Wickerman 4 took place in late July 2005. On the bill were the semi-permanent residents and Castle Douglas’s finest the Dangleberries. There were a couple of punk bands The Zips and the Vibrators and the legendary Stranglers were still strutting their stuff. Anti-Product returned to provide another chaotic set. Also playing were The Hustlers, Acousticat, Mostly Autumn, Andrew Jackson, Jellybones, Space Ritual and Mercedes.
Alabama 3 who were formed in Brixton in the mid 90’s were in town and produced a decent set of swampy blues including their huge hit ‘Woke up this Morning’ made famous by its choice as the Sopranos theme tune, coincidentally in my view one of the finest TV series out there. Dreadzone were the headliners after the Wickerman burning on the Saturday.
One there purely to pick up their paycheck was the inexecrable Arthur Brown who from memory seemed to play about 17 different versions of Fire! Perhaps he should have played just before the burning….!
The two best acts of the weekend were from the Specials and Fun Boy Three singer Neville Staple who was excellent in the late afternoon sunshine on the second stage and provided an appropriately excellent version of ‘Too Hot’. The other being the SLF cover band Straw Dogs who were deliciously loud.
As the festival grew in stature there were different non-music elements added to the mix each year. For a couple of years there was a Circus tent which was a slightly surreal place to visit after you had imbibed a few cold Tennants. There was also for a spell a Cinema Tent where I recall them showing The Shining. One particular year when the music was a bit limp, we ensconced ourselves on the grass inside the tent to watch in full a film called the Wickerman!
There was also one year where right next to the entrance wall they installed a small funfair. Thus, there was an occasion where four full size adults squeezed into one of the little cars and braved the Ghost Train which was great fun. On the drive back on the Sunday we received a text from Tony Dewhurst who was in a separate car informing us that he had just passed the Ghost Train parked in a lay-by somewhere near Dumfries!
Wickerman 5 had of course the Dangleberries and Straw Dogs playing again! On the punk roster were Vice Squad, The Blockheads and Eddie and the Hot Rods reprising their stellar hit ‘Do Anything you Wanna Do’, the rest of the set paled in comparison.
Also on the bill were Spiral Tower, The Hussys, Data Panik, Gin Goblins, Flying Matchstick Men, The Alamo, The Gift, Three Daft Monkeys, Eek A Mouse, Kid Ego, My Latest Novel, The Deadbeats and Sandi Thom.
Two old troubadours Wilko Johnson and Steve Hillage and System 7 were in residence alongside the Welsh rockers the Alarm. I caught Marky Ramone again who I had seen at Preston Mill the year before.
The two standouts of this weekend were Jo Mango a folk band from Glasgow, the lead singer and driving force Katherine Waumsllaying had the adopted name Jo Mango and she had a superb voice that lit up the acoustic tent.
The other highlight was a band formed in St Helens in 2004 called Tiny Tin Lady who produced a terrific folky set with thrilling harmonies. They have since been championed quite strongly by Mark Reilly.
2006 saw the debut Wickerman attendance by Jez Catlow who camped out before joining us in the Towers for the remaining 9 festivals. The reason for his appearance was naturally a festival slot from New Model Army!
The fly in the ointment was the surreal decision by the promoters to invite Arthur Brown back and he had certainly not improved from his previous years slot!
