North by North-West Festival will celebrate 50 years of Mod music next year – the Golden Anniversary of when it all began.
The Who and The Kinks were formed in 1964, Small Faces in 1965 and Love Affair in 1966, playing in clubs across the UK such as The Marquee and The Flamingo in London to The Astoria in Rawtenstall and The Nelson Imp.
Then came ‘The Mod Revival’ which started around the late 1970s, inspired by the 1979 film ‘Quadrophenia’ and mod-influenced bands such as The Jam, Secret Affair and Purple Hearts. Following this was Two Tone Ska music with bands such as Bad Manners with Buster Bloodvessal, Madness and The Specials.
This year there will be no need to travel to Brighton, Margate or Clacton to celebrate 50 years of this amazing music, because Colne is to have its own Mod Invasion at the Muni Theatre on June 6th and 7th.
From The Jam, featuring Bruce Foxton (in photo), will headline the opening night with some of the great Mod anthems. They will be supported by The 45’s and The Universal.
Saturday’s line-up features The Itch, The Kast Off Kinks, featuring former members of The Kinks, The Small Fakers, Steve Ellis’ Love Affair who will be performing, among others, their most famous tune "Everlasting Love" and Bad Manners, featuring Buster Bloodvessel will round off what promises to be a fantastic weekend and a musical trip down memory lane.
MC and DJ, Northern Soul’s Roman, will be keeping the atmosphere going with musical interludes from the era.
Organisers Pendle Leisure Trust and Doc Redeye Events, are teaming up with the Cheeky Northern Monkeys Scooter Club who will be descending on Colne and Nelson Rugby Club for their annual weekend.
They will be linking up with other local scooter clubs for a rally through the town, which should provide quite a spectacle and take visitors back to the time when Mods ruled.
With sponsorship backing from Mini, Lloyds Colne, AMS Neve and Wills Electrical in Colne, the Festival promises to be a great event.
So, dig up your Vespa or Lambretta from the bottom of the garden, get the classic mini out of storage, put on your Ben Sherman, Fred Perry or Harrington Jacket and join all the 21st Century Mods at Colne, for the first ever North by North-West Festival.
For full details of the festival weekend, including Mini Rally, Scooter Rally and camping with the Cheeky Northern Monkeys, go to www.nbnwfestival.com
