation-old skank power.
These power-packed numbers may be second nature now; hence the seamless and almost effortless manner with which the JGB cranked up the ante.. Front man Joe Jones kept up his constant demands for audience movement, urging the fast-expanding crowd into action in between the slices of trumpet-fuelled depravity, before ‘Vulture’ started to shake the floor.
LOUIS BARRABAS his aptly titled cohorts THE BEDLAM SIX were the next to distinguish themselves. Perfectly tightened, their high-octane, hi-NRG trad-jazz/swing extravaganza was perfect for the occasion.
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Barrabas was on top form at the forefront of the hundred-mile-an-hour frenzy, peppering his extensive repetoire of silent-screen villain antics with some equally dastardly high kicks as the Bedlam boys cranked up a formidable piano/brass offensive.
Opener “I’ve Been Waiting For You’ set the relentless pace with a high-speed demented and dangerous shanty, prior to the psychotic blood-bath favourite‘Shards Of Glass’ (“It’s about killing yer missus”).
Bedlam,? Yes, in fact this was musical psychosis - but take it from me, their act is no shambles.
The key to their fast-growing popularity seems to lie with their infectious and highly endearing brand of animated theatrics: (they really are a likeable lot). But despite this ostensibly haphazard approach, it isn’t long before I’m being simultaneously wowed by the sheer synchronicity of it all. This is no crack squad of maverick dissenters; these chaps are note-perfect, extremely well-drilled – and the results were truly exhilarating .
And so the way was perfectly paved for Oldham-bred Madchester favourites INSPIRAL CARPETS, who promptly rolled back the years to fully justify their headline billing.
This was a reformed AND brand-new lineup, with essential Hammond maestro CLINT BOON co-starring alongside original lead singer Stephen Holt who gave an authentic ring to vintage standards ‘Joe’ and the Boon-driven version of ‘96 Tears’ from the early Dung 4 cassette.
Other early gems like ‘Greek Wedding Song’ and ‘Keep The Circle Around’ were sadly absent from the set, but my star-trek convention mentality evaporated when hit anthem ‘This Is How It Feels’ sparked singalong enthusiasm from a delighted crowd.
Blasts from the more recent past came thick and fast, with rent-boy drive-by ‘Sackville’ hot on the heels of a brilliantly delivered, mesmerising version of ‘move’, arguably their strongest ever offering.
He probably wouldn’t have been seen dead here in person, but even local legend MES seemed to be there in spirit, albeit in ‘virtual cameo’ cameo mode, via a vocal sample intro of ‘I Want You’. Total recall of the days when Smith was a leftfield TOTP regular at the peak of his orthodox commercial success.
Fairground attractions, all of ‘em.
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