Tag: Broken Records

Wickerman Festivals 12 and 13

My penultimate Wickerman article commences with the 12th festival which took place in 2013. Dreadzone were back for their third appearance and Dundee rock band Fat Goth were on their second showing. There was as ever the contingent Scottish representation with Primal Scream and singer songwriters KT Tunstall and Amy MacDonald.

On the roster were Welsh folk band Glendale Family, ska bands Random Hand and the 9-piece Amphetameanies from Keighley and Glasgow respectively and some rambunctious ska punk from London’s Buster Shuffle. Casual Sex from Glasgow were very much in the Orange Juice/Fire Engines mould and there was a decent set from the Edinburgh rock and roll band William Douglas and the Wheel.

Also on the bill were Mark Wilson, Maask, Machines in Heaven, Bellowhead, Friends in America, The Hang Project, Galapagos, Mark Thomson & Neil Patterson, The Yawns and Gardens of Elk. Dexys produced a rather limp set, and The Enemy from Coventry were also in town.

Wicker had over the years had many punk bands on the bill, many of whom were ageing and who should maybe give up the ghost! One sparkling exception to this viewpoint was the Rezillos from Edinburgh who were superb and their stellar single 1978 single ‘Top of the Pops’ went down a storm! My fave punk band Stiff Little Fingers also produced a fine greatest hits set.

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The Rezillos. Image Credit Blurt.

The post-burning act was my first opportunity to witness Public Service Broadcasting who were at the stage in full computer voice mode even when acknowledging the audience, they were thoroughly enjoyable, and I have seen them a couple of times since.

The best band of the weekend and arguably the finest ever Wicker performance was from the legendary Nile Rodgers and Chic. They were so accomplished and a visual spectacle and played hit after hit reminding you how many fine tunes he has written/produced. Normally one of our crew would wander off but everyone remained in place for their terrific set complete with dubious dad dancing and I have never seen the festival crowd so engaged!

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The incomparable Nile Rodgers and Chic. Image Credit godisinthetvzine.co.uk

Our accommodation at Dewhurst Towers in Kirkcudbright is literally next door to the Selkirk Arms which has an old-fashioned front room with the portable TV in the corner and fine Guinness on tap. The back room is the food lounge area with a large sunny beer garden, and remarkably it can get proper warm in Scotland in July! They also have lodging rooms and the Proclaimers resided there when they played the festival.

Other pubs in the town were at different times the Gordon House Hotel (AC/DC regularly on the jukebox), Masonic Arms (best pub in town), Commercial (apparently the racing driver David Coulthard has been spotted in there over the years as he was born in neighbouring Twynholm), the Steam Packet (by the harbour), the Royal (used to watch Open Golf) and the Tides (battered establishment where we watched the racing and contained a commendable jukebox).

Wickerman 13 in 2014 had Dizzee Rascal, Shed Seven, Jason Dupuy and the Mac Trio on the bill. The old troubadours Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Idlewild’s Roddy Woomble plus band and the always top value the Beat played. I created a first by catching two individual sets on the Main and Acoustic stage by Colonel Mustard and The Dijon 5.

Also on the roster were Explosion Soundsystem, The New Piccadillys, Neon Waltz, Vladmir, United Fruit, Broken Records, The Zombies, The Feeling, Skerryvore, The Chair, Cockney Rejects, Pale Honey and Schnarff Schnarff.

Another punk band who could still most definitely cut the mustard were The Members. They were a very tight unit and thunderously loud and their extended closing track of Sound of the Suburbs was sublime. British Sea Power were as excellent as ever.

We saw a highly touted Glaswegian three-piece rock band called The Amazing Snakeheads who produced a rip snorting live set to a frenetic packed tent. They had just released their sole album Amphetamine Ballads but disbanded the following year. I have just discovered that tragically their lead singer Dale Barclay died of brain cancer in 2018 at the brutally tender age of 32. I now feel even more privileged to see them in their heyday!

The final band to reference was a terrific vibrant set from a Scottish female 4-piece called Teen Canteen who produced slabs of sugary indie-pop and they since received acclaim and sessions and airplay on Marc Reilly’s 6 music show. 

Wickerman Festivals 6 and 7

Wickerman Festival 6 took place in July 2007 with the usual suspects in attendance. The bill that year obviously contained the ever-present Dangleberries. The ska influence was well represented with Scottish band Big Hand providing a rousing energetic set and legends The Beat were in attendance led admirably by Rankin Roger and Junior Rankin.

Cider Spiders provided a New York inspired set in the vein of the Strokes and The Law were representing the fair city of Dundee. Neck was a Celtic punk band from the London suburb of Holloway and in the same ballpark were the Peatbog Fairies. John Langan from Glasgow played as a solo artist before he went onto to form the John Langan Band. Also, on the bill were Modus, The Targets and Xcerts from Aberdeen.    

The electronic element was covered with Somerset’s Eat Static and dance legends The Orb. Reggae collective Easy Star All Stars were on the bill who interestingly once recorded their interpretation of Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ amusingly titled ‘Dub Side of the Moon’!  

Former Public Image Ltd bassist Jah Wobble and his English Roots Band also played alongside Hayseed Dixie from Nashville whose name is a linguistic tangent on AC/DC’s name and their first album was titled ‘A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC’ who unfortunately despite all that back story were pretty limp live. Huey Morgan and his Fun Lovin Criminals also provided an energetic set.

The Wickerman has over the years had a lot of old punk bands playing, many of them are very frayed and have seen better days, thus when a band who can still kill it on stage arrives, you take serious notice. One that met that criterion was Edinburgh’s the Rezillos who were absolutely superb with their prime single ‘Top of the Pops’ being the highlight.

I recall at this particular festival we all imbibed too much on the Friday and things became a tad hazy resulting in a tidy hangover the next day which slightly tarnished the Proclaimers headline set as they were in stellar form with ‘Cap in Hand’, ‘500 Miles’ and ‘Letter to America’ being rapturously received. The Proclaimer boys had digs at the Selkirk Arms, located 10 steps from Dewhurst Towers! 

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Wickerman Main Stage. Image Credit BBC.

The festival site was about 8 miles down a winding dark country road from the Towers located halfway between Kirkcudbright and Dalbeattie. There was shortage of local taxi firms which necessitated us having an uneasy alliance with Allens Taxis run by the larger-than-life character Mr Allen who we utilised for all the 14 Wickers we attended.  

He could at times be an obstinate chap. One time we were in a full minibus returning from the site and he received a call requesting a taxi and much to our chagrin he shamefully told the customer he was unavailable as he was in Lockerbie which was a mere 50 miles away!

Wickerman 7 saw KT Tunstall in town, there was some funk from the Cuban Brothers and the Kazoo Funk Orchestra and also Dodgy who were ‘Staying out for the summer’! Also, on the bill were Twisted Nerve, Colin Storrie, Rodan, Robin Cairns, Underground Heroes, AKA Ska, Parka, Underling and Beecake.

Annie Nightingale performed a DJ set and Lancashire Hotpots provided some light relief, and ‘Indie Disco’ was fun to hear. The Manc legends the Fall played on the main stage and rolled out my fave track ‘Mr Pharmacist’.   

Additionally, on the roster were Orphan Boy, De Salvo, Bass Syndicate, Peaking Goddess Collective and The Ads.

There was a decent set from Edinburgh’s Broken Records and some rousing punk from the old stalwarts Sham 69. The highlight of this particular weekend was the last act who played after the Wickerman burning on the Saturday night. This was namely Gary Numan who I though beforehand would be a tad one-dimensional, but he was terrific and created a real cacophony on the main stage post-midnight for all the ‘Numanoids’ in attendance!

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Gary Numan. Image Credit ukfestivalguides.com