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Tamworth Herald - 01/07/88
THE TAMWORTH Rock Festival Album is released this weekend. The special 18-track tape features all the area’s best bands and is designed as the perfect accompaniment to the festival itself, which is now just a couple of weeks away. Here MUSICBOX writers Sam Holliday and Martin Warrilow give their verdict on the songs on offer. If you want a tape they cost £2.50 and will be available at the festival or by writing to Tamworth Festival Tape… TAMAID – Youth Is Our Future WOLFSBANE – loco RAPE IN YELLOW – Jivin’ Jane BREAKING POINT – Brotherhood TORN IN TWO – Don’t Jump SHELLSHOCK – Short, Sharp, Shock THE PARADE – A Little Joy THE FAMOUS FIVE – The Famous Five SPIRAL EYE – Scarecrow’s Party CATCH 23 – Twisted Mind KRAZE – Too Cute To Scream THE SEARCHING – Picture KUBLA KHAN – Coz I Love You THE CONSPIRACY – Passions Burning A5 – Exposure NEVER SAY DIE – All Night Long THE MAGNETS – Broken With A Smile DHSS – Bitch, Slut, Slag, Whore THE OVERALL VERDICT… N.B. All the bands in the festival were given the opportunity to be on the tape – those missing chose to be that way. Tamworth Rock Festival – July 15/16/17 2008 Tamworth Herald - 08/07/88 The event brought forward from its traditional August Bank Holiday time, takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday next week and looks set to be the best festival yet. Tasty Twenty two bands will be on view over the weekend from the legendary (Wolfsbane) to the little-known (The Green Swings) all united in one aim – to give Tamworth youngsters their best weekend of the year. In case you’ve been on the moon and need refreshing here is a taster of what to expect from a very tasty weekend. Friday, July 15 (a week tonight) Saturday July 16 Sunday, July 17 Meeting Before all this takes place ALL the bands and committee people are called to a full, final meeting at the Tavern in the Town on Sunday night. It will start at 7.30pm to give everyone a chance to go on to the Arts Centre, and it will be your last chance to sort out with other groups about shared equipment etc. it will also be a chance to pick up festival albums and t-shirts and as a warning, they are going FAST. Tamworth Herald Midweek Extra – 13/07/88 The event promises to be a triumph for all the groups involved – but especially heavy metal men Wolfsbane who are expected to draw hundreds of fans from all over the country. Twenty-two bands will take part in the Tamworth rock festival, regarded as the biggest of its kind in the Midlands this year. Warm-up The Festival kicks-off at the warm-up night at Tamworth Arts Centre on Friday, July 15. Saturday, July 16 takes the event to the Castle Grounds and features the main attraction in the form of the highly-acclaimed Wolfsbane. The concert will be one of their last British shows, as they have just secured an eight-album deal with a major American Record Label, and they will fly off to LA shortly to record their first LP. Sunday’s highlights include Catch 23 who recently came third in the national final of the TSN Rockschool contest and Young People’s Arts Festival winners Scream Dream. All the bands will play free of charge in the Tamworth Castle grounds during the weekend. Festival chairman Sam Holliday says: “This year’s festival promises to be the best ever and people from all over the Midlands will be able to see just how strong the Tamworth music scene has become.” Limited A special 18-track tape has been released featuring a hot of the bands in the festival. It will be a limited edition making it a collectors item. The full line-up is: Friday July 15 - Tamworth Arts Centre – The Jim Crows Blues Company, The Magnets, Stench, The Green Swings and special guests. Saturday July 16 – Tamworth Castle Grounds admission free 11am-7pm – Torn in Two, Shellshock, The Searching, DHSS, Wolfsbane, The Conspiracy, Never Say Die, Kubla Khan. Sunday July 17 – Tamworth Castle Grounds admission fee 11am-7pm – Cuddly Spiders, Rape in Yellow, Future Field, Fetch Eddie, Catch 23, Kraze, Scream Dream, Breaking Point and A5. Tamworth Herald - 15/07/88 The Tamworth Rock Festival 1988 will once again give local pop fans a chance to savour all the very best bands in the Tamworth and Atherstone area, during three days of rock and roll delight. It kicks off tonight (Friday) at the Arts Centre and then switches to the Castle Grounds all day Saturday and all day Sunday.
What’s happening when? Read on o’ rock and roll fan… FRIDAY JULY 15 (That’s tonight folks!) SATURDAY JULY 16 Joining them will be other great acts of variety and style. Arch tabloid-baiters DHSS will server up electronic punk outrage/anarchy, and will certainly be one of the most watchable acts of the weekend. If you prefer more sedate pleasures the stylish cultivated rock of Never Say Die should bring a smile to your face as should the light-hearted but definitely not light-weight pop of Mike Fleming’s Torn in Two, a two piece outfit. Saturday also throws up the majestic meaty metal of Shellshock and the rip-roaring post-77 rock of the much-loved Conspiracy. In addition you will be able to see what turned The Searching into finalists of the ‘Best band In Brum’ contest as they bring their undeniably unique pop sound to the Castle Grounds and also get set to see Kubla Khan, a rock group with a pop senseability who have quality, energy and clever songwriting. STOP PRESS: WIN have been added to Saturday’s line-up. The music starts at 11am. The bands start with Torn in Two at 12.45 and are due to finish at 6pm. The running order is: WIN/Torn in Two/Shellshock/The Searching/DHSS/Wolfsbane/The Conspiracy/Never Say Die/Kubla Khan. SUNDAY, JULY 17 Battle of the Bands winners Scream Dream will also take to the stage on Sunday and should impress the masses with their sparkling stylish post-gothic sounds, while fellow stablemates Spiral Eye look set to suit a festival atmosphere with their mixture of the bizarre and the brash as will the classy Future Field – while original new wave/pop music can be found at both ends of the running order courtesy of Rape in Yellow and A5. Completing the festivities on the day will be The Cuddly Spiders who, as everyone knows, can do just about anything. And can usually do it very well. The music starts at 11am. The bands starts at 12.30pm and the running order will be Cuddly Spiders/Rape in Yellow/Future Field/Fetch Eddie/Catch 23/Kraze/Scream Dream/Breaking Point/A5 and Spiral Eye. That’s is then. The Tamworth Rock Festival 1988. Another great line-up, three great days and for all the hundreds of pop fans, the best weekend of the year. If you miss this you will forever regret it. Support your local talent because it is already becoming less ‘local’ and when Tamworth and Atherstone become nationally recognised for their musical abilities, you want to be a part of it don’t you? Have a nice three days. SAM HOLLIDAY Tamworth Herald - 22/07/88 The clouds decided to spend the entire weekend perched ominously above the Castle Grounds arena and occasionally signalled their approval of the event by opening up and spreading their good ness over the massed ensemble of rock fans. But, as often happens the presence of the rain merely helped to increase the amazing atmosphere of this somewhat amazing event. When the rain was at it’s worst - sometime late on Saturday evening – the crowds stayed put and adopted a ‘to hell with it’ policy which insured that once again the best efforts of the nastier weather failed to dent the enthusiasm and spirit of an exciting weekend. It was, by common consent, one of the best Tamworth Rock Festivals yet, a triumph of style, quality and sheer musical perseverance. In short, it was a brilliant festival. It all began at the only place where the rain couldn’t interfere – the Tamworth Arts Centre on Friday night… FRIDAY A packed Arts Centre provided the ideal starting place for the weekend ahead. On offer were four bands, all of whom strangely failed to appear until late in the evening and all of whom strangely failed to play sets above 20 minutes a piece! To be honest, being stuck on the door trying to con people to buy festival goodies isn’t the best way to give a crystal clear, critical review of those on show but from what my ears told me everything seemed to be going along fine in the sweat-bound Arts Centre theatre. The Magnets won over a slightly indifferent crowd and seemed to get stronger as they played, the Green Swings made themselves a slot in my heart for an uplifting version of ‘Is Vic There?’ and The Jim Crows Blues Company went down a storm with their well-crafted finely tuned ramble rock. Concluding the night were outrage – rockabilly men Stench belied their happy onstage personas with a wild and wicked set which caused near revolt in the Arts Centre.
SATURDAY And so to Saturday – the first day of the Castle Grounds bonanza. Talk early in the morning centred on two things – would it rain and would the excellent stage provided by Haki Scaffolding, manage to hold the legendary figure of Buttercup? As it happens the answer to both questions was a clear yes. Despite the possibility of rain, the bands got off to timetable and continued unabated until the rain finally won the day at around 5.30pm. In terms of music, few people can deny that Wolfsbane stole the day – and to my mind the festival. Every year the boys produce a killer set in the Castle Grounds and this years ranks according to the band themselves as their best ever in front of a massive partisan crowd they turned in a magnificent set, full of energy, power and startling charisma. Bayley as usual hogged the limelight but Messrs. Danger, Hateley and Edwards were so clearly enjoying the festivities that they looked as though they could have played all day. Wolfsbane I take my hat off to you – everytime I think you’ve reached an unsurpassable peak you climb above it. What a band.
Also weighing in with a well-executed and crowd pleasing set were The Conspiracy, whose epic themes seemed to suit the wide arena and whose guitarist, Mr. Roger Moore, seems to be getting better and better. Opening the day were Torn in Two’s replacements Nightshade a distinctly mid-Seventies outfit who seemed ideal for a festival atmosphere and did remarkably well considering their early start. Following them were Shellshock who used the occasion to announce the sad news that this would be their last-ever concert with this line-up. Drummer Bruno has his eyes set on a motor racing future and Shellshock as was, will be no more. They went out in style however, with the spellbinding version of ‘Duty Calls’ being the undoubted highlight of a tasty set. But in terms of the heroes of the day, well even Wolfsbane will have to bow down to Never Say Die in this department. For the band, with the most apt name of the Festival, played in the sort of monsoon weather that risked life, limb and our no-claims insurance bonus. As it teemed down Trevor and his crew somehow managed to keep smiling and keep playing and Trevor himself was so unimpressed by the efforts of the rain, wind and general nastiness that he only wore his t-shirt throughout the set. Such examples are what makes this festival so unique and special. Incidentally the most unluckiest man of the day was definitely Uncle Denis Byfield. After waiting months for the festival, he had an accident on stage on Saturday night which left him with a broken ankle and a lot of pain. Never mind Denis, and I hope the painkillers-in-a-can are working! SUNDAY SUNDAY held the promise of yet more rain – but incredibly the monsoons stayed away. It meant that the day was able to feature no less than 11 groups covering just about every musical form known to man or beast. Who was the best? Well I will leave you to decide but its clear that the three bands who most people expected to shine – Catch 23, Kraze and Fetch Eddie certainly came up with the goods. Catch 23, to who I am totally and unashamedly biased – were quite superb, playing one of their tightest and cleanest ever sets. Outstanding highlights here were two classic newies ‘Hanging On’ and ‘Don’t Tell Me Cos I now’ which were both tremendous. Equally uplifting were Fetch Eddie who, like last year, impressed nearly everyone, with their cultured quality pop music which reached a peak with the magnificent ‘I Think I Still Love You’ which has the sort of tune that makes it a number one possibility. On a different level, Kraze also slayed the audience. They played with real enthusiasm and charisma and looked as though they were enjoying every second. They certainly enjoyed one of the warmest reactions of the day and by the end of the set – after their ritual humiliation of Messrs. Holliday and Warrilow – few people were left disappointed. Mark these words – Kraze are destined to follow Wolfsbane right into contractsville city. Elsewhere Spiral Eye played one of THE sets of the festival and produced perhaps THE song of the event – the astonishingly good ‘Sentinel’. They were tremendous fun and had quite a superb sound. Also enjoying somewhat of a triumph were Breaking Point who were clearly delighted with their return to the road with a set where the guitar was king. The peak of their well-balanced set was a dazzling finale where Kevin Briggs took on the persona of a psycho to send out a powerful climactic clarion call. Rather more sedate were the pleasing noises produced by both Kubla Khan and The Cuddly Spiders. The Kublas, also sadly announcing it would be their last set, produced a leisurely set dominated by some brilliant guitar work by Phil Smith, a man who played with real joy considering he is due to get married this weekend! The Cuddly chappies (and chappess) had a similar laid back feel and proved very popular with the crowd. Norman’s guitar work caught the eye as did the dress that Piglet was nearly wearing. For those who liked modern alternative-based pop there was much to enjoy. Scream Dream gave a stylish show which stuck in the mind to me because of an absolutely riveting number ‘Obsession’ which admirably closed an admirable set. A5 also seemed to be enjoying themselves (in fact all the bands did this year) and their well-honed guitar based pop seemed like the Conspiracy the day before, to suit the event perfectly. Rape in Yellow, (Tamworth’s answer to Bros methinks) also had their moments, the best of which was a relative newie entitled ‘Day out in Dosthill’ – a frightening thought but a lovely song. Completing the 11 band picture were Future Field, a group bursting with songwriting quality who seemed to get stronger and faster with every track. Result – a resounding success again lads. And that, he says with a sign, was that. It all ended with a splendid party at the Tavern where the floor nearly caved in under the sheer weight of hundreds of people sharing the mutual feeling that they had achieved something good over the past weekend. The thing to remember – and sometimes we do get rather blasé about it – is that the Tamworth Rock festival is totally unique. It is entirely organised, orchestrated and put together by musicians and music fans and the only people who make a profit from it are the audience. Other towns have tried to copy the Tamworth formula and have failed because their motivation has not been the same as the one behind this event. The motivation for the Tamworth Rock Festival is to give bands a major platform to play and crowds a chance to sample the whole local music scene in one hectic funpacked weekend. For the fourth consecutive year, I can say unequivocally that the Festival has achieved its’ aims once again. Everyone involved should feel a greats sense of pride. Next year’s event simply can’t come quick enough. Tamworth Herald - 29/07/88 Tamworth Herald - 29/07/88 Tamworth Herald - 29/07/88 Tamworth Herald - 29/07/88 Tamworth Herald - 29/07/88 Tamworth Herald - 29/07/88 |
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All photographs unless otherwise stated - courtesy of the Tamworth Herald. Punk Poet - Edward ian Armchair |
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The line-up this year is as formidable as ever. The best of the areas older bands – Wolfsbane, Catch 23, Breaking Point and A5 – will line up with the best of the newer heroes such as Kraze, Scream Dream, DHSS and Spiral Eye in a three day package with something for everyone. If you like metal you will love Wolfsbane, Shellshock and Kraze, if you prefer more alternative sounds then DHSS, A5, The Conspiracy, The Green Swings, Scream Dream and Spiral Eye will fill your yearning. If pop’s your bag then cop a load of Fetch Eddie, Torn in Tow, catch 23, Rape in Yellow, The Searching or the Magnets, and if you like more traditionally based rock or r ‘n’ b then your palate will be satisfied by the likes of Never Say Die, Kubla Khan, Jim Crows, Cuddly Spiders, Future Field and Breaking Point. It’s some combination and when all put together it adds up to one of the best ever local festivals – one which looks set to attract the biggest crowds yet.
TAMWORTH’S eagerly awaited Rock Festival turned into a monster-size success at the weekend despite the determined efforts of the rain.
The only hard bit in the Christmas cake was that someone with the brain the size of an amoeba decided it would be wonderful fun to uproot the toilet in the gents. Clearly an intellectual of some note.
Elsewhere on the day, DHSS produced the goods in a dramatic and exciting way with a set that was full of originality and power and proved that John Reeman is a closet would-be axe hero. Another band that impressed me a lot were The Searching, who despite lacking their classy sax player, produced a set which showed their real skill to a receptive crowd. A band who will go from strength to strength methinks.