Tag: Public Service Broadcasting

Kirkcudbright Wickerman Festival Fringe – Part 1

I am still slightly astounded that I have actually reached my 250th weekly blog as when I started up this site nearly five years ago, I surmised it may run for a couple of years at most, but to my ongoing delight I still have many venues remaining in the ‘Jimmy Archives’ to report on. At this juncture, I wanted to extend a heartful thank you to everyone who continues to support and kindly encourage my little endeavour. It then transpired that my loquacious ramblings ran this into a double article and also encompassed Blog 251 as well!

So, when thinking how could I mark this milestone, I chose to make a return to the wonderful world of the Wickerman! Regular readers will know that I was a huge advocate of the entire fourteen Wickerman festivals that took place between 2002 and 2015. Looking back now at all of those events I have compiled a personal Top 10 performance list in strictly chronological order. These are namely Stiff Little Fingers, The Beat, Spiritualised, Proclaimers, The Rezillos, Bad manners, Chic and Nile Rodgers, Public Service Broadcasting, The Amazing Snakeheads and The Members.

The Amazing Snakeheads. Image Credit Last.fm.

There have even been some rumours circulating regarding the festival’s potential return, but unfortunately nothing more concrete has developed on that front as yet. However, they could not let the 50th anniversary of the iconic original movie to slide by without a commemoration.

Thus, it was announced that in September 2023 a Fringe event would take place in Kirkcudbright where a portion of the 1973 filming especially around the tollbooth on the High St took place. In true festival style we rested our heads again at my good pal’s lodgings of Dewhurst Towers with Uncle George and I in the twin beds loosely resembling Bert and Ernie! It also appropriately doubled up as a shindig for John Dewhurst’s 60th birthday.

So, on the Friday after commuting the extra hour from my Manchester base I picked up Uncle George in Preston and headed northwards on the M6. I have always loved driving up that route especially when the road opens up and slices between the hills, it also in some strange way feels like I am heading home.  

To maintain tradition, we made a pit stop off the A75 in Annan to visit one of their cafes for a fish and chip luncheon with the obligatory bread and butter and can of Irn Bru on the side!  On arrival, we decamped to the large new beer garden in the nearby Garret (previously Gordon House) hostelry and also paid a sabbatical visit to the Masonic public house. We kept a beady eye out to see if the Mansfield Boys were also in town as they had also been perennial attendees of the festival, but there were no sightings of them over the weekend.   

Masonic Arms. Image Credit ribapix.com

We had our full complement of six by the Saturday and we had been blessed by glorious autumnal sunshine. Our first port of call was to attend the Dark Space Planetarium in the town. Apparently, the nearby Galloway Forest Park is one of the darkest places in the UK resulting in it being awarded a Dark Sky Park designation, one of only four in the Western hemisphere. To complement this the Planetarium opened up in 2021 where there are interactive exhibits and also a dome with a 360 degree cinema screen.

Dark Space Planetarium. Image Credit darkspaceplanetarium.org

Our attendance was for an event that had been set up in the dome area to show a documentary about the chaotic Scottish football World Cup adventure in Argentina in 1978 compered by the esteemed journalist and TV presenter Archie Macpherson.

However, two key elements then conspired, Archie contacted Covid and could only dial in and there were IT difficulties where the film couldn’t be displayed. This resulted in the organisers asking the audience whether they would like to continue with a Q and A but without the film. Whilst people cogitated, one chap took up the mantle, stood up and whilst walking out said ‘not faw me pal’, so that as they say was that!    

Heptonstall Festival

The town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire dates back to the Saxon (not the band!) era and sheep rearing was the main occupation at that stage. When the industrial revolution commenced, there was an increasing need for water-powered weaving mills and the villages proximity to the river presented a considerable advantage. The transportation element was further enhanced with the opening of the Rochdale Canal in 1798 and the Calder Valley rail line in 1841.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s many artists, musicians and bohemians gravitated towards the town thereby increasing the tourism and reliable train links were created into the big cities of Manchester and Leeds. The town obtained fairtrade status in 2003 and was also chosen to be part of the Stage 2 route in the 2014 Tour de France.

On the cultural front the original video of Dream Academy’s 1984 single ‘Life in a Northern Town’ was filmed in the town as was the hugely successful TV series Happy Valley.  A renowned Blues Festival was held there in the early 2010’s and there is also the nationally renowned Trades Club where regular gigs are held, though I have never yet visited as tickets are regularly at a premium.

Dream Academy promo. Image Credit iheart.com

Luminaries such as Patti Smith, Teenage Fanclub, Public Service Broadcasting, Loop and Mark Lanegan have graced the stage there. Peel faves Bogshed were from the town, and I still recall their very lo-fi out there ‘hit’ single ‘Fat Boy Exam Failure’, and I also saw them at Preston Caribbean Club back in 1985.

Above the town lies the hilltop village of Heptonstall where the poet Sylivia Plath is buried. It is a throwback to an archetypal Yorkshire village further embellished by the fact that in the 1980’s the roads were returned to their original stone setts and late 19th century cast-iron gas lamps were installed.

Bogshed. Image Credit pinterest.com

The original church was damaged by a gale in 1847 and now just a shell remains. However, one of the lads in 2015 picked up on a more contemporary usage of the church with the identification of the annual Heptonstall festival where John Bramwell and Lottery Winners have graced the stage there.  

Thus, on the 04/07/15 we sallied over on the train alighting at Hebden Bridge station and after a couple of beers in town we headed up on the bus to the village. When I say up, that is a significant understatement as it is a very steep climb, one I have only yet walked downwards, but hope to rectify that upward trajectory at some stage.

The two pubs in the village and accompanying food stalls were doing a roaring trade and it was a very well organised and q friendly set-up. On the Heptonstall Festival Acoustic Stage we saw a band called Revisit and the Three Valleys Gospel Choir, who perform locally on a regular basis, mainly in the Todmorden area.

Top of the Heptonstall hill. Image Credit screenyorkshire.co.uk

On the Heptonstall Festival Weavers Square I encountered some electro-pop from the Manchester musician Zoe Stirling who is also known under the alias KOHL. The Hebden based eight-piece Owter Zeds who have been on the scene for 30 years followed with their ska covers. Next up was Catfish Skillet who are classed in the hugely niche genre of Pennine Appalachian and incorporate some quick picking bluegrass banjo playing. The final band were a decent post-punk band from Liverpool called Takotsubo Men.

I returned a couple of years later to attend the 2017 edition and on the main stage witnessed local folk band Johnny Powell & The Seasonal Beasts and a jaunty acoustic set from MK and the Escalators. They had set up a further stage in the evocative setting of the remnants of Heptonstall Festival Church where a Scottish influenced folk combo called Outside the Box played some foot tapping tunes.