An Unexpected Scottish Festival Treat

A good friend invited me up to a small festival at Dalgety Bay , on his doorstep. The bait was Big Country were playing , and after how good they were at Corbridge last year, £20 for a ticket seemed like a steal.

When we got there there was a view of the Forth Bridges and a very good covers band playing Nazareth , Joni Mitchell and U2 songs and this was around mid day this was the start of the PKD Festival . It was only when I got there and saw the line up that I realised what a bargain this was, not only was there Big Country , but we had The Animals featuring Zoot Money , XSM (ex Simple Minds) featuring one ex Simple Mind but delivering in a big way through the rain.


Possibly my biggest surprise was a band called Sorella , a country harmony band who did a stunning version of Queen's "Somebody To Love"  and finished with the song above which I am sorry I dont know the title of , but it is good. They'd opened with a wonderful version of Seven Nation Army which segued into Sweeyt Dreams Are Made of This,

Pirates in Dalgety Bay

I also met the guys from Black Pearl Bay selling their Pirate Wares and Booty , who were absolutely top guys and great fun

Big Country delivered a blistering set , although their music is perfect for outdoor festivals , opening with "Harvest Home" before ripping through an extensive greatest hits list.

And this was after all the other treats and before From The Jam closed the gig.

These band still have it and special mention has to go to the Neil Diamond Karaoke turn who had a lot of the crowd joining it , it wasn't rock but it was fun.

All in all a day that far exceeded my expectations , I suggest you book for next years now.

A Divinely Trashy Afternoon At The Soundroom

This afternoon was my first visit to the Soundroom Recording studios in Gateshead , essentially to see the Ferriday Fireballs and Woment In Revolt. Unfortunately the Fireballs' bass guitarist was taken ill so we were treated to Woment In Revolt sans costume.

Starting Pepper

However before that I'd sampled a couple of the stalls and loved the idea that they have started a Sergeant Pepper type installation at the back of the studio. At the moment there's just the drums guitar and the name , but the intention is to get everyone who uses the studios to appear in the installation.

I had to walk to the studio from Newcastle , but  it was a nice day and it turns out that it's at an intersection of lots of but routes, so is actually very easy to get to. Everyon e I talked to was really pleasant and if I ever need a studio I will definitely use them. It's a community project so everyone can get involved

Beki's Delights

Today was also a rumble sale (see here) and there were loads of great related stalls and displays like Beki's on the left and the guitars and keyboards and vintage Apples below.

There was lots of vinyl books and CDs as well as lots of suitably delectable divine trash.

I got a couple of CDs and 7" singles, which I have to listen to later.

Apples and Axes

Anyway we were treated to an excellent set from Women In Revolt , who soundchecked with Rumble , a short snippet is here on my Instagram Channel. They then opened with tRockin' With The Rollers and gave us forty minutes of excellent garage rock , in a very relaxed setting. A mixture of covers and originals including Richard Hell's Love Comes In Spurts and Wayne County's signature tune "Fuck Off" both excellently executed before closing with Oestrogynal Itch. Looking forward to the next gig.

So a really great way to spend the afternoon, and hope this is the first of many afternoons there, and I cant wait to see the SErgeant Pepper installation grow.