Scouting for Girls eclipse headliners Happy Monday's on opening day of bingley Music Live

This is the second Bingley Music Live event which Bradford Council has organised. Myrtle Park is a local park in the heart of Bingley West Yorkshire surrounded by housing estates. As this is a council organised event I expected there to be a large police presence & council bureaucracy making an impact on the festival.

According to the BML website there is a list of items not allowed into the site these included; glass, cans, alcohol, tents, gazebos, BBQ's, umbrellas & camcorders. Water and non alcoholic drinks in plastic bottles with unbroken seals up to 1 litre are permitted. Security on the gate whilst happy & polite, are quite strict with searching and asking people what they had on them. You do have to wonder why umbrellas aren't allowed & only 1 litre of sealed water is allowed in for a council run event.



On reaching the site, which is very well signed and directed we came upon the ticket office. On the website tickets are quoted as £12.50 for Saturday and free for Sunday, but it seems the council are also charging a £1.50 booking fee!!! Tickets on the day where £20, which was not advertised, I saw a few teenagers turn up with just £20, which left them with no money for food or a drink, not good for a day's fun. Little things like this can make or break a festival for some, hopefully next year the council will improve the information for next year's event.

On going into the site there is a small fair ground with a couple of rides & stalls. In the arena there is a bank on the right hand side which is the disabled viewing platform, on the left hand side is the huge bar and half a dozen food stalls. The stage at the opposite end to the entrance is the typical round covered stage, similar in size to the Other stage at Glastonbury or V festival. Ticket sales for the day have reached 4500. As today is a ticketed day the line-up is superior to the Sunday having more recognisable bands.

Billy The Kid are first on stage who must have been devastated to have seen the size of the pitifully small crowd assembled before them. The lead singer can't hide his disappointed when he sneers "So this is Bingley huh??" Having a celtic feel behind them they play through their short set. The music doesn't improve much when Scottish indie band, Sergeant appear, the four lads seemed to be glued to the spot as they meander through an uninspired set.



Let's hope Infadels can get the crowd jumping, sure enough they do not disappoint with their lively lead singer Bnann Watts shouting to the crowd constantly. The set includes a brilliant cover version of Eurythmics 'Sweet Dreams' and ends with the single 'Free Things For Poor People'. Keyboard player Richie Vernon plays keyboards & his single electronic drum like a man possessed and it is not long before he jumps down the stage & over the barrier into the crowd quickly disappearing for a short whilst before suddenly being held aloft. Infadels music is fast & exciting.

The arena is now filling up more as the day goes on, the ground, whilst firm is damp so sitting on sheets of plastic is needed. Some have brought in their own chairs which are allowed as opposed to the umbrellas!!!

A quick stage change & Brighton's Delays bring their summer melodic pop tunes to a grey Bingley. Greg Gilbert is his usual busy guitar playing self, throwing himself excitedly all over the stage. There is a small gathering of Delays fans at the front of the stage that Gilbert constantly acknowledges. Tracks include A Long Time Coming which Gilbert tries unsuccessfully to get the crowd to sing & a rousing version of Valentine.


Another very quick stage change and local boys Terrorvision make their way to the stage greeted with a huge cheer. Their set goes down a storm with 'Tequila' being a highlight.

The Automatic play homage to Terrorvision, by wearing white T-shirts, with 'Terrorvision' written by hand in marker pen. Robin Kawkins tells us "Terrorvision where the first band they had ever seen live!!" Kawkins notices the hilly bank at the side of the park and tells the crowd to "run down it towards them and let's get as many people on this stage as we can..." as the opening bars of 'Monster' blare out & suddenly people are running past me to the stage.



Someone actually manages to get onto the stage but is soon caught by security & led away. 'Recover' and a belting version of 'Raoul' are also played rounding of with the infectious new single Steve Mcqueen which contains massive hooks & a killer chorus, gets the audience rocking along nicely.

The music then takes a different direction as Scouting for Girls make their appearance for what happens to be the biggest crowd of the day, the front is full of girls with banners & screaming ensues. The set list includes all the hits which are more than I imagined them to have had and included 'Elvis isn't Dead' and 'She's So Lovely' to name a couple!! When Scouting for Girls are finished there is a huge exodus from the arena as many leave for home.

Headliners Happy Mondays appear with Shaun Ryder sporting a short mohican hair style, Bez appears with the customary maracas. This is the first time I have actually seen the Mondays as previous events they have pulled out of for numerous reasons. Even the security seemed surprised they have actually turned up.



Ryder constantly holds his left hand against his ear for the whole show, whilst Bez swaggers up and down the edge of the stage pulling faces and shouting. 'Hallelujah' sounds great, but it doesn't take long for Ryder and Bez to fade away as the sound gradually turns more shambolic and Ryder constantly cusses. The band finish with 'Step On' to a quarter full park as the night finishes with a huge firework display.

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