Eyes on the stars of Derbyshire's bijou music festival

Derbyshire’s bijou festival in the idyllic setting of Duffield’s Eyes Meadow never fails to pleasantly surprise, and offers a diverse range of acts and activities to please everyone, from chart topping bands this year which included The Beat, China Crisis and Altered Images, as well as indie, punk, folky, and experimental bands.

Excitement was building on Friday evening as China Crisis, were readying up on the main stage to perform a selection of their best known songs including ‘Wishful Thinking’ and ‘Black Man Ray.’ Local prodigies Marseille and Brummie favourites Telsen had kept the pot boiling before it was time for headliners The Beat to get everyone on their feet with ‘Ranking Full Stop,’‘Hands Off She’s Mine,’ ‘Too Nice To Talk To’ and ‘Mirror In The Bathroom’ amongst the many songs played.

Saturday was a day of some really interesting artists and bands which provided a rich vein of music which really spoiled us. Of particular note wereThe Ruins who do all their own stuff. The Ruins are fronted by the enigmatic Johnny Vincent who seemed to be channelling The Fall’s Mark E Smith Both Paytron Saint and The Collide were certainly noteworthy whilst The Public Eye certainly made me sit up and take notice, but special attention was paid to Sam Draisey who had appeared at the festival last year. Sam, who writes his own songs in a style that is reminiscent of that great balladeer Donovan, played to a very appreciative crowd.

Surianne & The Fusion had travelled all the way from the mighty Rock of Gibraltar to play this evening, but their set was cut short after just three numbers due to a thunderstorm and the fear of a lightning strike. The organisers rose to the challenge in true festival style, though, and rearranged the running times of other bands so that Surianne was able to play a shortened set once the storm had eased. After their set had finished it was announced that they would play a full set at noon the following day.

The ever popular Derby based Raindogs fronted by the charismatic Paul Johnstone played a well received set in the beer tent before headliners Altered Images hit the main stage. Clare Grogan dressed in a sparkly red dress and feather boa sounded just the same as she did back in the 80s singing hits like ‘I Could Be So Happy,’’ Bring Me Closer,’ ‘Don’t Talk To Me About Love,’ and finishing with ‘Happy Birthday’ to much cheering.

Another Girl Another Planet are a punky based outfit from Peterborough, to my mind somewhat reminiscent of The Rezillos, fronted by the amazingly energetic Natalie Nitro. The band tore through a half hour set which resulted in much jumping around in the audience and which very nicely rounded off proceedings for the evening.

After the previous evening’s storms, Sunday started bright and sunny with Surianne & The Fusion bringing people out to see her set. Surianne’s band played a set consisting of a remarkable fusion of rock music interlaced with Spanish and North African rhythms.

There was definitely something for everyone as there followed a chance to chill out with a yoga session which was followed by a drumming workshop before Ellie Abbott started the music again with some piano from the main stage. Again diversity was the key on this day as popular tunes played by the Derby Concert Band went down particularly well with the crowd.

Another pleasant surprise in the form of Experimental Sonic Machines was the crowd grabber that afternoon where electronic music was made using recycled everyday objects which bought a smile to many who were watching.

Many people will remember seeing John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett on The Old Grey Whistle Test at the height of the punk music phenomenon, and theyrelived those halcyon days with a very entertaining set some well knownsongs including their biggie ‘Really Free’ with John Otway’s self deprecating humour much in evidence.

Then all to soon, it was all over bar the shouting from the crowd as The Jam’d played the last set of the festival tearing mercilessly through the Jam’s back catalogue much to everyone’s delight, bringing to an end a fabulous three days of music at such a picturesque location.

Festival organiser Simon Clark was very satisfied with the way things went and is already planning the line-up for 2024. You can be sure that it will be every bit as good if not even better than this year’s.