Published at 11:11, Thursday, 07 June 2012

IT may have been the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, but the Saturday night crowd at the Festival’s arena found themselves whisked back to the era of her Silver Jubilee celebrations.

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Punks, teddy-boys, disco divas and followers of the tartan army gathered for a nostalgic evening celebrating the Best of the 70s.

The Festival’s Saturday night entertainment always draws in the generations, from youngsters to glamorous grannies. It was truly a night to sprinkle on the sparkle, grab a drink and just let yourself go.

Starting at 6.15pm and heading through until the skies went dark, it was a packed evening of music which saw men and women of a certain age transformed into teenagers as they sang along to the sounds of their youth.

First up were Odyssey who started the 70s party atmosphere with disco hits, Native New Yorker, their number one hit, Use it Up, Wear it Out followed by Inside Out and Going Back to Your Roots.

Looking around the arena, there were groups in crazy fancy dress or stylish maxi-dresses, singing, chatting, dancing.

Continuing to warm up the crowd were The Three Degrees who sparkled on stage and looked amazing for a group who have been performing for five decades.

They kicked off with Give it Up, followed by Year of Decision and Take Good Care of Yourself.

The audience then began swaying to Woman in Love as the memories flooded back.

Finishing, inevitably, with When Will I See You Again, the Degrees encouraged the crowd to follow their timeless choreography.

The group was a stylish start to seventies evening oozing with old-school glamour. Also looking fantastic were The Real Thing, who had certainly held back the years when it came to their image.

They rocked through the first number Can You Feel The Force.

Dressed in white, the UK’s disco pioneers brought the sound of those hot, 70s nights to a slightly chilly Whitehaven. They roused the crowd with a blasting version of Can’t Get By Without You and then finished with a cracking singalong version of You To Me Are Everything.

By now, the audience had had a few glasses of wine and lager and were raring to go. They were rewarded with the sight of Les McKeown and his Bay City Rollers.

Talking to the crowd later in the night, he obviously still had the ability to make women swoon. They loved him. They were the hit of the night.

The years drop away as those who sang along to him in their bedrooms plastered with posters back in 1974, danced around the arena.

The Bay City Roller set features some of the most memorable 70s pop tunes and they were once deemed the “biggest band since the Beatles’’.

They started with Summer Love Sensation, and then belted out the hits All of Me Loves All of You, Give a Little Love, Have I the Right and Shang-a-Lang.

The audience exploded when the band finished their set with their biggest hit, Bye, Bye Baby, which was the best-selling song of 1975.

Les and the Bay City Rollers are returning to play a gig in Whitehaven in September. Having reconnected with their fans over the weekend, the Tartan Army mothers and grandmothers will surely be there.

Another Saturday night favourite was Showaddywaddy.

The Teddy Boys transported the crowd to the days when number one songs, such as Under the Moon of Love, could sell nearly a million copies!

The group, which itself harks back to the 1950s, had seven successive top five hits back in its heyday.

Their set maintained the momentum starting with the energetic sound of Eddie Cochran’s C’Mon Everybody before launching into Dancing Party Tonight and Sea Cruise.

The audience’s jiving continued with I Dunno Why I Love You Like I Do and When You Smile.

Across the arena, the hits continued with Heartbeat, Runaround Sue and Pretty Little Angel Eyes.

Showaddywaddy understood the crowd’s need to be entertained and they didn’t skimp on the songs performing You’ve Got What it Takes, and Three Steps to Heaven.

Of course, they ended with the smash hit Under the Moon of Love. I doubt there was anyone in the arena who didn’t know the words to the song...

With six acts performing on Saturday, no-one can deny they didn’t get their money’s worth.

Steve Harley was the final act of the night. While he undoubtedly wrote one of the famous songs of the 1970s, many in the audience started to drift away during his set.

He played Here Comes the Sun and the always magnificent Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile) which were crowd-pleasers.

However, there was a feeling from some of the audience that the show needed to end with more of a party-feel.

The gig had provided a great way to catch up with friends, enjoy a nostalgia trip, and to let your hair (and fancy-dress wigs) down. Followed by the magnificent fireworks it was a night that many would remember with affection – and a very sore head the following day.

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk