THE GREATEST 80s PARTY... EVER!

By Louise Jones

I’d been dying to experience a summer concert at Powderham Castle and couldn’t believe my luck when I found out it was hosting the ‘Greatest 80s party ever Concert.’

Having felt like an old fart at the Isle of Wight festival, enjoying an evening of fluorescent family-friendly fun was just what I needed.

As I cast my eye around the audience and saw mullet wigs, ‘Frankie Says Relax’ t-shirts, ra ra skirts and leggings, it was great to be among people who weren’t taking themselves too seriously. Sadly no-one came as Timmy Mallett which would have raised the wacky factor up to 10.

My only problem became apparent as we made our way towards the giant stage. As a ‘first-timer’ I had crazily assumed that booze would be available on site. My foolish error was clear when I saw the rest of the audience carrying wicker baskets, fold-up chairs and trollies bursting at the seams with champers, wine and nibbles. If I’d have known I would have come prepared with a bottle of Malibu and cheese and pineapple on sticks.

My group had 1 _ bottles of vodka and a blanket, just downwind of the toilets. But, the surroundings and weather were so beautiful, the atmosphere such a laugh and the sound so clear that it didn’t matter.

Toyah burst on to the stage and, like a mad aunt at a wedding, started rocking out to ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ setting the tone of irony-free fun for the rest of the evening. The Real Thing, as last minute stand-ins for The Weather Girls, impressed with their soulful singing and crowd interaction. Carol Decker performing ‘China in your Hand’ got the fag lighters aloft and Nick Heywood’s ‘Fantastic Day’ provoked some embarrassing dancing from yours truly.

It was enough to scare the deer.

The whole format was brilliantly disposable – with three songs by each artist and no chance for them to debut new material. Just play the hits and get off! The synthesiser soundscapes of Heaven 17 and Midge Ure went by in a haze. I love the pomp of ‘Vienna’ but it didn’t quite translate to the back of the crowd where we were. To be fair to the Midge, I was three sheets to the wind at this point and had to do a mercy dash across the fields to collect more booze.

I could just about hear the sound of Paul ‘Wherever I Lay my Hat’ Young in the distance during this epic mission. I was never a big fan of the mullet-haired crooner back in the day but I’m sure many ladies were misty-eyed at the performance.

Thank god I was back in time for Bananarama.

By this time the sun was setting and everyone seemed to go bonkers to ‘Robert De Niro’s Waiting’ and ‘Love in the First Degree’. Maybe it was nostalgia for an era when big hair, catchy tunes and silly dance routines were enough to be top of the pops as opposed to the pouty stripper routines performed by more recent pop tarts.

And waiting in the wings to finish us all off was the legend that still is Rick Astley. In the late 80s his power suits, Tin Tin quiff and disco dad dancing in abandoned warehouses had many of us weirdly glued to the TV.He’s recently enjoyed a second wind of fame though sneaky internet campaigns bigging up his chart eating monster ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. Rick’s still got it baby, although the only bum note was the attempt to take things down a notch with his cover of ‘When I Fall in Love’. The sentimentality rang a bit hollow on such a funny night and the backing music sounded like it had been constructed on a tiny stylophone.

My distance from the stage, combined with short sightedness, vodka and no live screens, meant it was impossible to see what any of these artists look like today. It was probably for the best. Personally my greatest 80s party would have involved the legendary Duran Duran, a-ha, Wham! and Boy George, but that’s just being picky.

The concert was great fun, a bit tacky and followed by a hangover.

A bit like the decade itself.