Splendour - a perfect 10th anniversary

Splendour 2018

Saturday 21st July 2018
Wollaton Park, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG8 2AE, England MAP
£49

Daily capacity: 25,000

Splendour returned to Wollaton Park for its 10^th year. Over the years this event has taken pride of place within Nottingham and has always been the highlight of the summer. To headline its 10^th anniversary they had managed to obtain Paloma Faith as the headline act. Other acts included The Charlatans, Marc Almond, Bjorn Again, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Ferocious Dog, Toploader and The Stranglers.

Every year since it first started the organisers appear to have always tried to cater for most people’s tastes ranging from pop, punk, rock, acoustic, 80’s, and every year they hit it with a perfectly balanced set of acts to keep punters entertained.

After last years Splendour where it became a torrential downpour, this year was a stark contrast with blazing hot sun and a slight breeze at times. Sadly, this had an impact on how many bands people could see because of the distance to get from main stage to the Confetti stage or other stages it meant that you would have to risk over heating whilst walking to the other stages.

So rather than running around from stage to stage to catch all my favourite bands, it was the easier option to set up our chairs at the back of the main arena and park ourselves there to watch the acts on the main stage and let the more youthful and energetic fans stride from stage to stage.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor managed to inject some life into the sweltering crowd with her poptastic singalong tunes. “Take Me Home” got the audience dancing and singing along. It was a short no nonsense setlist from Sophie Ellis-Bextor ending with ‘Murder on The Dancefloor”. An ultra-slick performance.

If Sophie Ellis-Bextor was responsible for starting the party, then the next act Bjorn Again were responsible for maintaining the party like atmosphere with their tribute to Abba. Again, with such a short time slot (45 minutes) they were never going to cover all the great infectious pop laden songs of Abba. However, they did a set consisting of the well-known hits of Abba including “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Mildnight)”, and then into a non-stop Abba extravaganza of “Super Trouper”, and “Knowing Me, Knowing You”

Marc Almond continued to keep the nostalgia flowing with his set. Opening with “Tears Run Rings” this was a polished performance, ever the true professional Mr Almond and his band ploughed through the setlist and in no time at all the audience had been treated some of the more memorable back catalogue of Marc Almond including “Bedsitter” and a medley of “Tainted Love” interspersed with The Supremes “Where Did Our Love Go?” and a beautiful singalong to his number one hit “Somethings Gotten Hold Of My Heart” as well as “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye”. 80’s pop at its finest.

As always Splendours organisers try to mix up things to cater for every possible taste and it sometimes books a band that on paper looks out of place. This was the case with The Charlatans who were the penultimate band on the main stage. Some people would argue that the Charlatans weren’t out of place because they have been around for many years. “North Country Boy” received a roar of approval from the crowd. The Charlatans brought their brand of Indie music to Splendour and managed to put on a performance worthy of being the penultimate band on the main stage.

The stage was then set for the headline act, this year Paloma Faith had the task of finishing Splendour 2018 off with a bang. Thankfully she was more than capable of being a worthy headline act. From the moment she arrived on stage, her exquisite vocals mesmerised the fans who had waited all day in the soaring temperatures to see Paloma Faith live. Her brand of eccentric pop music did not disappoint. Songs such as “The Architect”, “Crybaby” and “My Body” were delivered with such passion and energy that it was hard not to like Paloma Faith live.

Unfortunately, in between some of her songs she would try and talk to the audience, and this is where things went slightly astray. From where I was sat (near the back of the arena) it was near impossible to hear what was being said. I appreciate that I am getting old and maybe my hearing is not what it once was, however majority of people around me were also packing up to leave due to the sound levels not being right during Paloma’s banter. When she returned to singing we were able to hear a fraction better but still disappointing nonetheless. Especially when tickets cost just slightly over £50 each. The least you would expect is to be able to hear the artiste clearly.

This was something beyond Paloma’s control. The people sat at the back were unable to distinguish if it was the sound levels that weren’t quite right or if it was the wind taking the sound away. However, the songs that were audible were fantastic and certainly an unexpected force to be reckoned with vocally.

Splendour is a wonderful event and they have plenty of other things to do if you aren’t particularly interested in the band that is currently playing at the time. Lots of stalls to spend your hard-earned cash on some novel gifts. As well as the usual drinks and food stalls. There were fairground rides and lots of quirky things to do. Such as participate in the silent disco.

All in all, Splendour delivered a perfect 10^th anniversary. Fingers crossed that there are many more to come.

review by: Luke Seagrave

photos by: Luke Seagrave