Exmouth Journal: Exmouth Festival 2017 is go!
Now celebrating its 21st year, the festival has emerged as one of the South West’s most important – and impressive – free community events.
A freewheeling fiesta of fabulous fun for all the family, it offers homegrown talent a brilliant opportunity to shine brightly in the spotlight. These included the Imperial Recreation Ground, the Bicton Inn and Exmouth Ceramic Group’s exhibition at Meeting Street.
On Sunday evening, the big headliners came into town. A huge crowd – perhaps as large as 6,000 people – filled the Imperial Rec’ Ground and enjoyed sets by Joey the Lips and 1980s punk princess Toyah Willcox. Joey the Lips put on a solid show of singalong dancefloor fillers. More poppy than their soul roots of some years back, the switch to more accessible material – with songs by Queen and Lulu – has done them no harm. The crowd – particularly the youngsters up the front – loved it.
Toyah Willcox bounded on stage an hour later. Her band sounded very tight as she blasted through a solid set of her hits – such as Thunder In the Mountains and Obselete – and 1980s covers, such as Martha and the Muffins’ Echo Beach.
Toyah was clearly delighted by the warm reception she got from the huge crowd, declaring that ‘Exmouth was cool’.
• Continue reading at the Exmouth Journal. (Photo © Exmouth Journal/Paul Strange)
