Maximo Park, Flowerovlove, Example and The Human League performing at the Tramlines Festival Sheffield on Sunday 28th July 2024.

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

With the sun high in the sky, Sunday at the Tramlines Festival felt like a million miles away from 2023’s offering when the heavens opened up and the ground in Hillsborough Park became just one massive mudfest.

And like last year, the acts were as diverse and as talented as ever making Sunday a great day of music in the sweltering heat.

Up first on the Sarah Nulty main stage was Maximo Park who delivered a high tempo, frenetic set. On the hottest day of the year, front man Paul Smith opened wearing a suit jacket and his obligatory hat as he ran around the stage. And even though the jacket came off after a couple of songs, it didn’t slow him down.

The band has been curating electric rock music for over twenty years and this festival slot allowed them to celebrate their fan favourite hits. Opener Our Velocity sent the crowd into an early frenzy with their hands and drinks held aloft as they belted the words out. Early single Girls Who Play Guitars was also very well received.

Classic Going Missing had it all; the band’s core shaking drums and the central shredding guitar riffs, delivered as Smith embarked upon his extravagant dance moves. They dipped into their back catalogue with hits such as The National Health and Books From Boxes which had the crowd dancing along to the noughties nostalgia.

The instant crowd pleaser Apply Some Pressure with its infectious hook that served as an energy raising, thunderous closer that sent the crowd back to the bars in rapturous delight. With the dynamic energy that Smith brought to the stage, their set was relentlessly upbeat which undoubtedly set the tone for the rest of the day.

There was a carefree breeziness to Joyce Cissie, also known as Flowerovlove that belies her innate confidence for a 19 year old. Her communication with the crowd was astonishing as she walked onto the stage and immediately asked them to sing along with her.

There is a vibrancy to her music that is so incredibly uplifting. And songs like Boys and Next Best Exit fitted really well in a festival environment because of their catchy melodies and memorable hooks. She sang the particularly cool Hannah Montana which showed her thoughtful and unique style before Abba’s Dancing Queen had everyone singing along.

This young British up and comer certainly has an undeniable likeability and an impeccable sense of style that makes her take to the stage like the natural that she is. Her fan base already seems incredibly connected and she is undoubtedly going to be a festival staple in the future based upon how she had worked this festival crowd.

British grime and electro house artist, Elliot Gleave best known as Example, really got the party started and as expected, his high octane set did not disappoint. His short set was a delightful mix of bangers and dance tunes, combining his latest music with his classics. His performance was fully engaging with hits such as We’ll Be Coming Back and Kickstarts, getting the crowd jumping and singing along. Closing with his iconic song Changed The Way You Kiss Me, he finished his set on a high and left the crowd wanting more.

Synth pop royalty The Human League were the penultimate band to take to the Sarah Nulty stage. With almost five decades in the industry, they were not short of song choices for their set. Front man Phil Oakey reminded the crowd that he used to live two hundred yards from Hillsborough Park so this really was a great homecoming show.

With Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall being the original schoolmates discovered by Oakey at the Crazy Daisy Nightclub in Sheffield in 1980, they have been a constant in the line up ever since. As they launched into opener Mirror Man, it was clear that his voice is still as strong and relatively true to the baritone that made his delivery so unique back in the day.

Following up with Heart Like A Wheel and The Sound Of The Crowd, there was plenty of singing along and quite a lot of dad dancing. For their political hit The Lebanon the guitar made its appearance, before things were slowed down for Human and quickly ramped back up for Love Action (I Believe In Love) which saw Oakey at his energetic best, running from one side of the stage to the other for much of the song.

Tell Me When was another great up tempo number and one of the band’s later hits, which was followed by (Keep Feeling) Fascination. Towards the end of the set there was a rousing rendition of Together In Electric Dreams which had the whole crowd singing along.

The opening to their anthemic monster hit, Don’t You Want Me started with two keytar players watching the enraptured audience sing the first verse and chorus whilst Oakey and the ladies left the stage to get changed and when they returned they started the first verse in full again to end a set that had still sounded as fresh and as timeless as ever.

Each year the organisers of the Tramlines Festival try to exceed the expectations of their festival goers, and each year they manage it. With the sun out, the bars doing a brisk business and the food trucks dealing with the queues, it is not surprising that the early bird tickets for next year’s festival will be in great demand.

2025’s Festival will take place between Friday25th – Sunday 27th July

The Early Bird Tickets will go on sale at 12pm on 2nd August.

Ticket prices will be £89.50 + booking fee.

For further information visit www.tramlines.org.uk

The Human League with special guest Altered Images, perform their Dare 40 Tour at The Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on Monday 13th December 2021

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

It was forty years since synth pop band, The Human League released their third studio album, Dare, and they were at the Royal Concert Hall last night to celebrate its anniversary.

The evening of 80s nostalgia began with a short support set from the newly reformed Altered Images, fronted by Clare Grogan, whose sassiness and sense of fun has never left her. With a set that included I Could Be Happy and Change Of Heart she delighted the packed crowd with her mass sing along, Happy Birthday. With a new album due for release next summer, it wouldn’t be surprising if they have a headline tour of their own.

An orchestral fanfare announced the arrival of The Human League onto a stage that had a backdrop of both real and fake stairs, and when a three piece band opened with the synth strains of 1982’s Mirror Man, the eager crowd were immediately on their feet.

With front man Phil Oakey flanked by Joanne Cathedral and Susan Ann Sulley, they delivered a selection of their songs that had spanned their careers. Keep Feeling (Fascination), The Lebanon and Human had the crowd dancing in the aisles and showcased Oakey’s trademark vocals which do not appear to have aged at all.

Several costume changes later and the familiar intro from The Things That Dreams Are Made Of got a huge roar of approval which heralded the start of Dare. They played all ten tracks in order so hits like Open Your Heart and The Sound Of The Crowd were warmly received.

The tempo was slightly lowered with Get Carter, I Am The Law and the quieter contemplative Seconds but Love Action (I Believe In Love) and Don’t You Want Me raised it right back up there.

A two song encore followed which included the haunting Being Boiled, before the only non Human League song of the evening, Together In Electric Dreams brought to an end a fabulous night which saw the audience as exhausted as Oakey who had never stood still all night.

Splendour Festival at Wollaton Park Nottingham on Saturday 23rd July 2016

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

This year’s Splendour Music Festival did not need wellies, but flip flops. Nor were rain ponchos needed but fifty factor sun cream as over 23,000 people visited Wollaton Park for the ninth annual Festival.

Joining the special club of headliners whose previous members include The Specials, Tom O’Dell and Jake Bugg, this year it was the turn of Jess Glynne to headline on the Main Stage and she did not disappoint.

With several long queues to access the venue throughout the day, this eager crowd were not deterred as rumours were rife that it was taking in excess of an hour to get. They did what the British do best; queued calmly and drank the fluids that would have no doubt been confiscated at the entrance.

Making the tea time slot their own was London band Turin Brakes, who delighted the crowd with a selection of songs from their latest album, Lost Property. Showing that they are certainly an underrated band as the combination of Gale Paridjanian’s guitar skills, Olly Knight’s distinctive vocals which were driven along by Ed Myer’s bass and Rob Allum’s drums made their distinctive acoustic sound reverberate around this lovely park.

In a thirty minute set which included new tracks 96, Lost Property and Jump Start, this crowd were well and truly entertained. New track Save You, has the potential to be an anthem in the making, whilst oldies Long Distance, Underdog and fans favourite 2003 hit Pain Killer prompted a mass sing along.

With sensible timings from the organisers it meant that the crowd were able to make their way across to The Confetti Stage to catch the artists appearing there and there were not any disappointed fans of Belfast punk band, Stiff Little Fingers. Opening with Barbed Wire Love, there was no doubt that Jake Burns and Co have lost none of their sense of justice and their anger in their thought provoking, uplifting and emotive songs such as Strummerville, Tin Soldiers, and Wasted Life, before bringing their appreciated set to a close with Alternative Ulster.

Fresh from an appearance at Glastonbury was Jamie Lawson who, when he appeared at Rock City earlier this year, the queue to get in went all around the block. Coming onto the Main Stage with his band, he was immediately swathed in smoke. But once it cleared Lawson emerged with just his guitar and that incredible voice. Opening his set with The Only Conclusion; this was the first of a string of catchy and often achingly beautiful songs. Cold In Ohio from his self-titled album was given an outing as was the hopeful and upbeat Someone For Everyone.

Finishing his set with Wasn’t Expecting That, this crowd either sang along to what has become a momentous first single for Lawson, or they just stood and listened. But he lightened the mood when he threw in a verse from Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl which absolutely delighted this overheated crowd.

UB40 needed no introduction, even though the line-up may have changed and there was no Ali, Astro or Mickey. But some do say that this is the real UB40 and despite the legal wrangling’s between the brothers, what are instantly memorable are the songs which this band have been performing since the 1980’s as they rose to prominence as being the first British reggae band to achieve mainstream pop crossover success.

If the audience were flagging as the temperatures reached the mid 20’s, they were instantly revived when the strains of Homely Girl, Cherry Oh Baby and Kingston Town just begged to be sang along to. A cover of Jimmy Cliff’s Many Rivers To Cross together with the band’s 1980 debut single Food For Thought brought back memories of those early days whilst set closer Red Red Wine had everyone of all ages singing along.

With the main stage now dressed in white, it was time for Sheffield’s 80’s giants, The Human League to take their turn at entertaining. Opening with Mirror Man, those in the audience will have immediately remembered lead singer Phil Oakey with his hair drooping over one eye, yet still looking remarkably cool.

Taking this audience on a trip down memory lane, they were treated to the classics which included Love Action (I Believe In Love), The Lebanon and Tell Me When. With band members Susan Tulley and Joanne Catherall having three costume changes, it was Oakey who moved the set along with his pitch perfect vocals. Finishing with Don’t You Want Me Baby and Together In Electric Dreams, the atmosphere was simply that; electric, as a packed audience danced and provided backing vocals to a set which had ended too soon.

It would have been a pity to have missed The Darkness on the Confetti Stage and many decided that they were too good to miss. With enigmatic lead singer Justin Hawkins, they were pure entertainment. Dressed in a purple jump suit, Hawkins knew how to entertain. They were the most energetic, simply bonkers band to grace the stage of Splendour and kept the temperatures way up there.

With a set list that started with Black Shuck and Growing On Me, their set also included One Way Ticket and Love Is Only A Feeling. Running from one end of the stage to the other, The Darkness were definitely not Stuck In A Rut, but as they finished with Love On The Rocks With No Ice, it was clear that this audience would have appreciated a little ice to just cool them down.

Back to the Main Stage for headliner Jess Glynne, the evening was brought to an end with the sun having set over a fantastic setting, with the lake and its inhabitants finally getting some sleep. Having appeared at the No Tomorrow Festival two years ago as the featured vocalist for chart toppers Clean Bandit, it was some of their covers which were given the Jess Glynne treatment.

With a set that included all of her hits, Glynne brought a Festival that was very successful, full of fun, and hugely entertaining, to a close. As this capacity crowd made their way to the exit, they would still have been singing Hold My Hand; a reminder of what was a truly brilliant day.

Flashback to the 80’s at Clumber Park on Saturday 22^nd August 2015, featuring Soul II Soul, Toyah Wilcox, 5 Star, Jason Donovan, Marc Almond and The Human League.

Images and Review by  Kevin Cooper

It was the rain that dominated the second day of pop nostalgia at the 80’s Flashback Festival at Clumber Park, but whilst this packed crowd donned waterproofs and brollies, their enthusiasm for good 80’s music was not in any way dampened. The regular compere for the Saturday night slot, Clive Jackson, the Doctor from Doctor & The Medics was unfortunately unable to attend. Toyah Wilcox took up the mantle and did a great job keeping the party going.

Soul II Soul hogged the sunshine and had the crowd on their feet with their hits including, Keep On Movin’ and Back To Life before handing the stage over to Toyah for her set. With a huge back catalogue of hits, she did not disappoint with old tracks such as Good Morning Universe and I Want To Be Free. Covers included a sterling performance of Guns ‘n’ Roses Sweet Child Of Mine, before finishing with It’s A Mystery.

Next up was 5 Star, now just a foursome. Their loyal fan base was there at the front to sing along to classics such as System Addict, Rain Or Shine and Can’t Wait Another Minute and with their slick choreography it was easy to see why they were originally marketed as the British Jackson 5.

With the rain pouring down, Jason Donovan tried very hard to bring some Aussie sunshine to the proceedings. Reminding us just why he was an 80’s heartthrob, his cover of Don’t Leave Me This Way, had the crowd up on their feet. His other numbers included Any Dream Will Do and Sealed With A Kiss, before finishing his set with Especially For You.

Marc Almond brought class to the Festival as he effortlessly delivered a fantastic version of Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart, together with his all sing along hits like Tainted Love and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

Closing this weekend of music was The Human League whose popular synth music made this audience forget about the rain.   With fancy dress costumes soaked through and make up running down their faces, this audience sang their hearts out to numbers such Love Action (I Believe In Love), Mirror Man and Don’t You Want Me.

With the awful weather already a forgotten memory, it was the music that had saved the day. It was surprising to recall just how good some 80’s music was, and like a bottle of red wine, it seems to get better with age.