Live: Splendour Festival 2015

The Specials. photo: Dom Henry

In truth I was extremely sceptical of the day due to the undeniable nature of the so-called small day city festival, where a weird mix of middle aged locals and school kids drunk on Frosty Jacks somehow congregate to the soundtrack of has-been, watered-down eighties groups and slushy monotonous indie pop. My fears began to arise whilst catching the 30 NCT bus to get to the famous country park. Being greeted by what seemed like hundreds of fifteen year olds out for the day necking peculiar transparent liquids out of Lucozade bottles. Joey Essex bog brush haircuts and crimped blonde hair are admittedly not a good start to any festival but they seemed to be excited to enjoy themselves so I tried to lift my own spirits.

Upon arrival we made our way to the Confetti stage, through a sea of picnic blankets and toddlers going absolutely mental. We managed to catch The Swiines rock the ever-growing crowd accompanied by a delightful pint of Castle Rock Pale Ale. In fact, the wonderful array of beer and ale choices were truly a spectacle to behold and all for a fair £4, which is like Christmas for anyone who’s ever been to a main festival over the past five years having to purchase watered down Carlsberg for a fiver.

Joe Keogh of Amber Run. photo: Dom Henry

Back to the music, we made our way to main stage to catch Amber Run midway through their half hour set as, oddly, a mosh pit, began to ensue at the front of the crowd. With the bar a mere twenty yards away from where we were perched, the moshing kids were fairly easy to avoid - and from what we heard of Amber Run, that clean and polished yet jagged sound managed to get the crowd in full swing.

Next up was a personal favourite of mine, the undisputable king of British hip hop, Roots Manuva. Being on stage for almost fifteen minutes before busting into his first number, Roots’ reveled the crowd with his unique brand of Jamaican patois colloquialisms and heavy reggae/dub infused beats. His thirteen-minute slot seemed like a meagre few minutes but it was just a delight as he "summoned up the power of Banana Clan".

Indiana then dazzled with her illustrious introverted charm before Lawson and Ferocious Dog turned the amps to eleven, side-by-side on both stages. It was fairly apparent though, due to the increasing number of Specials tour t-shirts worn by the high number of dads, that the headline act was near.

James. photo: Dom Henry

First though was a huge headline act in their own right, the hypnotic and equally as audacious, James. As soon as Tim Booth stepped out from the shadows this was a special set. Playing Sit Down and their new single Le Petite Mort as well a whole host of classic tracks, long guitar solos and countless jams, the six-piece got the thousands of spectators off their bums and into a dazed, rather intoxicated groove. Wonderful, innovative musicians who, vividly so, still love their music and the ecstasy of performing judging by Booth's radical moves on stage and the nostalgic carefree atmosphere they cast upon.

A delicious beef madras curry from the Memsaab stall was much needed before the crowd gathered in their masses for the final show of the night that unquestionably was the expected highlight of the day.

Terry, Lynval, Horace and co. hit the stage just after 9pm, as the screams and roars greeted them like a hurricane, opening with their most well known hit Ghost Town. That all too familiar eerie build up before a bellowing horn segment kicks in like a punch in the kidneys, was quite possibly the most spine tingling experience I’ve ever had. It made the thought of all those annoying school kids, and the discontent at not bringing a deck chair, vanish in an instant and that high carried on for a further hour and a half through a montage of amazing hits; Doesn’t Make it Alright, Gangster and of course Too Much, Too Young, to name but a few.

Terry Hall of The Specials, not chuffed that he's not got an ice cream. photo: Dom Henry

Chants of "RUDE BOYYYYY!" between each song and the forthright, expletive laden request of Terry Hall for someone to buy him an ice cream from the van at the side of the stage were memories I’ll cherish forever. The inevitable crammed bus journey back couldn’t even dampen my mood or the thousands of people who witnessed a truly special day. It’ll take some beating that next year, Splendour…

Splendour Festival 2015 took place at Wollaton Park on Saturday 18 July 2015.
See the full gallery of Dom Henry's Splendour 2015 photos.

Splendour Festival website