The problem with summer festivals is that they’re in the summer. Thus, they tend to clash with holiday season, hence a mad dash up the motorway to catch the tail-end of the first day’s proceedings just across Linlithgow Loch.
Yes, the location has moved slightly, allowing for a second stage, and a ‘natural amphitheatre’ of sorts, as last year’s more spacious arena has been vacated, and a sell-out Saturday crowd shoehorned into a field with the Palace in the distance. By the time we arrive, the throng has been well and truly warmed up by the likes of reformed heroes Gun, football chant combo The Fratellis, and the band emerging as go-to party-starters, Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5.
For us, our party starts with the Reid brothers, Craig and Charlie, tiny spec(k)s fronting a big screen version of The Proclaimers.
A good-sized set, it covers most of duo’s hits as well as material better known to the more hard-core fans. And presumably now friends for life with are Trish and Davie, who, we’re told, responded positively to ‘Let’s Get Married’.
The band dispense with ‘Letter From America’ fairly early on but keep ‘Sunshine On Leith’ and of course ‘500 Miles’ for a fitting climax to Day 1.
Many of Saturday’s revellers will be wiping bleary eyes, but what better way to blow away the cobwebs than Big Country, who roll through the hits. Now down to two original members – Mark Brzezicki and Bruce Watson, plus his son Jamie – the trademark twin guitar squall is still present with vocalist Simon Hough delivering classics like ‘Harvest Home’ and of course ‘Fields of Fire’ to a crowd ready for a walk down memory lane.
And that is what they get in the shape of Heaven 17, the first of three acts to reference Ibiza in their between-song chat as the clouds clear. Glenn Gregory is still in fine voice while Martyn Ware drives forward the band on ‘Fascist Grove Thang’ and ‘Come Live With Me’, while ‘Temptation’ is the obvious choice to round off a set high on energy and 80s vibes.
The Farm were never quite one-hit wonders, but aside from ‘Groovy Train’, what other tunes could you recall by the Scouse sextet? So there could be no other way to end their set than with ‘All Together Now,’ the band joined onstage by a piper and Peter Hooton ‘helping’ out with the chanter.
Festival wear in Scotland is necessarily functional over fashion, so perhaps aware of this the organisers booked TV style guru Gok Wan to do a DJ set. A host of ‘bangers’ ensues, with the telly guru seemingly well into his stint on the decks.
However, in search of more live sounds, it’s time for a visit to the Star and Garter Stage – the local pub has been trying to put more regular music on the map having had Tom Hingley and The View’s Kyle Falconer visit recently. But they’re concentrating on talent closer to home and while local(ish) guys and gals The Begbies had graduated from last year’s Battle of the Bands to opening Sunday’s main stage, the tent on the hill hosted the organisers’ own take on Scotland’s upcoming stars. Among them, Ashton Lane, Esther O’Connor’s languid Americana bolstered by Wet Wet Wet’s Graeme Duffin and given creative spark by guest vocalist and fiddler, Rose Room’s Seonaid Aitken.
Back down the hill, Andy Bell may have been taking advice from Gok – or maybe dishing it out. Clad in a pair of short shorts which appear to be plugged into the mains, the singer is flanked by a couple of semi-robotic dancers and a band set to deliver the hits. Oh, the hits of Erasure, in case anyone was expecting some some Ride shoegaze classics from his musical namesake. But with the video wall, weirdly, replaying classic footage of Bell with Vince Clark, we could be in no doubt (what with the shorts) of who were were listening to. Indeed, it’s easy to forget just how many hits Bell has had over the years – 30 of them – solo and with his keyboard-playing compadre, who, he informs us, will be reuniting in the near future for some anniversary celebrations. For now, we’re treated to ‘Stop’, ‘Blue Savannah’, and of course, ‘A Little Respect’, the cue for wild celebrations and bad falsetto crowd singalongs only emphasising what a fine voice Mr Bell still has.
Finally, to the main event. Billy Ocean was for many a surprise choice of headliner, but in a way ideal – boasting plenty of solo hits, the ‘Caribbean Queen’ singer has also developed a smooth soul feel similar to Nile Rodgers who wowed the crowd last year. And the veteran has the crowd dancing for a fitting finale to bring the party to a close.