Four years on from the Oldham riots, and Alexandra Park being declared a no-go area, the council host a shindig to celebrate it’s reopening. With a £75,000 budget that the had the residents of Oldham scratching their heads as to where it came from, they provided a diverse bill to represent a new multicultural era for the town.
This second day had the blessing of the weather with the sun hats and lotion very much evidence in one of the hottest days of the year so far. While the children of the town cooled off in the paddling pool or queued to have their faces painted, Miles Hunt, formerly of The Wonder Stuff performed an accomplished acoustic set on the stage. His new material proved to be well worth another ear but, predictably, it was the Wonder Stuff material that got people interested. He finished just as it was starting to get interesting with a splendid version of It’s Your Money I’m After Baby.
Manchester’s upcoming upstarts I Am Kloot, kept apologising for their morose sound not being in keeping with the atmosphere of the day. Indeit was when they rocked out that they seemed most impressive.
Racial harmony was the order of the day, and it was obviously with this in mind that Nitin Sawhney had been booked to play. It was obvious from the reaction to his ethnic chilled tunes that music is a great leveller. All cultures appreciating the beauty of what they were hearing.
The star of the show however was sixties icon Desmond Dekker. Living up to his place at the top of the bill, Desmond achieved what the weekend had been put in place to do. He brought Oldham Together. All cultures and ages joined together in the singing and dancing to his classic reggae tunes. Everyone went out singing Israelites and wondering that perhaps the money was well spent after all. Of course we can’t be naïve enough to think two swallows make a summer, but it is a start. Even if the media largely ignored it because racial harmony is not as strong a story as racial hatred.
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