VARIOUS ARTISTS – THE NATIONAL BOWL, MILTON KEYNES 22.6.25
What an amazing coincidence, as I’m back at The National Bowl in Milton Keynes exactly 40 years to the day, since attending my last festival here! On 22nd June 1985 I was fortunate to be at ‘The Longest Day’ concert which featured live sets from U2, Ramones, Billy Bragg, Spear Of Destiny, R.E.M, and Faith Brothers. As far as I can recall the Ramones were awesome (as ever!), U2 were great, Spear Of Destiny did their thing, Billy Bragg got heckled, R.E.M were terrible, and I honestly have no recollection of Faith Brothers.
The reason I’m back, along with my chums Adrian Stonley (reviewer) and Cris Watkins (photographer), is for the inaugural ‘Forever Now’ festival which is a celebration of “the best of alternative culture” which has been organised by AEG Presents and is the UK sister event to the acclaimed ‘Cruel World’ festival which this year took place in Pasadena, California on Saturday 17th May and featured the likes of New Order, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Go-Go’s, Devo, OMD, Nation Of Language, Clan Of Xymox, Kite and many more!
When ‘Forever Now’ was announced a few months ago, it was literally as though I was on the team who were selecting the acts to play! It was seriously uncanny. There are no less than 17 acts appearing today and so they are split across two stages; the ‘Forever Now Stage’, and ‘The Other Stage’.
When the set times were announced I was a tad miffed as several of those that I wanted to see were performing at the exact same times, and so I had to make several difficult decisions. Of course I could keep moving between the two stages in order to catch everyone, but there would be a loss of tunes whilst whizzing from one area to another; plus I always endeavour to review full sets, as opposed to part of them. This was just as difficult as selecting final sets for each year’s Great Escape festival.
The full lineup of ‘Forever Now’ festival reads: Kraftwerk, The The, Billy Idol, Death Cult, Johnny Marr, The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Psychedelic Furs, The Damned, Happy Mondays, Public Image Ltd, The Chameleons, Berlin, Theatre Of Hate, She Wants Revenge, John McKay (John McKay’s Reactor who replaced Peter Murphy), The Motels, and UK Decay.
There is also ‘The Echo Chamber Stage’, hosted by The Membranes frontman John Robb and Vive Le Rock head honcho Eugene Butcher, featuring in-depth discussions with Martha Davis (The Motels), Vox (The Chameleons), Jim Reid & William Reid (The Jesus And Mary Chain), Terri Nunn (Berlin), Kirk Brandon & Stan Stammers (Theatre Of Hate), and Richard Jobson (The Skids). But we decided to solely concentrate on the live music!
It’s fair to say that today was certainly one of the very best days of music I have ever experienced in my 47 years of continually gigging! However, I really think that we have to address the elephant in the room! Putting on such ambitious events like this one can at times lead to certain unforeseen circumstances and ‘Forever Now’ sadly didn’t escape the gremlins. I can’t speak for all of the 17 live sets, although we have included photos of them for your enjoyment, but as I chose to mainly base myself at ‘The Other Stage’ for a majority of the day. I witnessed their initial ambitious turnaround time between acts begin to fall apart, as the set up times and soundchecks began to overrun longer and longer and clearly things had to give with such a busy schedule. The organisers were endeavouring to stay on track with the published set times, and as a result had to curtail several performances, much to the annoyance of the artists and punters alike. This was a stressful situation for this inaugural festival, and I’m certain that plans will be put into place should this event be staged again in 2026. I, for one, certainly hope that it does happen again, and I know I’m far from alone in this. So without further ado let’s crack on and discuss what happened. Times shown are the proposed set times and the setlists are fairly accurate….
UK DECAY – Forever Now Stage 13:00 – 13:35
My first live experience of seeing post punk and goth rock legends UK Decay was on 17th March 1981 when I headed down some narrow steps at Grand Parade in Brighton and entered the cavernous would of The Basement Club. I later saw them at Xtreems (The New Regent) in Brighton on 13th July 1982. I can’t recall seeing them again and so the opportunity to catch them again today was far too tempting, plus I had already seen the clashing Theatre Of Hate a matter of days ago.
Today they take to the stage as planned at 1pm as a six-piece outfit featuring Steve ‘Abbo Abbott on lead vocals, Kyia Links on vocals, Ed ‘Twiggy’ Branch on bass, Steve Spon on first guitar, Raymondo Philp on drums, and Pete Rowe on second guitar. We are in their company for exactly half an hour until 1:30pm. They immediately point out that they are the only local band on the bill as Pete Murphy (of Bauhaus fame) had to pull out. I guess hailing from 22 miles away in Luton counts then.
They kick off with one of my faves ‘Unexpected Guest’ which benefits from heavy bass vibes. It’s certainly different watching them on an immense sun drenched stage this time around, as compared to some gothic style dungeon of a place. Surprisingly they fit in rather well today and their material transfers very well to a massive stage. The sound is crisp and clear. ‘Stage Struck’ had a decent funky bass and drums combo going on. The jaunty beat of ‘Sexual’ was of note, and the drumming on ‘Testament’ was top notch. Second single ‘The Black Cat’ and ‘Mayday Malady’ were enjoyable as well, but the set highlights were the closing two tunes ‘For My Country’ and ‘Unwind’. A truly fabulous start to the day!
UK Decay setlist:
‘Unexpected Guest’
‘Shake ‘Em Up’
‘Stage Struck’
‘Sexual’
‘Jerusalem Over (The White Cliffs Of Dover)’
‘Testament’
‘The Black Cat’
‘Mayday Malady’
‘For My Country’
‘Unwind’
(Nick Linazasoro)
THEATRE OF HATE – The Other Stage 13:00 – 13:30
Having witnessed the joys of Kirk Brandon (lead vocals, guitar), Stan Stammers (bass, backing vocals), Clive Osborne (saxophone) and Chris Bell (drums) for Theatre Of Hate’s secret gig at The Prince Albert in Brighton just 10 days ago, I opted in favour of seeing UK Decay instead. But for those of you who are wondering what went down that night, then you can read the full article with photos HERE. Theatre Of Hate’s ‘Forever Now’ setlist featured 8 of the 19 tracks played at the Brighton gig. It’s over to Adrian Stonley for his account of today’s set.
First up on the second stage, and oblivious to the issues that were to follow on said stage later with timing and electrical difficulties came Theatre Of Hate. Originally formed back in 1980 they remain to this day fronted by singer and guitarist Kirk Brandon and bassist Stan Stammers, both who also played together in Spear of Destiny, more than ably assisted by saxophonist John “Boy” Lennard and drummer Luke Rendle.
It’s never easy to kick off a show and with many punters still arriving, they pulled a reasonable audience to hear some old post punk anthems and classics. Theatre Of Hate are a band that have never given up and what you see is what you get. They have never been afraid to stand up for their rights or what they believe in and their songs have always reflected this. Today, however, was very much about making the most of the time allocated. With only thirty minutes they crammed in as many songs as possible with enough crowd pleasers to send the early starters away more than satisfied.
Opening with ‘Judgement Hymn’, rapidly followed by ‘My Own Invention’, it was clear that they intended to have a good time and ensure that the throng of faithful would as well. With ‘Conquistador’ and ‘Original Sin’ following, the crowd was growing as the set evolved and Kirk was in good form as the band blasted out the old favourites. Closing out with fan favourite ‘Do You Believe In The Westworld?’ the audience were in great voice singing along with the band. It was a great opener to the second stage and perfect for the afternoon, and the quality of the music on show.
Theatre Of Hate setlist:
‘Judgement Hymn’
‘My Own Invention’
‘Conquistador’
‘Original Sin’
‘The Hop’
‘Poppies’
‘Incinerator’
‘Do You Believe In The Westworld?’
(Adrian Stonley)
JOHN McKAY’S REACTOR – The Other Stage 13:45 – 14:15
For those that might not remember, John McKay was the famed guitarist from Siouxsie & The Banshees from July 1977 until September 1979, and during that period The Banshees sound was formulated. Their first live appearance on television took place in November 1977 on Tony Wilson’s TV show ‘So It Goes’, and the same month they also recorded their first John Peel session in which they premiered a new song, ‘Metal Postcard’, a second Peel session followed in February 1978 and that featured the legendary ‘Hong Kong Garden’. Post Banshees, John mainly disappeared from the music scene until the untimely passing of his wife and is now back at it having just released his first solo album ‘Sixes And Sevens’. His brand new outfit John McKay’s Reactor are performing today at ‘Forever Now’ and features the talent of vocalist Jen Brown and drummer Jola (both of The Priscillas, and Jola is also one of Adam & The Ants drummers), plus Billy King on bass. We last reviewed The Priscillas back in April – Review HERE.
Sadly today’s Reactor set got off to a late start (2pm instead of 1:45pm) due to technical sound difficulties. It still wasn’t right during their edited 6 tune set, as each time Jola kicked the bass drum it was deafening and people around me at the front were shouting for it to be turned down. I gave in and for the first time ever, put in my ear protection for an outside gig! It was so loud that my hat was reverberating! I already knew that Jola was a fab drummer, and today was no exception as he worked away ten to the dozen. Billy’s Fender Precision bass still wasn’t hardly working throughout the set, but John’s Gretsch guitar was sounding fab as he understatedly delivered the notes, Jen’s vocals were good too.
They opened with ‘Black Five’ from John’s new LP and then The Banshees ‘Mirage’, but by the time of track three, ‘Taken For Granted’ (also from new LP), they were finally getting into their stroll. Jen showed how good a vintage Siouxsie she was during ‘The Staircase (Mystery)’, in fact more Siouxsie than the original I had witnessed at ‘Latitude’ festival. ‘Vigilante’ from the new record was next, but they had to miss out ‘Placebo Effect’ and ‘Playground Twist’ and end on ‘Hong Kong Garden’. It had been a measly 19 minute performance, and as John stated at the end “Sorry about that, what could go wrong, did go wrong!”. I’m rather hoping that they come to Brighton, so we can benefit from a joyous full set!
John McKay’s Reactor setlist:
‘Black Five’
‘Mirage’ (Siouxsie & The Banshees song)
‘Taken For Granted’
‘The Staircase (Mystery)’ (Siouxsie & The Banshees song)
‘Vigilante’
‘Hong Kong Garden’ (Siouxsie & The Banshees song)
www.instagram.com/johnmckaysreactor
(Nick Linazasoro)
BERLIN – Forever Now Stage 13:55 – 14:30
According to lush glossy wonderfully smelling 68 page A4 official ‘Forever Now’ souvenir programme that was expertly put together by the Vive Le Rock team, it says that Berlin wanted to “bring electronic music to America” and were “inspired by Kraftwerk, Devo and Sparks”. Let’s see what Adrian Stonley thinks of today’s Berlin set. A modest walk brought us to the main stage in the Bowl and we arrived just in time for American new wave/synth pop rockers Berlin. Formed in 1978 in Los Angeles this was a rare visit to the shores of the UK and they were warmly welcomed. Like Theatre Of Hate and other early starters, they were limited to a half hour slot. Their set was a pure greatest hits show with nothing played post 2013. In fact, nearly half of the set was drawn from their second album ‘Pleasure Victim’, originally released back in 1982.
Opening with the familiar synth melody of ‘Masquerade’ from the ‘Pleasure Victim’ album, frontwoman Terri Nunn, with black and white bunched hair ripped into the Bowl with the intention of taking no prisoners. This was a superb performance, and she really worked up the growing audience. With the Giorgio Moroder/Richie Zito penned hit ‘No More Words’ following they ransacked the stage. Terri was anywhere and everywhere backed by her formidable band.
Unsurprisingly we got the one big hit that everyone remembered from 1986’s ‘Count Three & Pray’ album and the ‘Top Gun’ film, ‘You Take My Breath Away’. Initially this started with Terri singing solo with no backing before encouraging the audience to sing along the chorus line. Then mounting onto the shoulders of a security guard she was carried through the audience whilst the band ripped through this mega ballad. Returning to the stage she announced “This is our favourite religious song” before the familiar chords of AC/DC’s ‘Highway To Hell’ sent the audience into a frenzy. Closing out with ‘Sex (I’m A)…’ with Terri dueting with John Crawford this had been a quite awesome set. Short, sharp and to the point and a lesson in how to win over a festival crowd in a limited period of time. Let’s just hope they return to these shores again soon.
Berlin setlist:
‘Masquerade’
‘No More Words’
‘The Metro’
‘Animal’
‘Take My Breath Away’
‘Highway To Hell’ (AC/DC cover)
‘Sex (I’m A…)’
(Adrian Stonley)
RICHARD JOBSON (The Skids) – Echo Chamber 14:20 – 14:50
Thankfully our photographer Cris Watkins was able to whizz right across the festival in order to grab us some shots of Richard Jobson, as interestingly this was his only appearance at the festival as the Skids weren’t actually playing. The last time we reviewed the Skids was at the tailend of last year – Read our review HERE. We did catch ‘Robbo’ back in 2018 when he was reading passages from his acclaimed new sci-fi novel ‘Speed Of Life’. He was accompanied by Filthy Tongues maestro Martin Metcalfe who provided a musical landscape. Find out more about that night HERE.
THE MOTELS – The Other Stage 14:30 – 15:05
When doing my research for this article, I guess one of the most surprising things that I learned was that Berkeley, California’s The Motels originally formed way back in 1971 and that includes founder member Martha Davis, who is up on stage in front of us this early afternoon at ‘Forever Now’. The band have had many stops and starts across the following 54 years, with nearly as many members as The Fall. You might be forgiven in thinking that a band called The Motels would have definitely recorded a John Peel session, but I guess hailing from the other side of the pond, that this wasn’t really on their radar. I might be mistaken, but I can’t ever honestly recall the band having played live in Brighton before, so it’s quite an honour to witness them live in action this afternoon.
I’m not actually sure how many tunes the musicians (all clad in black) were intending to perform for us, but sadly we were only rewarded with a meagre handful of numbers due to them starting 17 minutes later than planned, namely at 2:47pm instead of 2:30pm. We were only in their company for 23 minutes. As you would expect, Martha is very much centre stage, but she does give plaudits to her bandmates throughout the set. The quintet comprise of Martha on lead vocals and guitar, and her band take care of Prophet Sequential and Korg keys plus two alternating saxophones, a second guitar, bass guitar, and drums.
They commence with ‘Tipping Point’ and the bass drum is still annoyingly loud, but the keys are sounding really decent and the same guy then switches to sax. There’s a funky rock edge going down for ‘Dressing Up’, and this is followed by set highlight and ‘Lust For Life’ carbon copy ‘People, Places And Things’. To be honest, I could have done without the slow chugging less intense ‘Total Control’ as it didn’t seem to fit in with the other tunes, but there were some notable sax parts though. They signed off with ‘Cry Baby’ as Matha put it “Right, we are going out fast and hard like you like it” and during this number I noted Martha’s similarity to Debbie Harry, which is always a pleasing thing. She ended by stating that it’s their “First time back since 1980”, which made this performance feel even more special. Glad I was there!
The Motels setlist:
‘Tipping Point’
‘Dressing Up’
‘People, Places And Things’
‘Total Control’
‘Cry Baby’
(Nick Linazasoro)
THE CHAMELEONS – Forever Now Stage – 14:50 – 15:30
I was tempted to catch The Chameleons at ‘Forever Now’ but then a few days ago they announced that they would be returning to Brighton on Wednesday 12th November, where they will be at the Concorde 2 and so I thought that I could catch the lads in action on that occasion. Information on that date can be found HERE. I have previously seen them live in action just under two years ago, when they headlined the Chalk venue in Brighton – Read our account of that night HERE.
The Chameleons setlist:
‘The Fan And The Bellows’
‘Perfume Garden’
‘Saviours Are A Dangerous Thing’
‘Soul In Isolation’ (inc snippets of ‘For What It’s Worth’, ‘The End’, ‘Be My Wife’, ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’)
‘Swamp Thing’
‘Don’t Fall’ (‘Rebel Rebel’ by David Bowie coda)
thechameleonsofficialonlinestore.bigcartel.com
KIRK BRANDON & STAN STAMMERS (Theatre Of Hate) – Echo Chamber Stage 15:05 – 15:35
Unfortunately we were unable to attend this talk, but Kirk and Stan kindly sent us this photo of proceedings.
SHE WANTS REVENGE – The Other Stage 15:25 – 16:00
When the ‘Forever Now’ festival was first announced, I studied their eye-catching flyer which had the names of the acts taking part in the style of pin-badges. There was just one act name that I didn’t ever recall having come across before, this being that of San Fernando Valley’s (California) American gothic rock/post-punk outfit She Wants Revenge. Like the band, the pin-badge nearly went under my radar, as it was for me the least eye-catching of the lot and yet somehow gave off a mysterious air. I needed to find out more! I did, turns out that they were originally formed way back in 2004 and consists of singer and guitarist Justin Warfield and multi-instrumentalist Adam Bravin, and that their music has been influenced by post-punk, darkwave and gothic rock. It added that they have sold in excess of 300,000 records in their home country, but clearly they haven’t quite made it over here. Blink and you would have missed it, but on the 29th July 2006 their ‘Tear You Apart’ single spent a single week in the UK singles chart, peaking at No.73. This is the track that I first heard via YouTube literally two days before ‘Forever Now’ and I was waiting for Justin to sing ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’ as part of the lyrics if you catch my drift!
This afternoon there are 5 musicians (all wearing black) on stage, with Jusin on lead vocals guitar and tambourine, Adam on M-Audio keys, Roland presets, laptop and also guitar, and the other trio looking after a third guitar, bass, and drums. The lady standing next to me at the very front was from Norwich and she had purchased her ‘Forever Now’ ticket with the main aim of catching this band! The stage was still running behind and the quintet bagan playing at 3:40pm instead of 3:25pm, and were due to finish at 4pm, but thankfully I think it might have been 4:10pm, and they only had to drop track 2 ‘Sister’ from their set.
The drummer kicked us off and they began with ‘Red Flags And Long Nights’ and Justin filmed the audience with his phone. Their sound on this track has a great beat which falls somewhere between Bauhaus, The Editors, and The Sisters Of Mercy. ‘Written In Blood’ sees Adam switch from keys to guitar and for the first time today we get an accompanying film at the rear of the stage. There’s another film for the slower beats of ‘These Things’, which is followed by ‘Out Of Control’ which witnessed Justin leaping from the stage onto the giant speakers in front of him. Adam’s keys on this were rather good I must say! Justin then said they are going to play a new song which had a “bang bang” lyric chorus, I think it’s called ‘Black Wax/Our Love’. Much to my joy, they ended with ‘Tear You Apart’, which was up until that point, song of the day for me, it even gave me goosebumps! She Wants Revenge were the best “new discovery” of the festival for me. I would love to see them live again!
She Wants Revenge setlist:
‘Red Flags And Long Nights’
‘Written In Blood’
‘These Things’
‘Out Of Control’
‘Black Wax/Our Love’
‘Tear You Apart’
(Nick Linazasoro)
TERRI NUNN (Berlin) – Echo Chamber 15:50 – 16:20
Unfortunately we were unable to attend this talk.
THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS – Forever Now Stage 15:55 – 16:40
A further run around a dusty track and I was back at the main stage just in time for The Psychedelic Furs, who we last saw playing live in Brighton back in 2019 – Review HERE. These were a band on my bucket list to see and I was intent on not missing a second of their set. As always in these circumstances there is a question of whether they will stand up to expectation and on this occasion they most definitely did, putting on one of the performances of the day. No bias there…
With Richard Butler in black suit, white shirt and impressive cuffs he was the imposing frontman required for proceedings, and he rapidly had the audience entranced. Starting with ‘President Gas’ from the ‘Forever Now’ album, which we presume was quite intentional and a name drop for the festival, we received a set of favourites spread across their career. ‘Heaven’ followed with the audience singing along, hands raised in the air mimicking the onstage antics. Yet the Furs aren’t just a nostalgia act and with a couple of songs from their last album 2020’s ‘Made Of Rain’ played, namely ‘Wrong Train’ and ‘The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll’, they showed that there is still great forethought and creativity within their song writing. Though newer material, these songs have been with us for a while now and unsurprisingly were well received as anything else from the back catalogue. ‘Love My Way’ had the audience dancing and in raptures before perennial fan favourite ‘Pretty In Pink’, minus sax solo had them singing to the heavens. With a roll back to the self-titled first album an extended ‘India’ closed out the set. This was a performance which was uplifting and stirring and everything that we needed in the late afternoon. Absolute perfection!
The Psychedelic Furs setlist:
‘President Gas’
‘Heaven’
‘Wrong Train’
‘The Ghost In You’
‘Mr. Jones’
‘The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll’
‘Love My Way’
‘Pretty In Pink’
‘India’
(Adrian Stonley)
PUBLIC IMAGE LTD – The Other Stage 16:25 – 17:05
Having witnessed John Lydon, Scott Firth, Mark Roberts and Lu Edmonds aka PiL as recently as 27th May (Review HERE) was there any point of seeing them live in the flesh again? Of course there is! Former Mr Rotten’s most cherished accomplishment is afterall Public Image Ltd, and so it would be rude no to wouldn’t it! I mean it’s hardly going to be THIS is it! My debut encounter with PiL was at the Top Rank Suite in Brighton on 2nd November 1983 and here we are 42 years later and the abrasive, bass-heavy sounds are still very much evident which is astonishing really! Are the band still at the forefront of the post-punk movement in a trailblazing way? Arguably not! When you drop ‘Metal Box’, you’ve certainly made a rod for your back, but back then it was truly a breath of fresh air and pointed the way forward for many trying copyists to follow.
This afternoon we are again taking in a breath of fresh air, but that’s because we are outside! Today’s set is a truncated version of the recent performance, and one which favours the funky as opposed to the punky. They do get to play their 40 minute set, but 15 minutes later than planned. At 4:40pm the quartet grace the stage and Lydon announces “It’s about the only festival I’ve been to where all the bands backstage get on with each other and I’m about to ruin that”. He doesn’t! In fact the stars flock in the wings in order to catch PiL in action. I spied Billy Idol, Rat Scabies and Bez all having a gander and appearing to be enjoying themselves.
PiL kick off with ‘Home’ (“Better days will never be”), followed by ‘Know How’ (“Don’t need to know you”) and then his Time Zone ‘World Destruction’ collaboration, which has thankfully raised its head again for recent live shows. A 12” extended version of ‘Warrior’ is the next offering, and although it’s good, maybe it could have been shorter in order to squeeze in ‘Public Image’ which wasn’t given an airing today (sob sob). The Leftfield Lydon corker is next and this benefits from a long acid house style intro. This version is a great dance version. The timeless ‘Rise’ was next, and I never get bored of hearing “They put a hot wire to my head; ‘Cos of the things I did and said”. They sign off with ‘Chant’ and I must flag up Mark Roberts as the happiest drummer of the day! Today was more about getting the music across as opposed to Lydon’s banter between tracks, but he didn’t really have time did he!
Public Image Ltd setlist:
‘Home’
‘Know Now’
‘World Destruction’ (Time Zone cover)
‘Warrior’
‘Open Up’ (Leftfield Lydon tune)
‘Rise’
‘Chant’
(Nick Linazasoro)
JIM REID & WILLIAM REID (The Jesus And Mary Chain) – Echo Chamber 16:35 – 17:05
Unfortunately we were unable to attend this talk.
JOHNNY MARR – Forever Now Stage 17:05 – 17:55
Sadly neither of us reviewers were present to witness this performance, but here’s the list of the tunes Johnny and his chums performed. He last reviewed a headline show by Johnny back in 2019 at the Royal Festival Hall (Review HERE) and the last time we reviewed him in Brighton was as special guest to Blondie back in 2022 at the Brighton Centre (Review HERE).
Johnny Marr setlist:
‘Armatopia’
‘Panic’ (The Smiths song)
‘Generate! Generate!’
‘Spirit Power And Soul’
‘This Charming Man’ (The Smiths song)
‘Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want’ (The Smiths song) (Acoustic)
‘How Soon Is Now?’ (The Smiths song)
‘Easy Money’
‘Getting Away With It’ (Electronic song)
‘The Passenger’ (Iggy Pop cover)
‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ (The Smiths song)
VOX (The Chameleons) – Echo Chamber 17:20 – 17:50
Thankfully our photographer Cris Watkins was able to whizz across and grab a few photos of this talk.
HAPPY MONDAYS – The Other Stage 17:30 – 18:10
“Call the cops” as it’s an unhappy Sunday for Happy Mondays! I was last in the company of Shaun Ryder, Mark “Bez” Berry and chums just over a year ago, when they played a 14 tune set at Brighton Dome – Review HERE. This teatime, they would struggle to get across half those tracks in their allotted 40 minute set and one which started 20 minutes late! With festivals I tend to find it’s all about logistics and forward planning, but when one of the stages falls out of sync with its timings, then eventually something will have to give! It does for me in two and a half hours time! It was a difficult decision whether to stay put and watch the Happy Mondays or whizz across to the larger stage in order to catch Johnny Marr rattle off a few Smiths numbers. But I dearly wanted to watch The Damned (who are up next on this stage) perform ‘The Black Album’, so I opted to stay put!
Happy Mondays grace us with their presence at 5:50pm. There are seven of them today who are taking care of lead vocals, dancing and maracas shaking, Roland keys with laptop, guitar, drums, bass, and backing vocals. Surprisingly, there’s no Rowetta on stage, but there is another lady in her place. They kick off with ‘Kinko Afro’ which nicely sets the dance vibe mood. There’s a space backing film for ‘God’s Cop’ and as I’m still resting on the crowd barrier, I can clearly see the whites of Bez’s eyes – The Fall’s ‘Totally Wired’ springs to mind! I get an even closer look when Bev leaps off the stage onto the speakers in front of us during ‘Loose Fit’. ‘Hallelujah’ is then followed by ‘24 Hour Party People’ and the iconic ‘Step On’ (“You’re twistin’ my melon man”), which witnesses Bez back atop the speakers. I wonder where he gets all of his energy from? Don’t answer that!
This is where all hell breaks loose as they then attempt to play ‘Wrote For Luck’ but the organisers or sound engineer pulled the plug on them at 6:27pm. What do they do? Play on of course without any amplification and to compound the fact they are still going to perform, Bez assists a teenage lad to join him on top of the speakers as they leap from one to another! The health and safety officer must have been having kittens, whereas the lad was having a memory that will live with him until the rest of his days. Four minutes after the sound was pulled, the band vacated the stage. I felt sorry for the band, but I’m sure it’s one they will chuckle over in years to come!
Happy Mondays setlist:
‘Kinky Afro’
‘God’s Cop’
‘Loose Fit’
‘Hallelujah’
‘24 Hour Party People’
‘Step On’ (John Kongos cover)
‘Wrote For Luck’ (Cut short by organisers)
www.happymondaysofficial.co.uk
(Nick Linazasoro)
MARTHA DAVIS (The Motels) – Echo Chamber 18:05 – 18:35
Unfortunately we were unable to attend this talk.
BILLY IDOL – Forever Now Stage 18:20 – 19:10
Unsurprisingly there was great expectation on the main stage for the Billy Idol set. There had been rumours that his voice wasn’t in great shape before the show, but there was nothing here on show tonight to verify that and what we got was a swaggering, full frontal, big attitude ball of solid killer rock and roll. Oh…and a few outfit changes as well. This is a man who knows how to work a festival audience and to bring to the stage all the flair and showmanship that he is gifted with. From the moment he arrived he could do no wrong and with one of the largest gatherings it was clear that he was one of the main acts that the fans had come to see. With a new album, ‘Dream Into It’, recently released this also gave him an opportunity to try out some of the new songs.
Perhaps opening the set with one of these new songs, ‘Still Dancing’, may have been considered a risk, but for an artist as experienced as Idol this was clearly not the case. It was a great introduction to the material and got the audience in the right mood. Old favourites, ‘Flesh For Fantasy’ and ‘Eyes Without A Face’ will have won over any unsure before ‘77’, another new song was aired. This was another fabulous slab of great rock ‘n’ roll and though there was no Avril Lavigne in tow, who he duets this with on the album it made little difference to the hungry hordes who lapped it up. The old Tommy James & The Shondells cover of ‘Mony Mony’ had everyone dancing and singing before the musicians, and in particular Steve Stevens on guitar showed their abilities on ‘Blue Highway’ which was merged in with the ‘Top Gun Theme’.
With time ticking on there were only two songs that had not been aired, but which Billy would not get away without playing. After an introduction involving some debauchery with the Rolling Stones, the band tore into ‘Rebel Yell’, amid a sea of punching fists and raucous audience singing. However, the tour de force was still to come and with an anthemic ‘White Wedding’, the time was up. It’s always a good sign when a set flies and the end seems to come before it has almost kicked off. But this was certainly the case here and the extent of smiling faces paid tribute to that. We last reviewed Idol at Wembley Arena back in 2022 – Read our account HERE.
Billy Idol setlist:
‘Still Dancing’
‘Flesh For Fantasy’
‘Eyes Without A Face’
‘77’
‘Mony Mony’ (Tommy James & the Shondells cover)
‘Too Much Fun’
‘Blue Highway’ / ‘Top Gun Anthem’
‘Rebel Yell’
‘White Wedding’
(Adrian Stonley)
THE DAMNED – The Other Stage 18:35 – 19:25
It was quite an honour to once again catch the original Damned lineup at Hammersmith Apollo back in October 2022 (Review HERE) but sadly since then, founding member Brian James passed away on 6th March 2025. The band have now announced a 50th anniversary show at Wembley Arena for the 11th April 2026, with support from The Loveless (Marc Almond, Neal X etc), Peter Hook & The Light, and The Courettes – Details HERE.
The lineup that will be performing at Wembley Arena are the same 5 that are standing in front of me this evening: Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Rat Scabies, Paul Gray and Monty Oxymoron. Their set was due to start at 6:35pm, but they began at 7:04pm by performing ‘Wait For The Blackout’ the opening number on 1980’s ‘Black Album’. There are noticeably more lights being used throughout this set than any of the previous ones and this adds to the fans enjoyment and absorption into the world of The Damned. Thankfully the bass drum when kicked isn’t splitting our ears, probably due to the fact they’ve brought their own with them. One of the first things that I notice is how well Dave Vanian looks today as he jumps onto the speakers in front of me during ‘Lively Arts’. He informs us that they are playing songs they haven’t played in a while, but it’s not all of ‘The Black Album’, how correct he was!
‘Drinking About My Baby’ was good and ‘Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde’ was a melodic, almost crooner vocal version. I note She Wants Revenge are watching from the front side of the crowd, Captain Sensible also notices them and sticks his tongue out at them, which makes the duo laugh. Before we knew it, they were onto ‘New Rose’ and then a mere 31 minutes into their allotted 50 minute set, their power was cut at 7:35pm (10 minutes later than they were originally due to finish). The sound guys then reverted to playing a tune from their selection whilst The Damned were still standing on stage! In true punk fashion they played ‘Neat Neat Neat’ without any amplification or vocals until 7:39pm. It was true comedy value for some, whereas others in the crowd around me were livid! Vanian jumped on the speakers again and then threw his mic to a fan in the front row just to my left. We had missed the opportunity of hearing their epic version of ‘Curtain Call’. It was very much a case of ‘I Just Can’t Be Happy Today’ for the band and fans!
The Damned setlist:
‘Wait For The Blackout’
‘Lively Arts’
‘Twisted Nerve’
‘Drinking About My Baby’
‘Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde’
‘The History Of The World (Part 1)’
‘13th Floor Vendetta’
‘New Rose’
‘Neat Neat Neat’
(Nick Linazasoro)
THE THE – Forever Now Stage 19:40 – 20:40
After the whirlwind that was Billy Idol, The The produced a more laid back and melodic set. Initially I wondered whether this would be a let down after the high intensity, rock and roll party of Idol, but I was wrong as they produced a beautifully crafted set full of melody, playfulness and awesome technicality. I had been in two minds whether to stay for The The or make my way back to the second stage for The Jesus And Mary Chain, who I had seen before. Initially I decided to give The The a chance and with that wonderful thing called hindsight I definitely made the right direction as the second stage gremlins continued to inflict timing and electrical problems on the bands there. It was very clear I had made the right decision and The The did not disappoint at all.
It was clear that they were another band that were very popular and the audience were waiting patiently for a set of remarkable musicianship. With frontman Matt Johnson leading the way, on a trilogy of mikes, they produced a stunning and captivating set. There is an element of interest around Johnson’s songwriting and at times he almost comes over as a modern day Nostradamus, with his political and social insights. Certainly, songs such as ‘Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)’ and ‘The Beat(en) Generation’ showcasing this skill. The latter also received a roar of approval as special guest Johnny Marr returned to the stage to play with the band for the first time since 1990. Gracing the stage for two numbers it was clear that he and the band were having a fabulous time as he kicked up a storm for ‘The Beat(en) Generation’ and then ‘Dogs Of Lust’. With an ever popular ‘Giant’ closing the set this was another show that had flown by and proved not only the fans but also the Festival management team right in giving them the guest slot.
The The setlist:
‘Cognitive Dissident’
‘Sweet Bird Of Truth’
‘Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)’
‘The Beat(en) Generation’ (with Johnny Marr)
‘Dogs Of Lust’ (with Johnny Marr)
‘Icing Up’
‘Slow Emotion Replay’ (Slow version)
‘This Is The Day’
‘I’ve Been Waitin’ For Tomorrow (All Of My Life)’
‘Infected’
‘Uncertain Smile’
‘Giant’
(Adrian Stonley)
THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN – The Other Stage 19:50 – 20:35
With The Damned having vacated the stage at 7:39pm and The Jesus And Mary Chain due to kick off their set at 7:50pm, it was absolutely clear that this wasn’t going to happen. What should I do? The The were just starting on the large stage, so I could have a brief wander over there. I did for a bit, but wasn’t excited and so a speedy trip to the merch stall was had. Goodies in hand, I briefly looked in again on The The and they invited Johnny Marr to the stage. But I still decided to head back to ‘The Other Stage’, but The Mary Chain still weren’t on. They did eventually arrive at 8:31pm, which was 41 minutes late! This would now mean that they were going to be finishing when headliners Kraftwerk were a few minutes into their set. I wasn’t going to miss a single second of Kraftwerk, so I had to severely cut The Mary Chain set to the first 3 songs, which was extremely annoying, as I’ve never seen them live before.
Sadly I only got to witness ‘Jamcod’, ‘April Skies’ and ‘Some Candy Talking’, and annoyingly missed out on hearing a couple of their classics I had been wanting to see live for decades, these being ‘Just Like Honey’ and ‘Never Understand’. What I did witness though, I did enjoy, but my mind was mainly focused on getting to Kraftwerk in time, so I’ll leave it here!
The Jesus And Mary Chain setlist:
‘Jamcod’
‘April Skies’
‘Some Candy Talking’
‘Venal Joy’ (with Simone of Primal Scream)
‘Sometimes Always’ (with Simone of Primal Scream)
‘Just Like Honey’ (with Simone of Primal Scream)
‘Reverence’
‘Never Understand’
(Nick Linazasoro)
DEATH CULT – The Other Stage 21:00 – 21:50
Sadly neither of us reviewers were present for this performance, but here’s their setlist and a photo from their set.
Death Cult setlist:
‘Ghost Dance’
‘Christians’
‘Gods Zoo’
‘Ressurection Joe’ (The Cult cover)
‘Spiritwalker’ (The Cult cover)
‘Hollow Man’ (The Cult cover)
‘C.O.T.A’
‘83rd Dream’ (The Cult cover)
‘Horse Nation’
‘Dreamtime’ (The Cult cover)
‘Moya’ (The Southern Death Cult cover)
‘She Sells Sanctuary’ (The Cult cover)
KRAFTWERK – Forever Now Stage 21:10 – 22:30
Finally came main stage headliners and our favourite krautrock progenitors, Kraftwerk, bringing a set full of swathes of atmospheric electronica. With the night darkening so the lighting on stage came into its own, and with electronic backdrops mirroring the music played, it led to a pulsating and pulsing experience. With the four band members wearing identical LED enhanced outfits they became as much part of the visual entertainment as the musical. Despite being in existence for fifty years they have never provided the most prolific of output and with no new material released since 2003’s ‘Tour De France’ all pieces could be considered as old favourites. With the set stretching across the bulk of the musical output this could be considered as a best of set. This is a band that always set a high bar for their performances and tonight was no different. With the technology being as much to the forefront as the synthesiser driven output a Kraftwerk show is a multi-faceted performance
Opening with two medleys from the ‘Computer World’ album, it was clear that they were intent on including as much material in their time slot as possible. With two pieces then following from ‘The Man Machine’, the title track and the pulsating ‘Spacelab’, it was clear that they were onto a winner and the awe-struck audience were soaking up the experience. With a reduced version of all-time favourite ‘Autobahn’, complete with car driven animated backdrop visuals we knew that this was going to be one of those very special and memorable nights that will live with us forever!
A short return to ‘The Man Machine’ saw their No.1 pop hit, ‘The Model’, visited, before an enigmatic and thought provoking ‘Radioactivity’ followed, with the backdrop running through names of nuclear sites and horrors, from Sellafield, to Chernobyl to Fukujima. Ensuring that music from most albums was played medleys from ‘Tour De France’, and then ‘Trans Europe Express’ continued the sonic theme. This was becoming less a musical concert and more a neurological experience.
A further visitation to ‘The Man Machine’ saw ‘The Robots’ played, before the band finished with two pieces from 1986’s ‘Electric Café’, ‘Boing Boom Tschak’ and ‘Musique Non Stop’. Interestingly by this point a fair few of the audience had heard enough, with many of the more popular pieces being played earlier in the set and started to depart and so the show closed with the band individually leaving their computer synths, bowing and saying their farewells, until finally just Ralf Hütter was left before he departed in similar style and we were left to an empty stage, stunning visuals and one beating pulse that gently drifted away to silence leaving a buzzing and entranced audience. We reviewed Kraftwerk’s last Brighton show which was 8 years ago – Read our account HERE.
Kraftwerk setlist:
‘Numbers’ / ‘Computer World’ / ‘Computer World 2’
‘Home Computer’ / ‘It’s More Fun To Compute’
‘Spacelab’
‘The Man-Machine’
‘Autobahn’
‘The Model’
‘Geiger Counter’
‘Radioactivity’
‘Tour De France’ / ‘Tour De France Étape 3’ / ‘Chrono’ / ‘Tour De France Étape 2’
‘Trans-Europe Express’ / ‘Metal On Metal’ / ‘Abzug’
‘The Robots’
‘Boing Boom Tschak’ / ‘Musique Non Stop’
(Adrian Stonley)
…And there you have it, warts n’all. Overall, it’s been a spectacular festival and one we very much pray will be on our 2026 music calendar. The quality of the acts on offer today was just about the best you can get. We would like to congratulate Steve Homer, CEO of AEG Presents UK and founder of ‘Forever Now’, and everyone else involved in staging such a memorable event. Right then, who would I pick for 2026? Well there’s……
