Sunday 15 August 2021

Sunday 15 August 2021....2pm to 10pm... Celebrating 100 years of the Becontree Council Estate. Parsloes Park, Becontree, Dagenham, Essex. Crescents, cul-de-sacs and indoor toilets were but a dream for the residents of London's East London slums in 1919. But thanks to chancellor Lloyd George's revolutionary scheme to make "homes fit for heroes", Becontree - the first and largest council estate in the UK - made those fantasies a reality. A century later, its residents reflect on living in a "working class haven". A very nice line-up for this FREE ENTRY festival for a few thousand folks. There is a full funfair and stalls galore, and pints of lager are a reasonable £4 a time. There were two big screens, and it was easy to get down the front. TOTALLY BLONDIE arrived on stage at 2.45pm for a 35 mins set. Lots of Blondie hits played including "Hanging on the Telephone" and "Heart of Glass". JOHN COGHLANS Status Quo arrived on stage at 4.20pm and played for 60 mins. A great selection of Status Quo classics played...John does not look 100% health wise , so for a few songs he plays gentle bongos and then he was on drums for the final 30 mins. A famous venue locally called The Dagenham Roundhouse hosted many classic bands in the late 60s/early 70s and John played there with Status Quo in 1972. UK LEGENDS arrived on stage at 5.40pm and played for 65 mins. The band members are lesser known names who have played with legends in their career, so there were associated songs from The Animals, Gary Moore, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake etc. NEVILLE STAPLE arrived on at at 7.15pm for a 50 mins set. His band includes a three man brass section and the set played is nearly all Specials classics that easily got all the crowd dancing across the venue. THE BOOMTOWN RATS arrived on stage at 8.35pm for their 60 mins set. Sir Bob arrives on stage in full rockstar mode, complete with bell bottom trousers. Bob mention's that his dad used to a chef at Dagenham car plant back in the day. A great set with loads of their classics played. Full Boomtown Rats setlist played tonight... Rat Trap (I Never Loved) Eva Braun Trash Glam Baby Like Clockwork Someone's Looking at You Monster Monkeys I Don't Like Mondays She's So Modern Mary of the 4th Form/ I Wanna Be Man (The Beatles cover) Looking After No. 1 Encore: The Boomtown Rats (with ticker-tape cannons fired at the end) A long trek over to Zone 5 out East but well worth it.

Posted 16th August 2021

Sunday 15 August 2021.

Sunday 15 August 2021. Some heartwarming news that a venue from back in the day is to re-open after a massive 28 million pounds has been spent to get it back to its former glory. On Monday 6th September, the 3000 capacity Stockton Globe will throw open its doors for the very first time since 1975, and much-loved British pop act McFly will perform a special show for the launch of the historic Grade II-listed Art Deco venue, now operated by Ambassador Theatre Group. The venue hosted the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and many others before it closed.

Posted 16th August 2021