PREVIEW: Hardwick Live Garden Party 1

PREVIEW: Hardwick Live Garden Party

Following on from last year when more than 8,500 people attended the inaugural Hardwick Live Garden Party, the organisers are confident of attracting even more people to the 2014 event which is to be held on Friday the 12th and Saturday the 13th of September. Set deep in the heart of the beautiful County Durham countryside in the grounds of the Hardwick Hall Hotel and now expanded to two days, the announcements of The Jacksons and Simple Minds as this year’s headliners should ensure that they realise this ambition.

The major coup is in getting The Jacksons to top Saturday night’s bill. Michael’s four surviving brothers – Jermaine, Marlon, Jackie and Tito – are being flown over in from the States specifically for this event. Having signed to the Jacksons_USEaMotown record label in 1969 the five siblings originally shot to fame as The Jackson 5 and created history the following year when their first four singles – “I Want You Back”, “ABC”, “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There” – all went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Expect to hear all of these classic hits and many more on what promises to be a very special Saturday night indeed in September in the North East of England.

Given their subsequent rise to world stadia domination it is very easy to forget just how really good Simple Minds (pictured below) once were. Those early albums – Real to Real Cacophony and New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) in particular – still stand the test of time as bold experiments in how best to fuse art-rock, krautrock and, later, electronic dance beats. With two of their founding members – vocalist Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill – remaining very much at the Simple Minds’ helm, they are a band still capable of greatness.

Strong support is provided on the Friday from Oxford’s latest singer-songwriter sensation, Charlie Cunningham whose Lights Off has already received various Record Of The Week plaudits. Saturday’s bill is swelled by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel – who can count “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)” and their superb cover of George Harrison’s “Here Comes The Sun” among their major chart successes in the ‘70s, another pop idol from another decade and someone cut from a different cloth altogether, the dandy highwayman himself Adam Ant, platinum selling English soul singer Kenny Thomas, erstwhile Britpopsters Dodgy, the much-lauded London-based singer-songwriter Emma Garrett and former frontman of The Stranglers, Hugh Cornwell.

With more acts yet to be announced, the organisers’ commitment towards the promotion of local talent is already firmly recognized with the inclusion of Twister, The Voluntears and Teesside’s very own Cattle and Cane on what is a very strong undercard. When you add a whole host of other attractions to the mix – including DJs, fairground rides, hot air balloons, Morris dancing, a variety of street entertainment plus a wide range of high quality public catering – this year’s Hardwick Live Garden Party promises to build on last year’s success.

Friday’s event will run from 4-11pm and the gates will re-open again on Saturday from noon-11pm. Weekend tickets are available to purchase from £79 per adult. Alternatively, individual tickets can be purchased for each day; £36 (adult), £10 (young person under 16) and £5 (child) for Friday and £49 (adult), £12 (young person under 16) and £6 (child) for Saturday.

Tickets can be bought here:

http://hardwicklive.co.uk/tickets

And all of the Hardwick Live information can be obtained here:

http://hardwicklive.co.uk/

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God is in the TV is an online music and culture fanzine founded in Cardiff by the editor Bill Cummings in 2003. GIITTV Bill has developed the site with the aid of a team of sub-editors and writers from across Britain, covering a wide range of music from unsigned and independent artists to major releases.