intro / Saturday review

Another year, another time for us to pack up and head off to a far off rugby club located around Manchester and begin the camp of Strummer. The festival for the fans by the fans is now in it’s third year; the regular faces are back, and even with a number of problems the festival has gone ahead, showing the importance this event has on the lives of those involved.

Firstly, I’m not getting into the politics of it but some arse at Macclesfield council stopped the event from taking place in their rugby club, three weeks before the start. Luckily Bowdon stepped in, but wanted a fee for hosting (which was waived by the previous site in Cheadle Hulme). Being a not-for-profit event this has hit the festival hard, and there is a noticeable drop in facilities (the number of toilets has reduced, but we are able to use the rugby club lavvies when the others are over-capacitated – nice!).

There are two tents, one run by axis Sound System of Huddersfield, providing deep bass sounds of reggae throughout the weekend, and also a bit of cake. The main stage is here again, with a bar, merchandise and jewellery stall inside. Food is available from the café bar, this year run by band members of Doktor Mandrake, performers at Strummercamp 1 and 2 (“the only band that caters!”).

So, despite the festival being a little bit smaller than last year, everything you could want is here for a good time; beer (cheap, on the last day it is dropped a little to two pounds a pint), cheap food (with more choice than last year) and great music. The sun is even out on the Saturday, a rarity in Manchester!

After the opening night of White Riot Parade, Roughneck Riot, Dirty Revolution and headliners Sham 69, Saturday brings with it a bright day and an interesting line up of bands. The theme is less punk this year; the four Clash tribute bands usually appearing have been whittled down to just the one (Take The 5th, the best of the bunch) in favour of hosting a more varied line-up. Ernies Rhythm Section, a bluegrass folk group, are not appearing but Transmission, the Joy Division cover band are pretty good in their place. George Borowski seems to be in a mood, saying the people sat outside are crap for doing so and have given up on good music. The fact that he could seen and heard perfectly well whilst lazing in the rare sunshine didn’t spur people into relocating inside the tent...

Atilla The Stockbroker, a favourite here at Strummercamp (he announced he was playing before being added to the bill) has a slot and performs a mixture of rap, poetry and songs. ‘Guy Fawkes’ Table’ and ‘Battle Scar’ are catchy solo acoustic tracks played using his battered mandolin. Rap ‘Spirit Of The Age’ is a great way of looking into the next ten years of Attila, and poems ‘Poison Pensioner’, ‘Punk Night at the Duck’s Nuts’ and ‘Two Glastonbury Errors’ are funny antidotes to nurse a hangover to.



Locals Sonic Boom Six are a cracking live band, I’m just not sure about the rapping towards the end. The punk/ska stuff is spot on though, with energy filling the tent and red-haired singer Laila Khan really encouraging the crowd to get moving. They have to rush off after the show to Derby for another gig; such is the power of Strummercamp, the bands love it enough to perform twice in one day.

One of the highlights of the festival are The King Blues, a fantastic ska/folk/punk band that deserve a lot more credit than they have at the moment. The addition of a Ukulele by founder Itch and the odd melodica part put through effects give a strange and catchy sound, perfect for a Saturday night. Attila helps out with fiddle duties at one point. ‘Mr Music Man’ never fails to get a crowd moving, and tonight is no exception. Lets get these guys back again next year.

The Beat are the headliner tonight, and the tent is full and everyone is dancing. The father/son team of Ranking Roger and Murphy Ranking Junior give the whole thing a family vibe, perfectly fitting in with the aim of the festival, where young and old can enjoy themselves whilst looking out for one another. ‘Mirror InThe Bathroom’ really shows the band at their best, along with ‘Hands Off... She’s Mine’ and a slowed down cover of The Clash’s ‘Rock The Casbah’. There encore features more hits, like ‘Save It For Later’ and ‘Jackpot’.



The night does not end here however, as the first two hundred people to buy a pint in the afternoon were given a ticket to the aftershow in the Rugby club, featuring acoustic sets by Rob Galloway amongst others.

Sunday review >>

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