By Graham Hiley.
It was a sensational seventies night on the third day of the Wickham Festival – but that had nothing to do with the style of music.
All three headliners on the main stage were three-quarters of the way to a century – and all sounded as fresh and powerful as ever.
First up was Tom Robinson the “baby” at 75 followed by Leo Sayer, 77, with the evening rounded off in style by 76-year-old Richard Thompson. And all three were sensational.
After belting out his timeless classic Glad to be Gay, Robinson looked genuinely moved by the reaction from the crowd who gave him an emotional two-minute ovation, recognition not just for the performance but for the sentiment of the song.
Recorded barely a decade after homosexuality was decriminalised, the anthem spoke for a huge section of society – not just those who were gay but all those who opposed their persecution.
Fighting back the tears, the singer told the fans: “Thank you… you have no idea how much this means to me.” He added afterwards: “It was an amazing reaction, typical of the Wickham crowd which is one reason I love playing here so much.”
After recovering his composure, Robinson rounded off a storming set with 2-4-6-8 Motorway to kickstart a fabulous evening session.
Leo Sayer then kept the party going with an up-tempo set and superb showmanship which was well worth the wait. The Shoreham singer who now lives in Australia was due to headline Wickham in 2020 only for the festival to be cancelled because of Covid.
He told the Wickham Festival podcast: “I was really disappointed especially as this is something of a local gig for me so I am delighted to have got here in the end.”
At 77, his voice is as strong as ever, effortlessly hitting the high notes to make the crowd feel like dancing. And given the site’s strong recovery from Thursday’s downpours, he wisely ditched Stormy Weather in favour of Moonlighting.
That set up legendary folk artist Richard Thompson to close the evening with a mesmerising display of guitar artistry. While the songs were exquisite, it was hard to look away from the intricate pick and pluck style of playing.
As a complete contrast, the other main stage was rocked by the Alabama 3 whose unique fusion of country, blues and acid house went down a storm with the crowd already pumped from the vibrant set by Merry Hell.
It was impossible to stay still listening to the uplifting, foot-stomping traditional folk played at pace and with genuine joy.
For those who like to check out up and coming local artists, Southampton band Rob Clamp and the Ashmen got a fantastic reception on their Wickham stage debut six years to the day since the lead singer was busking to festival fans at the bus stop in the village square!
The event finishes with Oysterband playing one of their last ever gigs on Sunday night supported by Kate Rusby and Reg Meuross in the Big Top while the Peatbog Faeries headline the Little Top with Ian Prowse and Amsterdam.
Day tickets are available from the box office on site where fans can also save £100 if they book a weekend ticket for next year’s festival July 30-Aug 2. These savings are available for a short time from Monday: wickhamfestival.co.uks.
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