WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE
THAT WE CAN NOW CONFIRM THE DATES FOR THE
2012 EVENT
THE SHOW WILL TAKE PLACE AT AN HISTORIC NEW
VENUE TBC ON
12th, 13th & 14th JULY 2012
WATCH THIS SPACE FOR DETAILS
PLEASE NOTE: ALL ENQUIRIES WILL BE ANSWERED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AS THE TEAM ARE BUSY WORKING ON THE 2012 SHOW.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE
NEXT SHOW DIARY DATES: 12/13/14th JULY 2012
The
Rock & Bike Festival 2011
Review by Reg Enderby, Editor, The Nottingham Gig Guide
14th
– 16th July 2011, Stanford Hall Estate, Loughborough,
Leicestershire
It
was with some trepidation that I packed all the camping
gear for a festival I had been looking forward to for
quite some time. A gloomy weather forecast and new venue
were all playing on my mind. On arrival we were quickly
shown to our campsite and after a few battles with a
blustery breeze the tent was up and the first tinny
cracked open.
The
opening night Thursday had been in the past a bit of
a practice run for the marshals, bands and stage crew,
but with a fantastic turn out for the first night the
pressure was on.
First
up in the marquee stage an original set from 5 Man Army,
with songs written by Ian Burton and performed by Verbal
Warning front man John Lomas eased us into the festival
spirit. Pressure off the good mood continued with The
No Tomorrows, Rock & Bike favourites Toxic Federation
and risqué Accident & Emergency with their
bizarre adult comedy to finish.
Friday
arrived and weather forecasters were proved wrong as the
sun shone through bright and hot creating a great atmosphere
in the main outdoor arena as the rock and bikers chilled
out in the summer sun…and of course sank a few cold
ones.
Friday night was a case of who to see first with a few
clashes on the times of marquee and arena acts, so it
was a case of juggling both stages to see as much as I
could. Some old pals of mine “The Steve Naylor Band”
were a must see for me and I enjoyed their set of classic
rock covers. Meanwhile Foreigners Journey with their double
barrelled tribute were belting out all the hits on the
arena stage culminating with all the crowd singing along
to “Don’t Stop Believing”. Headlining
tonight it was girlie faves “The Quireboys”
with fans hovering around backstage to get a pic with
sexpot lead vocalist “Spike”. These guys are
true entertainers and had the crowd in the palm of their
hands as they rocked with every bone in their bodies.
It was truly a great end to what had been a great night.
Saturday
morning I was awoken to the sound I did not want to
hear, rain! and plenty of it. Luckily by mid afternoon
it was all blue skies again and we were set for a great
Saturday night finale. Our very own little Clive Eastwood
in his many guises was our opening star, joined
by Annabelle Eve with performances on all stages, grass
banks and tents, you name it, he played it.
Special guest for the day was Toyah Willcox, who not
only sang for her supper, but was on hand to award trophies
and have her picture taken with the winners, the bands
and the public. A festival first was also the Pirate
theme day, where even I made an effort, but sadly missed
the judging part due to a sick parrot. It was fantastic
to see so many had taken to the spirit of the theme
and there will be some great pictures to come from official
photographer Laureen Clifford and hopefully you the
public.
Local
band “Stone” really embraced the theme and
the whole band were dressed as pirates, but their thoughts
were more with how they were going to perform alongside
Toyah. A poor show would see them walking the plank and
a quick acoustic run through in the dressing room was
all they were going to get. All fears were soon allayed
as Toyah joined the band mid set and quickly whipped the
lads into shape with a very raunchy costume as she belted
out “Rebel Yell”
The evening continued with both stages in full swing as
I ran between them to see as many of the bands as possible
before my final destination to the main stage for the
sensational “New Model Army” who did not disappoint
with their energetic stage show and effects, a great end
to a great night and an even greater weekend.
Special
thanks to:
All the volunteer helpers, marshals, stewards and stage
crew.
Dan Diamond, the singing barman
Stanford Hall Estate for providing a great venue
The Steve Naylor Band, for the bacon sarnies Sunday morning
