Sunday Aug 9 MIDLANDS MUSIC FEST IN TAMWORTH Tamworth Castle Pleasure Grounds played host to the first Midlands music Festival featuring chart toppers The Automatic, Blue, JLS, Chico and Britains got talent Winners Diversity. Red Carpet Radio Roving Reporter Alex Farrell caught up with Chico and Andy Abraham backstage for all the chat. Listen to the top of the hour news bulletins for more details with Alex reporting from the Tamworth festival. The inaugural Midlands Music Festival, held in our very own Tamworth Castle Grounds, certainly exceeded all expectations as far as I am concerned. I do not know if it was the glorious sunshine, the thousands of music lovers, or just the high calibre of the artists performing on the giant stage. Whatever it was, the festival just felt at home amidst its Tamworth back-drop. The event was billed as a family festival, and it was just that. It was well co-ordinated with plenty of things to do for all the family, as well as an abundance of amenities and refreshments. The day started with some local bands performing, such as Everybody Looks Famous, who got the crowd going with a mixture of their own songs and covers. There were an array of what I would call ‘novelty’ performances from the likes of Right Said Fred and Chico, who stayed for the duration of the event, mingling backstage and enjoying the attention. In my opinion, the event really kicked off with former reality show contestant Rachel Hilton as she wowed the ever-multiplying crowd with her powerful voice. Then Britain’s Got Talent 2009 winners Diversity unexpectedly came onto stage with summersaults and a breath-taking routine which got the entire 15 000 strong crowd on their feet for the first time - the atmosphere was electric. After their performance the boys were backstage soaking up the atmosphere as well as doing superman impressions and bantering with Andy Abraham. Andy’s performance was also very good, but what stuck me as so fascinating about the former X-Factor and Eurovision star was his lovable and down-to-earth attitude, chatting away excitedly to everyone in the backstage area. The evening session kicked off in style with a stunning twenty minute set from the Sugababes. The girls looked and sounded fabulous, and they really set the bar high for the rest of the evening. This was matched by the likes of The Automatic, Booty Luv and Eoghan Quigg, who were the perfect warm-up for the clear crowd-favourites - JLS. As I went around the field during the day, I kept asking the same question, and got the same answer each time - everyone was looking forward to seeing JLS most of all. The young men only shot to fame earlier in the year when they were runners-up to Alexandra Burke on X-Factor. Although, ironically, they have now become the biggest stars to come out of the show, loved by youngsters all over the place. They were even seen having a meal at our very own Beefeater at Ladybridge on Friday night, showing fame hasn’t gone completely to their head. However, although they got the biggest cheer of the night, I was a bit disappointed that they mimed four of their songs, actually singing just one. These were, to my knowledge, the only band not to sing live. Lemar provided a good set after JLS, and as darkness descended on the castle grounds, the final act came to the stage - the newly-reformed Blue. In true pop star style, Lee Ryan arrived at Tamworth by helicopter an hour before he appeared on-stage. I am not a massive fan of their type of music, but I have to say, they were very good. They appeared genuinely hyped to be back together after four and a half years, and admitted themselves that they were getting old and were excited about the new talent such as JLS. But they showed everybody how it was done, with slick dance moves, good rapport with the audience and some great singing. I cannot comment on how financially viable the whole operation was, but anyone could see that people flocked in their thousands to Tamworth to enjoy a day of great weather and even better entertainment. It was all for a good cause too, raising money for Just1Life, the charity for premature babies. This is something which I am definitely looking forward to seeing next year. Author: Alex Farrell Pictures by Kirsty Louise Sibley RedCarpetRadio.com 2009

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