Hands up, I adore Rewind

REWIND South marks the end of Henley’s many festivities over the summer.

Revellers travel from all corners of the country to get their Eighties fix each year on Temple Island Meadows.

The organisers clearly strive to deliver the biggest bang for your buck for the punters while identifying artists who are both available and have material rehearsed and ready to go.

That must make the task of selecting a headline act for the Saturday and Sunday nights a tricky business.

Holly Johnson, formerly of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, struggled on the first night to capitalise on the energy manifested earlier in the afternoon.

One too many songs from obscure solo albums left the crowd looking a bit flummoxed.

But there was an assured pay-off when Relax and Two Tribes closed the set. We all know that producing 10 hit singles in a one-hour set is a tall order, because many artists simply don’t have them.

Contrast with Sunday night’s last act and The Human League’s set of wall-to-wall radio hits.

Although Frankie were arguably as era-defining as The Human League, there’s something appealing about the friendliness and lyrical innocence of the latter’s output.

Which teenager growing up during that nippy December of 1981 could not have the audio and images of the Don’t You Want Me video indelibly printed on their mind? Love Action, The Lebanon and Georgio Moroder’s Electric Dreams transported us right back to the weekend disco days of our
A-levels.

If Susan Ann Sulley and Jo Catherall could be forgiven for sounding a little strained with age, Phil Oakey was every bit as good as he was at the time of the Dare album. And, yes, that was 40 years ago.

A welcome return to live performance and touring after many years of obscurity were Green Gartside and Scritti Politti.

Although the band have meandered through hip-hop, acoustic and jazz-influenced recordings in the intervening years, it is 1985’s Cupid and Psyche album which carries the torch.

Bringing their own instruments to the stage on Saturday, the musicians played the sometimes intricate arrangements of Sweetest Girl, Small Talk and Wood Beez with album-ready precision.

I’ve said before that getting a chance to see Level 42 at Rewind South is worth the price of admission alone.

While their studio albums might not place at the top of your Apple playlist, the band have a strong following and the live act is always a tour-de-force.

Pete Ray Biggin’s lightning-fast drum fills locked in with singer Mark King’s pulsating bass guitar is electrifying on The Sun Goes Down and Lessons in Love.

Kim Wilde returned to Rewind on Saturday, having last appeared in 2018. Sporting a black bodice and sequined leather jacket, she roused the crowd to its feet.

Wilde’s zest for performance is unmatched and she reminds us just how solid were her father Marty’s and brother Ricky’s songwriting skills.

The yearning Never Trust a Stranger is a powerhouse anthem and You Came and Kids in America are showstoppers.

Tom Bailey of The Thompson Twins, with his all-female ensemble, were clearly enjoying themselves on stage. Delivering a longer set on Sunday than in 2018, the band played their Eighties best-sellers accompanied by raucous crowd singalongs.

Chesney Hawkes followed with a rendition of Prince’s Purple Rain with his son Indiana's magnificent lead guitar contribution.

The short set could only finish with The One and Only.

It was great to have Henley’s own Carol Decker of T-Pau belting out Heart and Soul and keeping the show’s setlist firmly rooted in the Eighties.

Her act was followed by another vocal supremo, Micah Paris, and a glorious rendition of Where is the Love?

It’s quite normal for the festival to cross the border into the Nineties and at this point the proceedings took an intriguing turn.

Of the most recognisable and unique voices of the decade, surely Tunde of the Lighthouse Family and Heather Small of M People must be right up there.

Tunde delighted in the midsummer afternoon buzz and his silky-smooth tones guided an intensely focused mass through such songs as Lifted and the wonderful High.

Small’s uplifting ballads and disco hits informed her setlist. Festival-goers danced the afternoon away to Moving On Up, Search for the Hero and One Night in Heaven. Quite sublime.

She also found time to acknowledge her mother watching from the base of the stage. Apparently mum had insisted on being among the audience.

Other acts over the two days included a spirited opener on the Saturday from Abba tribute Bjorn Again, who could easily have commanded a set later in the day.

Standing drummer Slim Jim Phantom (aka James McDonnell), originally with the Stray Cats, strutted his rockabilly tunes.

Blancmange surprised with a powerful version of Don’t Tell Me and Steve Calazzo led members of Odyssey for a short set which comprised their most famous number, Native New Yorker.

Former Go-Go’s singer Belinda Carlisle also presented her new wave pop/rock classics from the late Eighties.

MCs for Saturday and Sunday were, respectively, The Doctor and DJ Pat Sharp, who quickly picked up continuity and nudged along a tight schedule.

As in past years, there were side shows, fair rides and multiple food and beverage outlets on site. Credit must go to the security, bar and catering staff who are always good-natured and ready to offer a smile.

Who can be cynical about this festival? It’s about as much fun as money can buy and our small town of Henley should be proud to be its host.

Martin Dew