80s Rewind Festival

You'd be forgiven for thinking you'd been transported back in time if you'd happened to have visited Henley-On-Thames last weekend.
A sea of neon pink and fingerless gloves washed over the picturesque Oxfordshire town bringing the decade that fashion forgot kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
But the thousands of 30, 40 and 50-somethings that had arrived in the area wearing their 80s finest hadn't just dug out their wardrobe faux pas for the sake of it.
In fact, many of them probably thought they would never have to adorn themselves with these clothes ever again.
But for three days, they threw themselves into the spirit of the great and the good of the decade as the 80s Rewind Festival rolled into town for the second year running.
And with a two-day line-up of some of the greatest musicians that these fair isles had to offer throughout those ten years, it was the only festival to be at that weekend.
Music News was lucky enough to have been invited to Henley to take a trip down memory lane and dance the day and night away to some old chart favourites.

We arrived on the Friday night ready for a weekend of good times, and we certainly weren't disappointed.
Tent pitched and gladrags on, myself and my good friend hit the ground running as we made a beeline for the Silent Disco.
And although we'd been to one before, it still didn't fail to amaze and delight us at the sight of hundreds of people dancing to what appeared to be absolute silence, certainly a great way to kick-start the weekend.

After a fairly early night, we woke the next morning to blue skies and the excitement and anticipation of the weekend to come.
Now - most of us will think mud, litter-scattered campsites, dirty festival-goers and of course, let's not forget the great British Summertime weather when it comes to a music festival in this country.
But the Rewind Festival couldn't have shattered that illusion if it had tried any harder.
Apart from the odd light shower and blasts of gusty winds, the weather stayed fine and bright for the 40,000-strong crowd at Temple Island Meadows in Remenham Farm.
And Music News was also impressed at just how civilised this festival was. After a lovely hot shower courtesy of Posh Wash Showers (yes, you read that right - a hot shower at a music festival!), and nicely stuffed with bacon butties and cups of tea, we set off to the main arena as the music began.
(I should take this moment to mention Comfy Crappers, a company that provided composting toilets for the masses as a small fee and made the toilet-going festival experience as pleasant as it can get, and certainly put paid to the usual campsite loos that by the end of the first day can leave a lot to be desired)

Kicking of proceedings were those New Romantics Modern Romance, who got everyone going with some of their old favourites, with Best Years Of Our Lives prompting a mass sing-a-long.
It was then the turn of Kajagoogoo who reminded us just how good they were, before they made way for Imagination. Frontman Leee John certainly looked as though he was enjoying himself as he threw himself about the stage and into the crowd with gusto, as he got every singing along to songs such as Body Talk and Just An Illusion.
After a brief break, Level 42 were next up, with lead singer and bassist proving his thumbs could still move just as fast across his bass guitar.
Pop pin-ups - and my own personal favourites - Curiosity Killed The Cat, were next on the line-up, and despite a disappointing start and surprisingly weak vocals, lead singer Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot still managed to get the ladies swooning.
After brief sets from T'Pau, Altered Images, Heaven 17 and The Weather Girls, Jimmy Somerville started the late evening line-up, his energetic set delighting the crowd.
But it was the two headlining acts that the audience were really excited about, and they didn't disappoint. More than 20 years after he first took the charts by storm with his classic and beloved hit Never Gonna Give You Up, Rick Astley appeared not to have changed in the slightest, his trademark quiff staying rock-hard in the wind.
Wrapping up Day One was Boy George, who played a fantastic set underneath the stars, which included all of Culture Club's greatest hits.

The next day brought more sunshine to the site and yet another awesome line-up.
If the crowd had been weary after the first jam-packed day of music, they certainly didn't show it as The Beat, 10cc - who changed the last line of Dreadlock Holiday to "I don't like Rewind, oh no. I love it!" - Odyssey, Johhny Hates Jazz, Hazel O'Connor and Kid Creole and The Coconuts took to the stage.
But it was the triple-headliners that everyone had been waiting for, and what a way to end a fantastic weekend!
Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley, ABC and Go West wrapped things up and by the end of it, Music News was almost hoarse from singing along!
Even the sudden downpour throughout the set didn't dampen anyone's spirits as they performed some of their greatest hits as well as cover versions with Go West performing Kings Of Leon's Sex On Fire and Hadley singing chart rival's Duran Duran's Rio, might to the delight of the crowd.
After ending the set with Spandau's Gold, a stunning display of fireworks lit up the Henley sky as everyone made their way home or back to their tents, tired, happy, and on a complete high from the weekend.

The festival returns next summer and Music News would like to highly recommend that anyone who lived and loved that decade to mark it on their calendar in big neon pink writing. We certainly hope to attend again - bring on the ra-ra skirts and crimping irons!!



http://www.rewindfestival.com/
http://www.comfycrappers.com/
http://www.poshwashshowers.co.uk/