Chris Evans, BBC Radio 2's breakfast show presenter, revealed live on air yesterday he was leaving the station after thirteen years including eight years on the breakfast show, to head up Virgin's breakfast show in the new year.
Having been thinking about the move for a year, the decision has been made and now leaves the BBC Radio 2 controller with decisions to make about who to replace him. The BBC themselves have already written an article outlining some of the runners and riders but here are my thoughts on what they should do, plus whether this change should spark a wider reshuffle on the airwaves.
I'd like to point out, before I start, that people get passionate about their radio DJs, and one listeners John Peel is another's John Barrowman, and I'm well aware that, although I've listened to BBC Radio 2 since I was a child, at 32 I'm not exactly in their ideal demographic, but here I go anyway! Let me know your thoughts and comments about the station below - do you agree or disagree?
The Breakfast Show
I'm going to nail my colours to the mast and say that I felt that Chris Evans was a worthy successor to Terry Wogan. A different style of presenter, yes. More energetic, sometimes brash? Definitely. But he added a certain spark to the show and pulled in the numbers. That said, however, he's certainly gone off the boil in the last twelve months which might have been a symptom of his decision or his reason to make it. His 'Children in Need' love-in shows, where listeners bid obscene (though worthy) amounts of money for charity were off-putting to the listeners who could only dream of such amounts.
He often spoilt movies and TV shows when he talked about them on air, Abi Morgan's 'River' and recent musical flick 'Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again' two examples that come to mind; his speech has been indulgent; he talks too much over records; and goes on about his private life far too much. DJ's should have a personality but I think he's pushed it a little too much into being a little too self-centred. In fact, his departure announcement was an example of this itself, going head-first into self-indulgence.
Recently I've been surprised by how little he follows music, admitting on air to not knowing artists like 'Rae Morris' or the 'Mystery Jets'. Neither, granted, are the biggest names in the world of music but neither are they so obscure that you've never heard of them. I've seen the former live but don't own any of the music by the latter yet I know their name. In mind if you're paid what he's paid to present you'd want to live and breathe music but maybe I'm old fashioned!
If the rumours are true that he's getting £2 million for his new show on Virgin they are, in my opinion, taking a big gamble. At the moment that station gets 400,000 listeners, compared to 15 million from BBC Radio 2. There might be some defectors to the station but I think the brand loyalty of the station is much stronger than the loyalty to the presenter. It'll be interesting to see how the RAJAR figures come out and if Evans is not doing the move for the money, as he's gone on record as saying, then perhaps it is the challenge of building the audience?
As for the future of the breakfast show I think there's only one choice in my opinion and that's Sara Cox. She will help improve the radio's demographics, reducing the practically all-male line-up of the main five shows, and has plenty of breakfast radio experience plus, from her time deputising on the show in Evans' absence has proven to be a calmer yet still as enjoyable presenter. And having a Northern voice won't do the station any harm either.
The Mid-Morning Show
If there's one part of the BBC Radio 2 schedule that I hope they don't touch it's this show, headed up by Ken Bruce. Though at 67 he's certainly no spring chicken and will, I'm sure, want to retire sooner than later, he is the best presenter the station has through the day: calm, collected, witty and with an unflappable style. And, as he name never appears in the rankings of the most paid DJs unlike Chris Evans, Jeremy Vine and Steve Wright, and his show gets listening figures not hugely different to the breakfast show, (Only around 600,000 fewer) he's probably the biggest bargain the station has.
Please, whatever happens to the schedule, don't get rid of Ken!
Though, I think when the time comes, they couldn't go wrong with Trevor Nelson or Fern Cotton stepping into his shoes, having previously deputised for him.
The Phone-In Show
Currently headed up by Jeremy Vine, this is another presenter who I think will find himself leaving in a reshuffle. I considered, when Chris Evans was heading up 'Top Gear' something would have to give and he'd have to choose between his breakfast show or the magazine programme as international shoots and early-morning rises don't make for good bed-fellows. Eventually, the failure of the 'Top Gear' re-boot made that decision, but I think Vine will soon face a similar predicament now that he's in-charge of the former Wright Stuff show on channel 5. Though an article made the observation that Vanessa Feltz does two shows a day and manages these are both BBC Radio shows, and I'm not sure the Beeb will be as considerate with Vine who now broadcasts an earlier show for a rival, and even though the end section is pre-recorded I wouldn't be best pleased if I was the producers of his radio show if the talent was turning up just in time for the broadcast without the pre-show planning and topic discussion that goes on ahead of the red light switching on having the input of the presenter. And I'm not sure the licence payers would be that keen either.
I foresee Jeremy Vine going full time with his Channel 5 show and either Vanessa Feltz, Paddy O'Connell or Amol Rajan jumping into the hot seat.
Steve Wright in the Afternoon
Surprisingly, to me, Steve Wright is a bit of a crowd splitter, if the internet is to be believed, which isn't always an accurate reflection of reality. To me, he's close-behind Ken Bruce as the best presenter on the station: I like his slickness, the confidence of his interviews and delivery and the music choices, plus friday's 'Serious Jockin'' is a delight. I can see how his bombastic over-powering style could be seen as grating but I like his style, though at 64 he too will be eyeing retirement in the not so distant future. I'm not quite sure who'd replace him as there's not really a presenter in his style - Craig Charles, a recent stand-in, is confident, competent and cool, but not as energetic - but please leave your suggestions in the comments!
Drivetime
Anyone who peruses the BBC Radio 2 social media channels can't fail to have noticed the listener uproar that came with the changes to the show earlier the year, teaming Simon Mayo up with Jo Whiley as a double-header. People hate change, and this change was particularly hated and, although I wasn't foaming at the mouth like many of those raving online, I shared their frustrations that a show that was working well was ripped apart and replaced by a show that just lacks the spark that it did.
Having said that, now the show has bedded in, it's slicker than it was in that first week, but there's still the air of Mayo and Whiley being a married couple on the edge of a divorce but staying together for the kids. It's very hard to put two presenters together who've not necessarily worked together in the past and expect chemistry, and I don't think much will change. If truth is known, I think the issue is that the show is doing something different to what drivetime should be. Jo Whiley is very much a champion of new music and does it wheel, and I think it's this music policy that is damaging the show: there feels to be too much focus on new songs or more subdued numbers when you really want something more energetic and fun for the drive-time. I listened again to the show driving home and enjoyed it more, and the two presenters seemed much more comfortable together, but it still feels a bit too much like a verbal tennis match with each taking in turns like they're reading a script to ensure balanced coverage, and the music is still lacking something. I used to really enjoy the drive show and now it just lacks a spark.
If there's a big re-shuffle with Chris Evans' departure I'd suggest a reverse ferret and return to the old format. But this is unlikely to ever happen so I'd perhaps start entirely fresh with a brand new presenting team. I have to say I really enjoyed the immediate chemistry of Angela Scanlon and OJ Borg, some early morning presenters, when they sat in, proving that sometimes a random pairing can really work. They could do much worse.
Other Bits
There are a few things I'd also suggest whilst they're doing a re-shuffle. I don't know whether I'm getting old (I am getting old-er, but that pushes me more towards their 35 and over demographic) but they've started to play more 'washing machine' music as I call it, modern songs that eschew choruses for instrumental breaks like a washing machine warming up. I like the fact that BBC Radio 2 chucks in some more modern music at times but they need to pick and choose better. And also not play any more Cher songs from Mamma-bloody-Mia.
There are other presenters who've recently appeared on the station I'd love to hear more of: Fearne Cotton; Ore Oduba; Dermot O'Leary; Gary Davies; or Tony Blackburn, with others well worth hearing too. But no more Ricky Wilson please: love him in the Kaiser Chiefs, not so much as a radio presenter, but that's clearly, like all of this, personal preference!
The online blog for KBPS magazine.
Tuesday 4 September 2018
Sunday 2 September 2018
Bingley Music Live 2018: Our Review
As several acts highlighted on stage over the weekend, Myrtle Park's Bingley Music Live is often the last music festival of the season and so it's a live farewell for many groups before they scurry back into the studio or wherever band's these days do their writing. And for those attending BML it's often the last hurrah for summer before school / work or general life returns.
And for those reasons it's often a great party and though for me it doesn't touch on the excellent triple-whammy of Maximo Park / Kaiser Chiefs / The Wombats from last year, the solid line-up over two stages and two pop-up tents still makes West Yorkshire's own little festival the place to be.
With a slightly larger and branded-up main stage this year and a tweaked position for the Discovery stage, the festival also saw a secret garden nestled away from the main stage join the attractions alongside the regular mash-up of food outlets, a glitter stall and a gin bar, with extra seating provisions thrown in for good measure. There were also spot bits to enjoy such as Lidl handing out goodies early-on each day as a warm-up to their new store being built just outside the park - cheese straws on friday, pain-au-chocolat for the more middle-class on Saturday - and a great cake stall - Coppice Cakes and Bakes - selling wild and wacky flavours for just £2 in what must be the entire antithesis of festival pricing by giving us something huge for far less than it's worth. I was relieved to find this year, speaking of thrusting things down my throat, that the issues with the bars were solved from last year and pints were retrieved within seconds, not tens-of-minutes.
Oh, and I just hope that the stalls 'Philly Cheese Steak' and 'Panda Chinese Food' aren't the same set-up in their names. I don't mind eating Philly Cheese, but if the other stall is selling panda there may be some issues from the Government...
FRIDAY
Friday got off to a little bit of a shakey start. Many had turned up for the 3pm opening of the gates but were left waiting until well-after half-past before being let in, those waiting eventually funnelled into each queue as if we were about to start a 100m dash to the bar. Luckily we had a singer called Sheera to keep us entertained, her soulful voice doing wonders on Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean'. 'No Diggity' was whipped out within five minutes of me being there which must be something Guinness World Record at a festival.
The most pointless addition to the line-up has to be poor Beth Macari, a surprise addition to the festival early-doors, who must have wondered what she'd done to upset the organisers. I was well in the first 200 people to get in but even making a bee-line to the main stage meant I only reached the front of house position before she announced 'I have been Beth Macari'. My friend, who was a bit ahead, got one song but she was practically at the front. Someone in the queue next to me summed up the situation perfectly, as I paraphrase: "How annoyed would you be if you'd told all your friends you were playing Bingley Music Live only to find all your audience stuck in a non-moving queue outside".
Whilst I waited for the two stages to resume with the next acts on the line-up I made a pause at the Gin Bar, concealed under a fun tent. There I saw Ian Bareham whose strong acoustic-and-foot-pedal-led inside hits were a great start to my musical explorations. Later on, in the same area, Izak Wilkinson delivered a well-received set of covers including songs from the Arctic Monkeys, Steelers' Wheel and Wheatus, the track of course being the singable, festival-friendly, 'Teenage Dirtbag'. I even heard him try to Rick-Roll the crowd with one of his later songs.
First up on the Discovery Stage was Jordan Allen who songs were fast and full of punky-rock energy and a focus on the aesthetic with his large stage banner and leather-jacketed guitarist. His nuclear-tinged 'Half Life Woman' was my favourite song of his set, with a crowd-friendly sing-a-long section.
Following him up later on the same stage was 'October Drift' and though they were too heavy for my tastes their set was tight and the way the songs flowed smoothly from one to another was well accomplished.
I much preferred 'The Night Cafe', the third act on the bill, whose lighter, more ethereal sound, was more suited to a calm introduction to a must festival. It was, at times, difficult to hear the lyrics over the larger sound of the music, but it was an inoffensive, gentle performance that really set the mood for a weekend of great weather.
The one act I was really looking forward to on the first day were 'Pale Waves' and they rattled through their hits with energy, lyrically reflective basic dance moves and a strong energy, but the reliance on backing tracks was distracting and without casting rumours of their artistry, it was difficult to tell how much of it was live and how much was pre-recorded. I can't put my finger on it but something was a little off. That said, there were some great songs performed including 'My Obsession', 'Noises', 'Eighteen' and my personal favourite, 'New Years' Eve'. I already liked their music, particularly liked the black-smoke from the smoke machine adding atmosphere as they went full-goth and enjoyed their set, but I think there needs to be some work on the set-up including hiring a keyboard player.
Over onto the main stage and, in a theme, I'll return to on the Saturday line-up, it was a bit Eric Morecambe and André Previn. That is, they were playing all the right bands, just not necessarily in the right order. The Lightning Seeds, who opened, should have been the headliner, followed by The Sherlocks, then Shed Seven, then Gomez. Now, I know that line-ups are all down to individual music taste, but if you go on levels of energy then this is the order that would have worked.
Though they didn't throw a nod back to this year's World Cup by playing their most famous track, there was still plenty of great songs to enjoy from Liverpool's Ian Broudie and co. We got many sing-a-long favourites including 'Change', 'Lucky Day', 'Life of Riley' and 'Pure' and even having a smoke machine belching out a huge cloud of smoke early on didn't put them off, which at least puts them one rung above Bono and his Berlin gig on the same weekend. I also love a lead-singer that has his own carpet on stage. Take that, drummers! Overall there set was fun, singable and full of energy.
'The Sherlocks' who followed is an act I'm not as familiar with but I was won over by their catchy pop-indie including the songs 'Escapade' and 'Heart of Gold', but it was 'Live for the Moment' that really cemented their success in for me, tying up an upbeat energetic set. A couple of smoke bombs added to the atmosphere showing people will be able to sneak anything in if they wanted to. I can't complain about security as they have a job to do to protect people, but it's difficult to be a bit annoyed about the limitations of what you can bring in in terms of food or seats, when I've smelt cannabis quite a few times on site...
'Gomez' followed and with three lead-singers taking their turns added a bit of variety but, to be honest, they were a band that had passed me by in the 1990s so I didn't have the hook of familiarity, and their more laid-back style felt like a bit of a downer after the opening acts. They certainly had their fans though.
The main stage was wrapped up with 'Shed Seven' who played my personal favourite track 'Going For Gold', complete with yellow lighting, pretty early on. It was a fun set but, again, isn't a band I'm that familiar with even though we hail from the same place. Lead singer Rick Witter did get the award for the best bit of stage banter of the day, reading off a list of tweets in a tongue-in-cheek contractual-obligation sort of way, eventually addressing a seven-year-old who had tweeted him.
"He's seven-years-old," he said to the crowd as the kid looked on from near the front, "And he's f***ing tweeted us". The censorship is all mine.
SATURDAY
An obsession with attending parkruns meant my arrival on-site on Saturday was a little delayed so I missed Glue on the 'Discovery Stage' and 'Ego States' and 'No Hot Ashes' on the main stage, the latter someone I really wanted to see after recently hearing some of their tracks, but hopefully I'll catch up with them one day.
Luckily I was in time to see the Lafontaines from Scotland, a band I got to see at the University of Bradford several years ago, and the lads were still on high energy and the perfect way to kick off the second day properly, Lead sing Kerr Okan was a great front-man, getting the crowd going and proving to be fully on-board with the banter requirements of a strong lead singer. At one point he jumped through the barriers to sing within the crowd. They ended on 'Under the Storm' which really got the crowd going, and I enjoyed it too! It was great to have them at the festival but why a band with so many energetic songs were this early on, I don't know.
I missed quite a few subsequent acts on the Discovery Stage due to enjoying more things over on the Main one, sadly not seeing 'Brand New Friend', 'Wild Friend', 'The Brummies' or 'Bad Sounds', whose increasingly length set-up ran into another act I wanted to see. I did fulfil my reviewing requirements for the rest though.
'Queen Zee' were a four-piece of angry, sweary, punky songs whose liberal look and strong push of LGBTQ values was a welcome refreshing change, though musically were like a band just starting out, trying to prove how edgy they are by swearing a lot and writing a 'love song to Satan'. That said, I enjoyed their energy and song 'Loner' was very good, but they just seemed to be trying too hard to be out-there at times.
'The Snuts' that followed were the flip-side to their predecessors, specialising in mid-tempo indie-pop. I enjoyed new single 'Seasons', for which they let 'Spud' on stage, a rather high-on-life member of the audience, and the Arctic Monkeys-esque 'Manhattan Project' but they were fairly middle-of-the-road and inoffensive except when the lead singer peppered sentences with the f-word. They are Scottish after all. I enjoyed their set.
The best of the stage, outside of the Lafontaines,were the final act 'Spring King', who deserved the headline slot. On a high from their album coming out the day before, they came across as a really genuine band and they rattled through a great clutch of catchy, well performed songs, including 'Animal', and I agreed with the comments made by many members of the audience as their high-energy set finished, that they were one of the best acts of the weekend. The band seemed genuinely excited to be there, their performances was tight, and the songs well put together. 'The Hum' was my favourite song and it's one of those that hooked you in even if you've never heard it before. In fact, the live version is superior to the recorded version.
Switching to the main stage, I managed to catch the most of Spector's set, though because the Lafontaines were delayed starting I missed the first few songs, just hearing the dying moments of my favourite track of theirs - 'Celestine' - as I came over the hill, which was annoying. There were just two bands I was desperate to see on the saturday, and they'd both clashed. Luckily there was enough of their set left for me to enjoy and I got to bop along to 'Chevy Thunder' and 'All the Sad Young Men' amongst others. I've also never seen a band's front man tie his shoelaces between verses, but he did it with great timing! I don't know if it was a band decision or a rather precise stage manager, but it was a shame that they didn't do more than thirty-seconds of closer 'Never Fade Away', one of their biggest songs. I'm not convinced two-minutes of running over would really make that much difference.
I did feel sorry for Spector in another way, that they were lower down the bill than Saturday's novelty act 'Elvana', whose lead singer dressed as Elvis to perform Nirvana songs with the band with the occasional snatch of the songs by the King such as 'Viva Las Vegas' and 'A Little Less Conversation'. I definitely would have preferred the latter as it was not to my taste at all, and I don't think it did justice to either Presley or Cobain. I think perhaps novelty acts should be limited to the Discovery Stage: I think Spring King, the Lafontaines or many others would have fitted in much better, personally.
One act that did work and was intriguing was Lancashire's own Spice Girl, Melanie C, who performed one of my favourite sets of the day, and anybody who might have turned up their nose at her performing missed a treat. "It's proper hot for us Northerners!" she said at one point, her on-stage dancing, banter, flossing and calls for 'Girl Power' going down well with the crowd. She delivered a pretty comprehensive set covering her solo material, chosen covers and acknowledging her girl-band past. We got 'Never Be The Same Again', with JT's 'Cry Me A River' riff in place of the TLC rap; 'Baby When You're Gone' and the powerful 'I Turn to You' as the final song, the lighting, sound and Melanie C ending her set with some large whacks of some drums. We also got an electro-take on 'Say You'll Be There' and a sing-a-long crowd-friendly take on '2 Become 1' from her 90s back-catalogue, as well as two great covers in Moloko's 'Sing it Back' and REM's 'The One I Love'. She came across as really friendly on stage and the set was strong.
Rat Boy who followed sparked plenty of energy on stage, including 'Chip on my Shoulder', 'Fake ID' and 'Left 4 Dead', plus personal favourites 'Move' and 'Revolution'. I have to say that some of his songs felt in a similar formula to each other but the set was fast, punky and got the crowd going.
Following Rat Boy I left main stage for a bit. I saw 'Public Image Ltd' last time they played Bingley Music Live and didn't particularly enjoy them, so skipped them this time. We all have our favourite genres, and they just don't do it for me. I dipped into the Cribs for a bit - I heard my favourite 'I'm A Realist' - but again, they're not to my tastes, but there was a lot of buzz for them.
Saturday night rapped up with Jake Bugg as the headliner and I caught several songs I was looking forward to including 'Messed Up Kids' and 'Trouble Town', but he missed a trick in not referring to its use in the locally set 'Happy Valley', as his in-between song chats were perfunctory. I wanted to stay to hear 'Lightning Bolt' but after an early morning running and a long day of music and fun, I chose to head back to the Park and Ride, as Bugg, a great singer as he is, lacked the huge energy of last year's Saturday headliner. Fun, but not as high-octane as you'd hope from a final act.
SUNDAY
Musical taste is rather individual but for me sunday was the strongest of the three days in terms of line-up. With no running to compete for my attention it was straight in on the third day and to the Discovery Stage to see Kilnsey Green, who'd clearly brought some fans with them already wearing their merchandise. With a cool, chilled-out vibe and the sound of Santana, this was the perfect fit for the first act on a Sunday morning.
Bryde that followed were a strong indie band as were Red Faces who I saw later in the day, having skipped past Rosborough and Rascalton due to a stronger line-up on the main stage.
'Sea Girls', the third on the bill, were a strong bit of light-indie. Though not hugely bombastic, their sound of the Editors, if they cheered up a bit, was welcome. We even got a surprise extra act called 'Detroit Social' who were a good listen, though I'd rather have had more from the next act...
I was really waiting for Nerina Pallot, an artist I've been collecting albums of for several years and though she didn't play some tracks I was really hoping for - there was no love for 'Real Late Starter' or 'I Don't Want To Go Out' - she played a subdued, but well performed, set with some sparky chat between songs covering feminism, toilet seats, 11-year-olds drinking, being like Theresa May in wheat fields, and why the Midlands exist (only to get to Yorkshire, apparently).
Coming across as really friendly and witty, she also delivered the goods with the songs including personal favourites 'Rousseau' and 'Put Your Hands Up', alongside '"Everybody's Gone to War", 'If I had A Girl' and a cover of 'Son of a Preacher Man'. A great set, but would have loved to have had more from her.
Equally the final act on the Discovery Stage was great. 'Black Honey', with a lead singer with the nattiest dress sense and the sparkiest trousers of the day, were one of those bands whom you can know no songs from but really get into their set. Sounding like No Doubt with a country-edge, they came across as both friendly in the between-song chats and strong when it came to their music. Hailing from Brighton we got songs like 'Bad Friends', 'Somebody Better' and new single 'Midnight', which sounded like a rockier, less-camp Scissor Sisters track, plus the slow-starting 'Spinning Wheel' which had a 'Please Don't Make Me Be Misunderstood' vibe. Definitely one of my favourite sets of the weekend, I'll be hunting down their album when it comes out later this month.
Alongside the two main stages the side-attractions continued and I particularly enjoyed a male-female duo who entertained the cocktail tent crowd during a gap in the sets, covering a wide range of songs including the Arctic Monkey's 'Mardy Bum', 'What's Going On' and 'Hit the Road Jack'.
Taking a look at the main stage of Sunday, I sadly missed 'Critical Reaction' and 'Neon Waltz' but enjoyed the sun-tinged cool reggae of the delightful 'Hollie Cook' whose songs like 'Stay Alive' and 'Angel Fire' really suited the beautiful weather. An artist I've not enjoyed as much on her recorded material I think I need to readdress my thoughts on her after loving her warm and addictive set.
Following her was 'Pulled Apart by Horses' but they were a bit too heavy for my tastes, but Bingley's own 'Marmozets', who followed, were excellent even if they were, at times, also a bit too screamy for my personal tastes. With songs packed with catchy hooks, including on opener 'Move, Shake, Hide' I really enjoyed their high-energy set which ended with my favourite of theirs, recent single 'Major System Error'. The band were better when they pulled in the shouting, like on track 'Habits' or the dramatic 'Hit the Wave'. Seguing their songs 'Why Do You Hate Me?' into the riff from, I think, 'War Pigs', was a great touch and even some mic-issues on one song didn't damage the flow of a strong set from a band excited to play on their home turf. They even brought on the BSL-interpreter at the end as a thank you, showing the band has heart as well as power.
With their 'Boycie' drum ("Marlene!") Peace were next on the main stage, and did a fun, if not a little too calm, set, including a surprise cover of Avril Lavigne's 'Complicated' which was a great throwback that got the crowd singing along. I didn't see much of 'Ride', the penultimate act, but I heard a couple of songs and they were rocky enough.
Reaching the final headliner, and Noel Gallagher delivered an incredible 90-minute set with his High Flying Birds. We got ambient soundscapes, cheeky banter, and the member of the band using scissors as percussion. He delivered many big hitters from his three albums including second-track up 'Holy Mountain', 'Beautiful Life', 'Heat of the Moment', 'If I Had A Gun', 'Dream On' and 'AKA What A Life', plus more Oasis cuts than I was expecting including 'Little by Little', 'Whatever', 'Half the World Away', 'Wonderwall' and 'Don't Look Back in Anger' which got the crowd singing along, as did the finale of the Beatles' 'All You Need is Love' which rang out across Myrtle Park. On top form both musically and on stage - he joked about not understanding the Yorkshire accent, and excitedly discovering the sign language for Geordie c**ts - this was one of the best headliners I've seen at Bingley and was performed with energy by the main man himself plus the many musicians joining him on stage.
Overall Bingley Music Live 2018 was a big success. It might not have had the headliners of 2017's festival which was pretty much perfect for me, but there was much to enjoy, and the festival itself was friendly, well managed and sparky. Same time next year?
And for those reasons it's often a great party and though for me it doesn't touch on the excellent triple-whammy of Maximo Park / Kaiser Chiefs / The Wombats from last year, the solid line-up over two stages and two pop-up tents still makes West Yorkshire's own little festival the place to be.
With a slightly larger and branded-up main stage this year and a tweaked position for the Discovery stage, the festival also saw a secret garden nestled away from the main stage join the attractions alongside the regular mash-up of food outlets, a glitter stall and a gin bar, with extra seating provisions thrown in for good measure. There were also spot bits to enjoy such as Lidl handing out goodies early-on each day as a warm-up to their new store being built just outside the park - cheese straws on friday, pain-au-chocolat for the more middle-class on Saturday - and a great cake stall - Coppice Cakes and Bakes - selling wild and wacky flavours for just £2 in what must be the entire antithesis of festival pricing by giving us something huge for far less than it's worth. I was relieved to find this year, speaking of thrusting things down my throat, that the issues with the bars were solved from last year and pints were retrieved within seconds, not tens-of-minutes.
Oh, and I just hope that the stalls 'Philly Cheese Steak' and 'Panda Chinese Food' aren't the same set-up in their names. I don't mind eating Philly Cheese, but if the other stall is selling panda there may be some issues from the Government...
FRIDAY
Friday got off to a little bit of a shakey start. Many had turned up for the 3pm opening of the gates but were left waiting until well-after half-past before being let in, those waiting eventually funnelled into each queue as if we were about to start a 100m dash to the bar. Luckily we had a singer called Sheera to keep us entertained, her soulful voice doing wonders on Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean'. 'No Diggity' was whipped out within five minutes of me being there which must be something Guinness World Record at a festival.
The most pointless addition to the line-up has to be poor Beth Macari, a surprise addition to the festival early-doors, who must have wondered what she'd done to upset the organisers. I was well in the first 200 people to get in but even making a bee-line to the main stage meant I only reached the front of house position before she announced 'I have been Beth Macari'. My friend, who was a bit ahead, got one song but she was practically at the front. Someone in the queue next to me summed up the situation perfectly, as I paraphrase: "How annoyed would you be if you'd told all your friends you were playing Bingley Music Live only to find all your audience stuck in a non-moving queue outside".
Whilst I waited for the two stages to resume with the next acts on the line-up I made a pause at the Gin Bar, concealed under a fun tent. There I saw Ian Bareham whose strong acoustic-and-foot-pedal-led inside hits were a great start to my musical explorations. Later on, in the same area, Izak Wilkinson delivered a well-received set of covers including songs from the Arctic Monkeys, Steelers' Wheel and Wheatus, the track of course being the singable, festival-friendly, 'Teenage Dirtbag'. I even heard him try to Rick-Roll the crowd with one of his later songs.
First up on the Discovery Stage was Jordan Allen who songs were fast and full of punky-rock energy and a focus on the aesthetic with his large stage banner and leather-jacketed guitarist. His nuclear-tinged 'Half Life Woman' was my favourite song of his set, with a crowd-friendly sing-a-long section.
Following him up later on the same stage was 'October Drift' and though they were too heavy for my tastes their set was tight and the way the songs flowed smoothly from one to another was well accomplished.
I much preferred 'The Night Cafe', the third act on the bill, whose lighter, more ethereal sound, was more suited to a calm introduction to a must festival. It was, at times, difficult to hear the lyrics over the larger sound of the music, but it was an inoffensive, gentle performance that really set the mood for a weekend of great weather.
The one act I was really looking forward to on the first day were 'Pale Waves' and they rattled through their hits with energy, lyrically reflective basic dance moves and a strong energy, but the reliance on backing tracks was distracting and without casting rumours of their artistry, it was difficult to tell how much of it was live and how much was pre-recorded. I can't put my finger on it but something was a little off. That said, there were some great songs performed including 'My Obsession', 'Noises', 'Eighteen' and my personal favourite, 'New Years' Eve'. I already liked their music, particularly liked the black-smoke from the smoke machine adding atmosphere as they went full-goth and enjoyed their set, but I think there needs to be some work on the set-up including hiring a keyboard player.
Over onto the main stage and, in a theme, I'll return to on the Saturday line-up, it was a bit Eric Morecambe and André Previn. That is, they were playing all the right bands, just not necessarily in the right order. The Lightning Seeds, who opened, should have been the headliner, followed by The Sherlocks, then Shed Seven, then Gomez. Now, I know that line-ups are all down to individual music taste, but if you go on levels of energy then this is the order that would have worked.
Though they didn't throw a nod back to this year's World Cup by playing their most famous track, there was still plenty of great songs to enjoy from Liverpool's Ian Broudie and co. We got many sing-a-long favourites including 'Change', 'Lucky Day', 'Life of Riley' and 'Pure' and even having a smoke machine belching out a huge cloud of smoke early on didn't put them off, which at least puts them one rung above Bono and his Berlin gig on the same weekend. I also love a lead-singer that has his own carpet on stage. Take that, drummers! Overall there set was fun, singable and full of energy.
'The Sherlocks' who followed is an act I'm not as familiar with but I was won over by their catchy pop-indie including the songs 'Escapade' and 'Heart of Gold', but it was 'Live for the Moment' that really cemented their success in for me, tying up an upbeat energetic set. A couple of smoke bombs added to the atmosphere showing people will be able to sneak anything in if they wanted to. I can't complain about security as they have a job to do to protect people, but it's difficult to be a bit annoyed about the limitations of what you can bring in in terms of food or seats, when I've smelt cannabis quite a few times on site...
'Gomez' followed and with three lead-singers taking their turns added a bit of variety but, to be honest, they were a band that had passed me by in the 1990s so I didn't have the hook of familiarity, and their more laid-back style felt like a bit of a downer after the opening acts. They certainly had their fans though.
The main stage was wrapped up with 'Shed Seven' who played my personal favourite track 'Going For Gold', complete with yellow lighting, pretty early on. It was a fun set but, again, isn't a band I'm that familiar with even though we hail from the same place. Lead singer Rick Witter did get the award for the best bit of stage banter of the day, reading off a list of tweets in a tongue-in-cheek contractual-obligation sort of way, eventually addressing a seven-year-old who had tweeted him.
"He's seven-years-old," he said to the crowd as the kid looked on from near the front, "And he's f***ing tweeted us". The censorship is all mine.
SATURDAY
An obsession with attending parkruns meant my arrival on-site on Saturday was a little delayed so I missed Glue on the 'Discovery Stage' and 'Ego States' and 'No Hot Ashes' on the main stage, the latter someone I really wanted to see after recently hearing some of their tracks, but hopefully I'll catch up with them one day.
Luckily I was in time to see the Lafontaines from Scotland, a band I got to see at the University of Bradford several years ago, and the lads were still on high energy and the perfect way to kick off the second day properly, Lead sing Kerr Okan was a great front-man, getting the crowd going and proving to be fully on-board with the banter requirements of a strong lead singer. At one point he jumped through the barriers to sing within the crowd. They ended on 'Under the Storm' which really got the crowd going, and I enjoyed it too! It was great to have them at the festival but why a band with so many energetic songs were this early on, I don't know.
I missed quite a few subsequent acts on the Discovery Stage due to enjoying more things over on the Main one, sadly not seeing 'Brand New Friend', 'Wild Friend', 'The Brummies' or 'Bad Sounds', whose increasingly length set-up ran into another act I wanted to see. I did fulfil my reviewing requirements for the rest though.
'Queen Zee' were a four-piece of angry, sweary, punky songs whose liberal look and strong push of LGBTQ values was a welcome refreshing change, though musically were like a band just starting out, trying to prove how edgy they are by swearing a lot and writing a 'love song to Satan'. That said, I enjoyed their energy and song 'Loner' was very good, but they just seemed to be trying too hard to be out-there at times.
'The Snuts' that followed were the flip-side to their predecessors, specialising in mid-tempo indie-pop. I enjoyed new single 'Seasons', for which they let 'Spud' on stage, a rather high-on-life member of the audience, and the Arctic Monkeys-esque 'Manhattan Project' but they were fairly middle-of-the-road and inoffensive except when the lead singer peppered sentences with the f-word. They are Scottish after all. I enjoyed their set.
The best of the stage, outside of the Lafontaines,were the final act 'Spring King', who deserved the headline slot. On a high from their album coming out the day before, they came across as a really genuine band and they rattled through a great clutch of catchy, well performed songs, including 'Animal', and I agreed with the comments made by many members of the audience as their high-energy set finished, that they were one of the best acts of the weekend. The band seemed genuinely excited to be there, their performances was tight, and the songs well put together. 'The Hum' was my favourite song and it's one of those that hooked you in even if you've never heard it before. In fact, the live version is superior to the recorded version.
Switching to the main stage, I managed to catch the most of Spector's set, though because the Lafontaines were delayed starting I missed the first few songs, just hearing the dying moments of my favourite track of theirs - 'Celestine' - as I came over the hill, which was annoying. There were just two bands I was desperate to see on the saturday, and they'd both clashed. Luckily there was enough of their set left for me to enjoy and I got to bop along to 'Chevy Thunder' and 'All the Sad Young Men' amongst others. I've also never seen a band's front man tie his shoelaces between verses, but he did it with great timing! I don't know if it was a band decision or a rather precise stage manager, but it was a shame that they didn't do more than thirty-seconds of closer 'Never Fade Away', one of their biggest songs. I'm not convinced two-minutes of running over would really make that much difference.
I did feel sorry for Spector in another way, that they were lower down the bill than Saturday's novelty act 'Elvana', whose lead singer dressed as Elvis to perform Nirvana songs with the band with the occasional snatch of the songs by the King such as 'Viva Las Vegas' and 'A Little Less Conversation'. I definitely would have preferred the latter as it was not to my taste at all, and I don't think it did justice to either Presley or Cobain. I think perhaps novelty acts should be limited to the Discovery Stage: I think Spring King, the Lafontaines or many others would have fitted in much better, personally.
One act that did work and was intriguing was Lancashire's own Spice Girl, Melanie C, who performed one of my favourite sets of the day, and anybody who might have turned up their nose at her performing missed a treat. "It's proper hot for us Northerners!" she said at one point, her on-stage dancing, banter, flossing and calls for 'Girl Power' going down well with the crowd. She delivered a pretty comprehensive set covering her solo material, chosen covers and acknowledging her girl-band past. We got 'Never Be The Same Again', with JT's 'Cry Me A River' riff in place of the TLC rap; 'Baby When You're Gone' and the powerful 'I Turn to You' as the final song, the lighting, sound and Melanie C ending her set with some large whacks of some drums. We also got an electro-take on 'Say You'll Be There' and a sing-a-long crowd-friendly take on '2 Become 1' from her 90s back-catalogue, as well as two great covers in Moloko's 'Sing it Back' and REM's 'The One I Love'. She came across as really friendly on stage and the set was strong.
Rat Boy who followed sparked plenty of energy on stage, including 'Chip on my Shoulder', 'Fake ID' and 'Left 4 Dead', plus personal favourites 'Move' and 'Revolution'. I have to say that some of his songs felt in a similar formula to each other but the set was fast, punky and got the crowd going.
Following Rat Boy I left main stage for a bit. I saw 'Public Image Ltd' last time they played Bingley Music Live and didn't particularly enjoy them, so skipped them this time. We all have our favourite genres, and they just don't do it for me. I dipped into the Cribs for a bit - I heard my favourite 'I'm A Realist' - but again, they're not to my tastes, but there was a lot of buzz for them.
Saturday night rapped up with Jake Bugg as the headliner and I caught several songs I was looking forward to including 'Messed Up Kids' and 'Trouble Town', but he missed a trick in not referring to its use in the locally set 'Happy Valley', as his in-between song chats were perfunctory. I wanted to stay to hear 'Lightning Bolt' but after an early morning running and a long day of music and fun, I chose to head back to the Park and Ride, as Bugg, a great singer as he is, lacked the huge energy of last year's Saturday headliner. Fun, but not as high-octane as you'd hope from a final act.
SUNDAY
Musical taste is rather individual but for me sunday was the strongest of the three days in terms of line-up. With no running to compete for my attention it was straight in on the third day and to the Discovery Stage to see Kilnsey Green, who'd clearly brought some fans with them already wearing their merchandise. With a cool, chilled-out vibe and the sound of Santana, this was the perfect fit for the first act on a Sunday morning.
Bryde that followed were a strong indie band as were Red Faces who I saw later in the day, having skipped past Rosborough and Rascalton due to a stronger line-up on the main stage.
'Sea Girls', the third on the bill, were a strong bit of light-indie. Though not hugely bombastic, their sound of the Editors, if they cheered up a bit, was welcome. We even got a surprise extra act called 'Detroit Social' who were a good listen, though I'd rather have had more from the next act...
I was really waiting for Nerina Pallot, an artist I've been collecting albums of for several years and though she didn't play some tracks I was really hoping for - there was no love for 'Real Late Starter' or 'I Don't Want To Go Out' - she played a subdued, but well performed, set with some sparky chat between songs covering feminism, toilet seats, 11-year-olds drinking, being like Theresa May in wheat fields, and why the Midlands exist (only to get to Yorkshire, apparently).
Coming across as really friendly and witty, she also delivered the goods with the songs including personal favourites 'Rousseau' and 'Put Your Hands Up', alongside '"Everybody's Gone to War", 'If I had A Girl' and a cover of 'Son of a Preacher Man'. A great set, but would have loved to have had more from her.
Equally the final act on the Discovery Stage was great. 'Black Honey', with a lead singer with the nattiest dress sense and the sparkiest trousers of the day, were one of those bands whom you can know no songs from but really get into their set. Sounding like No Doubt with a country-edge, they came across as both friendly in the between-song chats and strong when it came to their music. Hailing from Brighton we got songs like 'Bad Friends', 'Somebody Better' and new single 'Midnight', which sounded like a rockier, less-camp Scissor Sisters track, plus the slow-starting 'Spinning Wheel' which had a 'Please Don't Make Me Be Misunderstood' vibe. Definitely one of my favourite sets of the weekend, I'll be hunting down their album when it comes out later this month.
Alongside the two main stages the side-attractions continued and I particularly enjoyed a male-female duo who entertained the cocktail tent crowd during a gap in the sets, covering a wide range of songs including the Arctic Monkey's 'Mardy Bum', 'What's Going On' and 'Hit the Road Jack'.
Taking a look at the main stage of Sunday, I sadly missed 'Critical Reaction' and 'Neon Waltz' but enjoyed the sun-tinged cool reggae of the delightful 'Hollie Cook' whose songs like 'Stay Alive' and 'Angel Fire' really suited the beautiful weather. An artist I've not enjoyed as much on her recorded material I think I need to readdress my thoughts on her after loving her warm and addictive set.
Following her was 'Pulled Apart by Horses' but they were a bit too heavy for my tastes, but Bingley's own 'Marmozets', who followed, were excellent even if they were, at times, also a bit too screamy for my personal tastes. With songs packed with catchy hooks, including on opener 'Move, Shake, Hide' I really enjoyed their high-energy set which ended with my favourite of theirs, recent single 'Major System Error'. The band were better when they pulled in the shouting, like on track 'Habits' or the dramatic 'Hit the Wave'. Seguing their songs 'Why Do You Hate Me?' into the riff from, I think, 'War Pigs', was a great touch and even some mic-issues on one song didn't damage the flow of a strong set from a band excited to play on their home turf. They even brought on the BSL-interpreter at the end as a thank you, showing the band has heart as well as power.
With their 'Boycie' drum ("Marlene!") Peace were next on the main stage, and did a fun, if not a little too calm, set, including a surprise cover of Avril Lavigne's 'Complicated' which was a great throwback that got the crowd singing along. I didn't see much of 'Ride', the penultimate act, but I heard a couple of songs and they were rocky enough.
Reaching the final headliner, and Noel Gallagher delivered an incredible 90-minute set with his High Flying Birds. We got ambient soundscapes, cheeky banter, and the member of the band using scissors as percussion. He delivered many big hitters from his three albums including second-track up 'Holy Mountain', 'Beautiful Life', 'Heat of the Moment', 'If I Had A Gun', 'Dream On' and 'AKA What A Life', plus more Oasis cuts than I was expecting including 'Little by Little', 'Whatever', 'Half the World Away', 'Wonderwall' and 'Don't Look Back in Anger' which got the crowd singing along, as did the finale of the Beatles' 'All You Need is Love' which rang out across Myrtle Park. On top form both musically and on stage - he joked about not understanding the Yorkshire accent, and excitedly discovering the sign language for Geordie c**ts - this was one of the best headliners I've seen at Bingley and was performed with energy by the main man himself plus the many musicians joining him on stage.
Overall Bingley Music Live 2018 was a big success. It might not have had the headliners of 2017's festival which was pretty much perfect for me, but there was much to enjoy, and the festival itself was friendly, well managed and sparky. Same time next year?
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