Andy McCluskey, (seen here on the right), lead vocalist and bass guitarist with Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark chats with Kevin Cooper about his attempts to get electronic music accepted by the media, where ZZ Top got their dance moves from, OMD’s new album The Punishment Of Luxury and headlining the Flashpoint and Flashback Festivals.

Andy McCluskey, lead vocalist and bass guitarist with Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, an English electronic music band formed in the Wirral, Merseyside in 1978. Formed with keyboard player Paul Humphreys other band members include Martin Cooper and Stuart Kershaw on drums who replaced Malcolm Holmes in 2013 when he was taken ill on stage.

In 1979 they released their influential single Electricity and gained popularity throughout Europe with their 1980 anti war song, Enola Gay. The band achieved broader recognition via their seminal album Architecture & Morality and its three singles, all of which were international hits.

By the mid 90s the electronic music scene had been supplanted by alternative rock and the band disbanded in 1996. McCluskey went on to write multiple hits for girl band Atomic Kitten, while Humphreys performed as half of the duo Onetwo.

In 2006 they reformed with Humphreys back in the fold and began to work on material more akin to their early output. The band re-established themselves as a chart act in Europe, while enjoying a growing international fan base and a legacy as innovators within popular music. After collapsing at a show in Toronto due to heart failure, Malcolm Holmes retired from OMD in 2014, and is now making music on his own. OMD are now touring with former drummer Stuart Kershaw.

Whilst preparing for the summer festival season Andy McCluskey took some time out to have a chat with Kevin Cooper and this is what he has to say.

Hi Andy how are you?

Hey Kevin I’m good thanks how are you?

I’m very well thank you and let me just thank you for taking the time to speak to me today.

You are most welcome.

And just how is life treating you?

Well actually despite the lovely weather that we are currently having, I have been really ill for the past week or so. I have not been able to make the most of the lovely weather as I have had a really horrible cold. It has been very frustrating because I was meant to be getting ready to start gigging so I am not as fit as I want to be, but at least now I am over it. We are about to start rehearsals with the band and at least I should be able to sing. So that has been a little frustrating but otherwise we have got a very exciting year ahead and I am really looking forward to it.

I have been looking at your tour schedule and it looks as though you are going to be really busy this year.

Yes we are, in fact we have more shows scheduled that you probably don’t even know about at this moment in time actually. After we have played the summer festivals we will be releasing our latest album in September which is called The Punishment Of Luxury and touring in November to promote the album including sunny Nottingham (laughter). We love playing the Royal Concert Hall and always try to ensure that it is on our places to play whenever we tour the UK.

I was lucky enough to photograph you the last time that you played here in Nottingham and I have to say that you blew me away.

Thank you that is so kind. We love touring and I think that it is important to deliver a show that is full of energy, passion and try to make sure that we do it properly. We are not simply out there to top up our pensions or bore people to death, so it’s good that you were blown away because that is what we want people to be.

You have mentioned the forthcoming album The Punishment Of Luxury, what can you tell me about it?

Well it has taken four years to write, partly because everything came to a crashing halt four years ago when our drummer had a cardiac arrest on stage in Toronto. Malcolm (Holmes) is now okay but it was terrifying so we stopped everything for a year whilst we gave him the opportunity to get better and see how he was without putting any pressure on him. We were all shaken up by that so for the following year we just stopped; everything came to a complete halt. Unfortunately, Malcolm can’t play with us anymore but we have started touring again along with another drummer Stuart Kershaw, who actually played with me in the 90s in a different version of OMD.

Stuart actually co-wrote some of the songs on the Sugar Tax album with me. So that’s good, we are alive and kicking and the album is quite an interesting mixture of melodies and interesting lyrics. That is our forte, which is what we do, so it has still got all of that. It was ready when it was ready; the management would have liked to have put it out earlier but we said no and told them that it would be ready when it was ready. We weren’t prepared to release the album just so that we would have a new name for a tour, or a new T-shirt to sell. And those who have heard it are actually saying that it is even better than the last album that we did which was apparently the best thing that we had done in thirty years (laughter).

Is it all finished and ready to go?

Yes it’s done, it’s mastered, and it is all ready to go. The official release date is 1^st September and we really can’t wait to get it out there.

You said that this year was going to be a busy one for you; you are actually headlining both the Flashback and the Flashpoint Festivals this summer. Are you looking forward to that?

We are very busy this summer playing several festivals (laughter). It’s interesting because a few years ago when OMD reformed we didn’t want to do things that were ‘nostalgia’, we wanted to establish ourselves once again as a standalone touring act who were still interesting and contemporary which I think we have done. So we felt that we could loosen up a little and have some fun. It is like wearing a slightly different hat doing these summer festivals because the people who are going to be there are not just OMD fans. They are not those who will come to a theatre gig to see us doing our own concerts and our new material.

This is several thousand people in a field who have come to have a good time and to a large degree celebrate the soundtrack to the landmark years of their lives. We have a responsibility therefore not to get up and play all of our favourite B-Sides, album tracks and be self-indulgent. We are fortunate enough to have enough hits to fill up a complete hour and smack people right between the eyes and that is what we will do.

Having said that and with the forthcoming album in mind, will you be testing out any of the new songs?

Possibly not. However, we always play one track which is from the History Of Modern album because it sounds so much like a classic OMD single and it is so bouncy; I insist that the whole audience bounce up and down. And at the end of the song you can see everyone turn to each other saying “we must have been on holiday when that was released because I don’t remember that one but what a great song” (laughter).

I have to choose my words wisely regarding the Flashback and Flashpoint festivals because I recently mentioned the word ‘retro’ to a well known keyboard player from Sheffield who shall remain nameless and he really tore a strip off me. He said that he wasn’t a retro artist and pointed out to me that he still writes and records new albums. He wasn’t a happy bunny.

The thing is that you have to understand that if you have been fortunate enough to have had a long career then it is not baggage that you are carrying. You are carrying with you your badges of honour as your greatest achievements and should always remember that people would like to join with you in celebrating those things. So I personally have no truck for people who go on stage and say “I am bored of playing that one” or the ones who simply play an acoustic medley of their hits. I feel that they should have some respect for their songs and for the audience. When we play our own solo gigs we will play for around ninety minutes; we will still play fourteen hit singles because we feel that we have a responsibility to keep the audiences interested but then we can mix it up.

We will play a couple of classic album tracks for the hard-core fans, and we will play some of the new stuff which fortunately is good enough not to drive people to the bar. That is when you can do your own thing. I understand that people feel that they want to be creative artists and that they want people to come on the journey with them, and maybe their new direction doesn’t sound like the old direction but after a while you should be able to celebrate your own rich tapestry and weave it all together again.

Going back to the Flashback and Flashpoint festivals, is there anyone in particular that you are excited about seeing perform?

Unfortunately I will not be at Flashpoint on the Saturday therefore I won’t see Marc (Almond) or Deacon Blue. However, on the Sunday, apart from the fact that it looks a little like a Liverpool gig with The Lightning Seeds and The Christians, I am quite looking forward to actually seeing Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel. When I was a young teenager I had a scrapbook of Steve Harley. I was really excited and that was for me really important. It was really fantastic. When I was very young I wanted to play something different so when Steve released Judy Teen and Mr Soft, for me that was brilliant.

Looking at the line-up for Flashback Kim Wilde is brilliant, she really does kick ass once she gets out there on stage. Heaven 17 are totally wonderful and on the Sunday you have got The Human League headlining who are my synth heroes from Sheffield. So there is going to be an entire weekend at both events that are basically an opportunity for people to celebrate a whole day full of their favourite songs.

You have mentioned the Liverpool connection. We here in the Midlands are in a mish mash of Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Stoke. We do not have an identity, you simply drive through the Midlands to get from A to B. Does the comradery and a sense of belonging up in Liverpool give you something extra when it comes to writing songs?

(Hysterical laughter) oh really, I doubt that very much (laughter). I think that the interesting thing is that maybe it is the fact that we here in Liverpool are on a river or are on the sea. We are all condensed into the one area. You can only get into Liverpool from a couple of directions (laughter). So there is a sense that maybe there is something that binds us together. Although I have to be honest with you and tell you that I used to come into Liverpool from the wrong direction because Paul (Humphreys) and I are actually known as Woolly Backs, which means that we are not from Liverpool city centre. We are actually from the other side of the river. We had to sneak through the tunnel under the Mersey (laughter).

So actually we were part of the upstairs at Eric’s gang with bands like The Teardrop Explodes, Echo And The Bunnymen, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Wah!, A Flock of Seagulls, but we were from the other side of the river so we were slightly outsiders. We were all in the same place; we were all in the audience watching everyone playing on stage. Eric’s was one of those places where there were far more musicians in the crowd than there ever were on stage. So yes, I would have to agree with you and say that there is a certain comradery. We were all in the same place at the same time but there was also a fiercely independent attitude amongst all of the other musicians.

Why do you think that the media in general still refuse to accept electronic music as real music and electronic musicians as true artists?

I have to be honest with you and say that from my own personal experiences touring throughout the world that attitude is global. I think that the reality is that an awful lot of people are conservative and they are stuck in a loop of ‘this is rock music; this is the way that it is supposed to be made and this is what it is supposed to sound like. It is supposed to have guitars, it is supposed to have drums, and if it doesn’t then it is not real music’. And as I say I think that attitude towards electronic music is global to be honest. I think that there are still, even decades and decades after electronic music came along, there are still people who think that it’s not real, it’s not sweaty, it’s not manly, whatever it is but they are stuck in this clichéd one dimensional view of the way that music should be made and played.

I can remember watching Top of The Pops back in 1972 and hearing Son Of My Father by Chicory Tip which was, I believe, the first record to feature a synthesizer.

Yes it was, that’s right. What you have to remember is that synthesizers have been around for quite a while and initially you started to hear them as the lead melody line on certain songs, like you said Chicory Tip followed by Nutbush City Limits by Ike & Tina Turner but then gradually making music electronically became the standard way of doing it. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that when you see a band performing live and guys standing there playing keyboards obviously can’t run around waving their six stringed phallic symbols at the audience. There is a certain primitive urge to see somebody actually hitting something in order to make the beat, I get that. But there are lots of different ways of doing it.

How was your recent experience of working with PledgeMuisc, have you enjoyed that?

Yes it has been an interesting new way of allowing people to have access to lots of different and varied things. The music industry is still looking for a functioning business model since the internet came along and pulled the rug out from underneath it. So all in all working with PledgeMusic has actually been a positive step in the right direction for us.

What would you say has been the highlight of your career so far?

The thing that really makes my day is when somebody has the courage to come up to me and say “I am sorry to bother you but I really love your music and I just want you to know that your song, whatever it might be, was played at my daughter’s wedding or my brothers funeral, or listening to this album got me through a really bad time in my life”, and that is when you realise that maybe you didn’t change the entire world but something that you did that lasts a few minutes still has an important place in somebody else’s world. That is really beautiful when people share those moments with you.

They say that you should never believe your own press but when somebody like Vince Clarke cites you and OMD as being the reason why he got into the music business that surely must make you feel a little warm inside?

Yes it does and yes it’s true. Vince has actually spoken to us personally and reiterated that story. It’s quite remarkable that you do get people saying that you have been an influence upon them. That was lovely and I have to say that I think that Vince is a genius so we are honoured to have been part of his musical journey.

Didn’t a certain Mr Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top fame also credit you for their dance?

Yes that right and just how much more a bizarre and obtuse an inspiration can you get than that. I bumped into Billy in an elevator in a hotel in Paris back in the 90s and I reintroduced myself to him as I had originally met him in 1980 and he looked at me and said “Andy you must come and meet Dusty (Hill)”. When we got to their room he said to Dusty “this is the guy from Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark. Can you remember when we did that TV show, The Old Grey Whistle Test with them over in London in 1980”. He then said “I’ve got to tell you Andy do you remember the synth records that we recorded back in the 80s it was your music that inspired us to go electro and the way that you dance with the bass guitar is where we got our moves from for the Eliminator videos” (laughter).

You have quite clearly inspired these people but who has inspired you?

That is the easiest question for me to answer that you have asked me all day, it was Kraftwerk who have been the biggest inspiration in my life. I went along to see them on 11^th September 1975 at The Liverpool Empire and I sat in seat Q36. I remember it clearly because it was literally the first day of the rest of my life. I had just turned sixteen years old and they changed my life. I saw them and immediately thought that I wanted to do something like that.

Will you be able to see them this year when they tour the UK?

I’m not sure that I will be able to catch them this time; in fact I think that I am going to be busy. Strangely enough when they are playing here in Liverpool I will be in Germany doing some advance press for the new album.

What was the first record that you bought?

The first album that I bought was The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars by the late David Bowie, and the first single was actually Without You by Harry Nilsson.

Who did you first see performing live in concert?

Now then, let me think. I think that the first gig that I ever went to see was Camel play The Snow Goose at the Liverpool Stadium.

What was the last song or piece of music that made you cry?

I was recently listening to a song that meant a lot to me and somebody else. It was, for lack of a better description ‘our song’. It was a piece of classical music and I hadn’t heard it for a little while and music has this immense power where you can hang a myriad of different memories upon a piece of music, and they all come flooding back; they are triggered by it when you hear it. So when I heard this Vaughan Williams piece I felt very emotional because it reminded me of somebody that I loved, who I don’t see anymore.

On that note Andy let me once again thank you for taking the time to speak to me today, it’s been great. You take care and I will see you later.

Thank you very much Kevin and I hope that you will come along and see us when we play in the summer together with our solo tour in the autumn. Bye for now and make sure that you come and say hi.

Clive Jackson, better known as The Doctor from Doctor & The Medics chats with Kevin Cooper about playing at Butlins, his musical inspirations, the 80s revival and appearing at The Flashback Festival on 20th August.

Clive Jackson is the front man for Doctor & The Medics and is better known as The Doctor. An English glam rock band formed in London in 1981, they are best known for their cover of Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit In The Sky which reached number one in the UK singles chart in 1986. It went on to reach the same heights in no less than eighteen other countries.

Whilst busy getting ready for the festival season, he took some time to have a chat with Kevin Cooper and this is what he had to say.

Hi Clive how are you?

Hello Kevin I’m great thanks how are you?

I’m very well thank you and let me just thank you for taking the time to speak to me today.

It’s my pleasure as usual.

And just how is life treating you?

To be honest life at this moment in time is treating me very well, very well indeed thank you (laughter).

And correct me if I am wrong but isn’t this year rather special?

(Laughter) yes it is. I was sat here doing my sums and realised that it was thirty five years ago that I formed Doctor & The Medics. That was way back in 1982 which means that this year is our thirty-fifth anniversary.

Will you be doing anything special to commemorate the anniversary?

(Laughter) well at this moment we have nothing planed but I think that we will eventually get round to doing something a little bit special. Knowing us it will most probably be on the day before New Year’s Eve (laughter). Having said that this year is our busiest year for twenty-five years, which is quite remarkable really. It is all down to all of the hard work that the current line-up puts in; they are such an amazing line-up and I am so blessed to have such an amazing group of people around me. I suppose that since 1998 when we couldn’t buy a gig for love nor money we have continually worked our way up and we are now at the point where we are so very busy. Lots of people seem to like us, they are very kind about us, and it is lovely so you could say that I am in a very good position at this moment in time.

You will once again be opening proceedings on Sunday 20^th August at the Flashback Festival at The Thoresby Estate here in Nottinghamshire. Are you looking forward to that?

Yes I am, I really am. In fact I was only thinking about this the other day and I worked out that this will be our third year playing the Flashback Festival in Nottingham. I really can’t wait; Flashback Festival is one of my favourite gigs of the year. Everyone has such a good time and I’m not just speaking about the audience. The artists all love playing there. It is just so much fun.

And I understand that you will in fact be the MC for the day once again, is that correct?

Yes I am which is always great fun. To be honest I always get a little nervous whenever I am gigging or working but I get really nervous whenever I am comparing (laughter). When you are singing you can hide behind the song. My dad in his wisdom used to say to me “cabaret acts have got it worked out because if they are telling jokes and they are not going down well they just break into a song and everybody claps” (laughter). That was the old way of the world but these days when I go out onto the stage and it is just me, a microphone and ten thousand people looking at me I can’t just break into a song and dance routine (laughter).

I have to get the audience in the right place; let them know what is going on, get them involved and I really do get nervous. But to be honest I love it. I like that because who would have thought that after thirty-five years I would be finding a new challenge in this business that tests me a little bit. I wouldn’t like it all to be easy.

I have to say that the Sunday line-up is looking pretty good.

I totally agree with you, and have to say that Sunday looks like a hell of a good line-up to me.

Who are you particularly looking forward to seeing perform?

Well for one I really do enjoy watching Heather (Small). She is such a lovely lady. I have played a few festivals with her and when I first met her I very soon realised that she is actually quite shy and very nervous which doesn’t come across on stage at all. There are a few people, probably including me, who are a bit quiet, nervous and shy but as soon as they get out there on stage its wow and it all takes off. Looking at that line-up I really couldn’t say that any one of the artists or bands are my favourites really. I’m not allowed to (laughter). All that I will say is that out of the line-up for Sunday the whole of the 80s phenomena is very well represented.

Why do you think these kind of festivals are so popular and continue to grow in number each year?

That’s an interesting question and it is actually something that I have spoken about to people before. I think that it’s because since the 80s there have not been the kind of acts that can go on stage and simply wow a crowd of twenty thousand people with the songs, the delivery and with the performance because in the 90s it all kind of moved away from that. What I have found is that this 80s phenomena grows and takes its own shape. Most of the performers now are probably, I think it’s fair to say, performing more than they possibly did back in the 80s. Back then you would tour, then you would be back in the studio working, then promotion, television, another tour whereas now we have all of these live gigs coming up enabling the artists to actually get out there on stage and do what they do best. I personally feel that it is fair to say that a lot of the artists who are on these 80s tours are actually better performers now than they were back in the day.

As you get older you learn a bit of what the old Lovies call stage craft darling. I still have no idea as to what stage craft is after thirty-five years in the business (laughter). I will admit however, that you do learn how to perform better and I think that as a result of that people who come along to see all of those acts are most probably seeing them perform better than they would have done at any time of their career, and as for their voices, I think that with some people their voices are stronger, better and they have worked on them more over the years. Back in the day you simply did your thing and then you were out of there whereas a lot of the artists have now learned how to take care of their voice allowing them to sing better and more powerfully. For example, whenever you hear someone like Jimmy Sommerville, I am sure that his voice gets better every time that I hear him and I feel that is true of a lot of people. So there you go, I am being very diplomatic here and am praising everybody in a roundabout way (laughter).

You are recognised almost as much for your flamboyant coats as you are for your music so I will ask you the most important question, are there any new coats on the horizon?

Yes there are. I am currently looking at two new coats to add to the collection and to be honest I am trying to get a third one made in time for this summer’s festivals. I haven’t actually had a coat made now in ages; instead I scour places now for unusual stuff, stuff that looks like the sort of thing that the Doctor would wear (laughter). However, I have come up with an idea but I am not going to spoil the show by telling you just yet, sorry (laughter). Let’s just say that if I do get it then everyone is going to look at me and realise that I do not take myself too seriously (hysterical laughter).

And just how is my favourite coat at the moment. You said last year that your Union Jack coat was now starting to show its age.

Oh god what you have to remember is that my Union Jack coat is now some sixteen years old and unfortunately it is not something that you can get remade. It was actually made for a one-off television show and after the show the production company kindly gave the coat to me and as you know I have kept it going ever since. It is now a little threadbare but fortunately if I wear it late enough at night so that it is in the lights, and I do not stand too close to the front of the stage, then the audience don’t notice the fact that it is now threadbare (laughter). It’s really quite funny because when I am backstage about to go out onto the stage I meet some very well dressed people, some very dapper artists.

They are all there in their wonderful suits, and are so well dressed that they could be attending a wedding. And there’s me stood next to them in this thread bare Union Jack coat looking like I have just walked in off the street (laughter). But when I do get out on stage I think that I manage to get away with it. However, I do realise that at some point it is not going to work and at that point I will most probably sell the coat for charity.

Eighteen years ago you started playing on the Butlins circuit, do you still enjoy that as much as you did back in 1999?

Yes I do, it is always such good fun. When we first started playing Butlins they originally booked us as a 70s band and asked us to play the Glam Rock nights. I said to our agent “this just goes to show just how much we have had to rebrand ourselves on the audience’s” because when we came back even our agent believed that we were a 70s band (laughter). I told him that Spirit In The Sky was released back in 1986 and thank god because there are now far more 80s events at Butlins than there are 70s events. So we eventually found ourselves quite rightly playing on the 80s events. However, when we first started doing it there were a lot of people, who at the time were looking at us and giving it all of the ‘Oh Butlins is it now, Hi Di Hi’ and now they play it. Then around six years later when it started getting really big with the 80s nights and some of the big names started performing there, the same people who had been ridiculing us were now asking ‘who do I have to contact to play at Butlins’. I just turned to them, smiled and said ‘Hi Di Hi’ (laughter).

We have loved every minute of it. Again there are two sides to it, firstly there are the adult party weekends which are fantastic but then during the summer you get the family weekends and occasionally in the past we used to play at the family weekends, which have a totally different dynamic. You are then entertaining families which I love doing especially in this day and age where peoples time away as a family is probably more limited than it has been for decades. We are now all working so hard and can’t afford to go away. So I just think, do you know what, this family are away, they are here tonight, we are on stage, this could well be their only Saturday night all together for months, so let’s make this special. I will then try to get the kids involved, the parents involved, and as I have said that is a totally different dynamic. We do a lot of shows around the country to family audiences and again, it is a different dynamic, you have got to bring everyone in which once again goes back to when I am comparing at the Flashback gigs.

It is all about drawing the audience in, you want to get them feeling like they are involved. For me you have to do that every single gig. I know that I was taking the micky earlier about stage craft but I suppose that is my stage craft that I try to do. I try to get everyone inclusive. It’s not about the singer in the middle of the stage with the lights on him; if it was all about him then I would be Elvis (Presley). But it not about me it’s about the bloke standing at the back, it’s about the blokes who empty the toilets, everybody is involved in this thing and to make it work, it involves such an organisation and every single person plays their part. When I can manage to get everyone involved then that is when I feel the magic.

You must really enjoy being the MC for all of these festivals because I see that you are, once again, MC for the Rock & Blues Custom Bike Show in Derbyshire this year.

Yes I am, I love everything about the festival at Pentrich up there in Derbyshire. In fact I have been doing that now for over thirteen years (laughter). We first played there back in 1987, the year after we had had the hit with Spirit In The Sky and I have been involved with it ever since. Believe you me what you do on stage in front of four thousand bikers is very different to what you do at Flashback (laughter). I will leave it at that (hysterical laughter).

I first went to the Rock & Blues Custom Bike Show way back in the 80s and saw Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts (whatever happened to them), The Nashville Teens and Suzi Quatro.

Well if you went back in the early eighties it would have been a much smaller event than it is now. To be honest the show got very big at one point and they started having the likes of Motorhead and Twisted Sister performing to an audience of twenty thousand people. It then scaled down again to a sort of old school party with five thousand people attending with one large stage inside the arena and one outside. I personally feel that it is the right number of people for the event now. It is just a lovely weekend; once you drive through he gates you leave your worries behind. I always look forward to that weekend.

Who has musically inspired you?

Off the top of my head, Hawkwind, The Doors, a guy called Rocky Ericson who not a lot of other people will have heard of, numerous Glam bands and numerous Punk bands.

What would you say has been the highlight of your career so far?

Do you know what, I keep reinventing that every year (laughter). I suppose that people would say that it had to be Spirit In The Sky which at the time I would agree that it was then. However, you do gigs and you keep surprising yourself. Whenever it happens I take snap shots in my head and I say to myself ‘remember this Jackson because you are not going to be doing this forever and this moment is important. The magic is working so remember this moment’. I will take a snap shot in my head and so now, all of my high points are all gigs; they are all performances. They may not be the biggest it is just that sometimes it can be in a certain place where something magic happens, and you just know that everybody has that same feeling. And when that happens that is my next highlight. That way you are going to keep having highlights all the way through.

What was the first record that you bought?

I went into town and I bought two 7” singles on the same day. They were The House Of The Rising Sun by The Animals, and Right To Work by Chelsea.

Who did you first see performing live in concert?

Oh I get confused when asked this but the first proper gig that I can remember and the one which actually meant something to me was the X-Ray Spex at the Marque back in 1977. Every year in aid of Poly Styrene I play the Polyfest in her memory and to help raise money for charity. Every year I give the same speech; I saw this amazing woman who defined herself, she was not in any way conventional, she dressed the way that she wanted to dress, and whenever she went out onto the stage she would scream herself a new set of vocal chords. With her arms flailing she was like nothing that I had ever seen. I just looked at her and thought ‘that’s how you do it’.

She wasn’t David Bowie, she wasn’t Mick Jagger, she was just someone who redefined herself and was just herself on stage. That has stood with me and has inspired me all the way through so if we go back to the question about who has inspired me, then she has.

What was the last song or piece of music that made you cry?

(Laughter) do you know what, I cry all the bloody time especially when I am listening to music. For reasons that are beyond me I found myself backstage at George Michael’s very last concert here in London. I only stayed for around thirty minutes but I very soon realised that the man simply had so much class. I said earlier that when I am on stage it is not about me, well let me tell you when George Michael was on stage then it was most definitely all about him. When I heard him sing Father Figure I immediately thought of my daughter and it was a moment that I will always remember. Oh god I’m welling up, I’m going now. I was absolutely blown away and I am sure that will surprise a few people (laughter).

On that note Clive let me once again thank you for taking the time to speak to me, it’s been wonderful as usual. You take care and I will see you at Thoresby in August.

Yes you will and please do come over and say hello. It will be great to catch up with you once again. I will see you at Flashback, it is going to be a great weekend, let’s all make sure that we have fun. Thanks Kevin and bye for now.

The Flashback Festival at Thoresby Estate Nottinghamshire on Saturday 2oth August 2016

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

Clive Jackson, better known as the Doctor from Doctor & The Medics and compere for the event told this crowd on the second day of The Flashback Festival at the Thoresby Estate that in 38 years of appearing at Festivals, it had never rained. Yesterday he experienced real festival weather as blustery and rainy conditions threatened to put a damper on proceedings, but thankfully this hardy crowd did not even notice.

The afternoon’s special guest, Paul Carrack came on stage early and so it was a meagre crowd that saw him and his six piece band bound onto the stage to open with Tempted. Choosing from a back catalogue of songs from his days with Ace, Squeeze, Roxy Music and Mike + The Mechanics, his unique, mellow, blusey voice showcased the likes of The Living Years, Another Cup Of Coffee, and How Long, before he brought his energetic set to a close with sing along number, Over My Shoulder.

Up next was the obligatory appearance from Doctor & The Medics who had this growing audience dancing along to the likes of You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) and Tainted Love. This eccentric band’s enthusiasm is simply infectious as the crowd were warmed up nicely with set closer, Spirit In The Sky.

In anticipation of a great evening of nostalgia, Hue & Cry, were given a warm welcome. Backed by a skilled and eager band the Kane brothers sounded lively and engaging. Getting the crowd immediately onside with opener Looking For Linda, their set included most of their hits and by the time the closer came, Labour Of Love, the crowd were positively rocking.

Nick Heyward’s set was cut short due to timing issues so there was no Fantastic Day, but what he did have time for was simply that, fantastic. There was no doubting the delight of the crowd as he treated them to Blue Hat For A Blue Day, Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl), whilst On A Sunday got a rare outing. Finishing with Love Plus One the crowd were dancing with the energetic glee that would have graced any teenage disco.

It was soon the turn of Living In A Box, with guest vocalist Kenny Thomas, who’s own songs Outstanding and Thinking About Your Love were sneaked in. But it was Blow Your House Down and the fun danceable pop tune of Living In A Box that had this crowd dancing.

No festival would be complete without an appearance from Roland Gift, former frontman with Fine Young Cannibals, whose voice definitely gets better with age as he delivered his huge hits, Suspicious Minds, Good Thing and singalong number, She Drives Me Crazy.

Leaving the stage for Bananarama, now a duo, they let Cruel Summer, Nathan Jones and Shy Boy show what they were about. Really Saying Something induced a mass singalong as did set closer Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye).

With Billy Ocean’s timeless 80’s classics and infectious dance moves, songs like Red Light Spells Danger and Caribbean Queen will never lose their appeal. Radiating the energy of a twenty year old, hits like Love Really Hurts Without You and When The Going Gets Tough, he brought this year’s Festival to a close.

What could have been a dreary, wet and thoroughly unpleasant day, turned out to be a joyous celebration of 80s music. As the Doctor once said, “The British do festivals better than any other country”. On this weekend’s showing, there won’t be any argument from this crowd.