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Last updated 05:37, Friday, 29 August 2008
BAD MANNERSChart-topping ska troubadors Bad Manners made their raucous mark on Solfest.
Packing out the Bar Stage on Friday night, the band took an upbeat crowd on a whirlwind retrospective of their 1980s Top Twenty hits.
Bald-headed, pie-scoffing, national pop legend and lead vocalist Buster Bloodvessel whipped up a jovial atmosphere with his infectious bawdy humour.
My Girl Lollipop made the crowd go giddy up, and a cover of Andy Williams’s I Love You Baby brought out the beery bawler in everyone.
Buster clearly enjoyed the Solfest crowd as much as they enjoyed him, bantering with the bouncing mob exchanging mutual jeers and heckling.
Given the legions of revellers keen to swing their partners to the Bad Manners beat, perhaps the band would have been better served with a slot on the Main Stage.
But no-one was letting lack of space put the dampeners on their party.
Fan Billy Winn, 34, of Whitehaven, said: “Bad Manners are the best thing we’ve heard so far. They are insane and are so much fun.
“The crowd have been going crazy – the music is timeless.”
As a warm-up for Buster’s 50th Birthday Bash Tour set to begin next month, Bad Manners couldn’t have picked a better place to kick off The Can Can.
SARAH NEWSTEAD
