Henley Standard: Eighties Giants Sparkle in The Rain
Rewind South 2016 was 10 days ago, but here’s a newly published review, from the Henley Standard, of the festival anyway…
The weather gods were not kind to Rewind this year, with a very windy weekend punctuated by some heavy rain showers.
However, this did not in any way deter the thousands of Eighties pop fans who visited the riverside site — and certainly not the 23 acts who performed for them.
The festival proper opened with regular Rewind star Tony Hadley — but this time he performed a 45-minute set with the Southbank Sinfonia behind him, as well as the Tony Hadley Band. Fittingly for an artist who cites David Bowie as one of the major influences on Spandau Ballet, he opened with Life on Mars.
More than 30 years on from the band’s Eighties peak, Hadley’s voice has held its strength and power — and ably covered Bowie’s anthem, as well as an Elvis Presley number and Spandau Ballet’s biggest hits. The synthpop era of the early Eighties was well represented by artists such as Hazell Dean, Toyah and Jimmy Somerville, while the big voices came in the form of Rick Astley and Leo Sayer.
• Continue reading at the Henley Standard. (Photo © Henley Standard)
