Uttoxeter's Appeal

It takes guts to host an outdoor music festival anywhere in Britain. The weather can be the worst enemy and a big nightmare for anyone who is daring, enterprising and most importantly, artistic enough to host such activities. Mike Stephens, the personality behind the Acoustic Festival of Britain, knows all too well the implications of good and bad weather. A couple of years ago, at Uttoxeter, the balmy weather served as a pull factor for people from all walks of life and from different generations to attend the Acoustic Festival of Britain. Then the peak was reached with the Levellers’ superb performance. I still have avid memories of 60 somethings teaming up with much younger people in what was a great thrilling two hour show which almost wound up that edition. Last year, with windier, colder weather, things were a bit more sombre but the attendance remained nonetheless encouraging. This wasn’t surprising with the inclusion of veteran acts like The Spinners, Fairport Convention, Strawbs, former seventies artistes like Eric Faulkner and home (in this case Midlands )grown acts like James Blackman and Roz Bruce.
This year’s Acoustic Festival of Britain will once more be held at Uttoxeter. There are quite a few reasons why this place has now been chosen for the third year running as the venue for one of the fastest, if not the fastest growing festival in the UK. Uttoxeter is in the West Midlands, and this relatively quiet but thriving town is at the junction between Stoke on Trent and Derby. Its racing grounds are amongst the biggest and finest in England, there is plenty of open space, even outside time limits and its leafy outskirts are ideal for anyone wanting to enjoy three days of bohemian lifestyle, and moreover great music. Uttoxeter is bound to stay as the ideal venue of the Acoustic Festival of Britain.
This year’s event is the biggest one held so far thus confirming that the venue, which also hosts the annual Midland Grand National. Two years since it welcomed its first ever music event, Uttoxeter will once more be hosting some of the best names in British rock, pop and folk. It will continue to project more world music and inevitably continue to raise the profiles of many young, talented, upcoming artistes who nowadays solely depend on festivals like these to market themselves. As a mixture of old and new, experimental and traditional, weird and wonderful, and of course, the unique British and I dare say, Midland and Northern sense of humour, Uttoxeter is standing out. This can also be judged by the kind of audiences we have seen over the years, ranging from upper-class professionals, to adventurous, curious youths and equally adventurous and more mature 50 somethings who would probably feel angry with the way things are going on in the music business.
Notable Performers
Joan Armatrading –In 1976, this fine guitarist and songwriter, originally from St. Kitts in the Caribbean, shot to fame with the brilliant Love and Affection, a song that has now become synonymous with her career. Now 61, this artiste can look back with a lot of satisfaction. Her music is a blend of rock , folk, blues and evocative story-telling that is bound to be a main attraction in this festival. A winner of the Ivor Novello Award for outstanding contemporary song and the releases of 17 albums plus appearances with talents as diverse as Eric Clapton and Sly and Robbie are also indications of her adaptability. There are many instances of her ability to mix acoustic work, jazz influences, which she got from The Movies, a band she worked with, as well as her brilliant delivery. Show Some Emotion, and To The Limit produced by Glyn Johns show such verve. She also had a good presentation on Walk Under Ladders with Sly and Robbie providing their own bass and drums arrangements for good measure. Walk Under Ladders, The Key, Sleight of Hand, Shouting Stage and Hearts and Flowers also showed more commitment though not all albums sold well. In 2007, her album Into The Blues hit number one in the US Billboard Blues Charts, thus making Armatrading the first UK female talent to earn this distinction. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award, also a first time ever achievement for a UK female talent. A couple of years ago, This Charming Life hit number four in the US Billboard folk charts.
The Animals, The Move, John Cooper-Clarke, Gordon Giltrap, Mike Peters, Glenn Tilbrook
It is an achievement for bands like The Move and The Animals to keep going over more than four decades. Purveyors of the British Beat Boom, these bands in their own right are now an endeared part of modern British culture. They were the first and real movers and shakers of cool Britannia back in the swinging sixties. These two bands though coming from different schools of music helped shape up that era, which still influences, by and large many talents to date. The Move’s psychedelically oriented pop sound was one of the freshest then. The Move, will of course be remembered for being the first ever band to be featured on BBC Radio 1, when it went on air back in 1967. The Animals had guts and charm. Their searing rhythm and blues was one of a kind and their live shows, crude but great were also a historic landmark in British rock. They are still around with two original members. Well, they also did perform in Malta back in 2004 and 2007 respectively. So did Gordon Giltrap, a native of Tunbridge Wells. His legacy spans collaborations with the late Bert Jansch, Jimmy Page and many other folk and rock talents. He is a guitar improvisor par excellence and his presence at Uttoxeter, presiding over a guitar workshop, which is will be held again this year should also be a top attraction to all those who really want to understand art and technique.
John Cooper-Clarke’s poetry, filled with irony and typical Mancunian eloquence will also be a stand-out attraction this year. Now, 62, Clarke has been delivering unique punk poetry which says so much about Britain then and now. An avid commentator and observer of politics and social issues, his vast repertoire reveals a lot of such influences. Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze fame and Mike Peters, singer-songwriter of Alarm fame, should also attract their own as well as new fans, thanks to their legacy. Back in post-punk and the early 1980s, they were also one of a kind. Australian Gwyn Ashton, who also graced Simon’s marathon in Malta back in 2006 and 2007 will be making a fine return to the UK thanks to this festival.
Other attractions
Typical of this festival, there will be many popular and relatively new folk and roots talents performing. Some like The Outcast Band, 7 Little Sisters and Radio Mary have become favourites among this festival’s audience, which comes from all over the UK and even abroad. This festival also features quite a few Midlands talents. Roz Bruce, from nearby Burton-on-Trent and Jack Blackman from Worcester should once more be thrilling their crowds with their off-kilter, inventive guitar playing, and time and again, great songwriting too. This festival also marks the return of Adrian Nation, and the Re-Entrants. Of course, T-Rextasy will be entertaining the audience on Sunday and I do hope that they will come up with something really special this year, being the 35th anniversary since the sudden and sad demise of Marc Bolan.