A one day festival in Milton Keynes National Bowl (22.6.2025)
This line-up looked like a dream and it didn’t disappoint, overall.
Yes I was massively disappointed by Peter Murphy having to withdraw due to ill health (his 2025 album is excellent) and yes I was disappointed by the (inevitable perhaps) clashes with the second stage which meant I had to miss some competing favourites – today just too many favourites – and some were bands I have recently seen or I am seeing again soon (The Damned, Jesus and Mary Chain and PiL).
The second stage was a substandard dusty car park of a set up. Technically it was amateur from what I saw early on and later I scrubbed plans to return and focused on the main stage which was huge in comparison – this is a 65,000 capacity arena but less than half that today I estimate. Friends returned with tales of timing mess ups, ongoing sound problems and the plug being pulled on big bands. This did not lure me back there. Besides I did need to sit down a bit – it’s been a long week with two other gigs in Birmingham in recent days.
The National Bowl is a rather grandiose term for this barren old clay pit. A major festival on a Sunday near Milton Keynes is not that attractive. I would still come again though if presented with such a musical and personally relevant feast.
I’ve been here a couple of times before. Simple Minds and Big Audio Dynamite in 1986 on Maradona ‘Hand of God’ day. Then in 1995 an impressive line-up of REM, supported by Radiohead, The Cranberries and Sleeper. I remembered the nowhere to hide arena with the sun beating down at that one. So, 30 years on here I am again. Fortunately, the weather wasn’t as forecast. The heatwave hystericals have been bleating all week but it’s merely warm and cloudy with some sunny spells – perfect.
Off we go to the second stage, referred to in adverts as The Other Stage but on site not really referred to by means of any signage I could see. Theatre of Hate. I was aiming to get here on time for this one and that was a great start. Of course, there isn’t time for everything (Legion for instance) but loved standing listening to the tracks from Do You Believe in the Westworld, especially the title track.
Stan Stammers bobs and weaves on bass like 45 years had just evaporated without us realising. It’s been a long time, a lifetime. I still want a Kirk Brandon haircut.
Immediately following on this stage is John Mckay’s Reactor. I confess that when I saw his name on the bill I had to look him up to discover he was the Siouxsie and the Banshees guitarist in the early years (1977-79). I subsequently listened to his band’s new album, Sixes and Sevens. I thought this was a revelation. Some excellent tracks and so Banshees style.
The newer songs played this afternoon are interspersed with some Siouxsie classics which included: Mirage; Staircase Mystery and yes, Hong Kong Garden, which was greeted with some triumph after a set plagued with technical deficiencies.
I left that second stage and wandered along to the small tent doing interviews with various bands – ‘The Echo Chamber’. Skids frontman, Richard Jobson, was in there being interviewed. The tent was rammed and spilling out. A gentle drizzle started as a final humiliation for the gibbering weather forecasters. I put my jacket on for a bit but didn’t need it long. I couldn’t hear much from outside the tent walls so returned to the main stage and a sit down to watch The Chameleons.
A powerful set. Enjoyed them without knowing their stuff that well. Been listening more over the last few years, since catching them deliver a great set at Shine, Butlins Minehead in 2021.
Next – this is the big one for me – The Psychedelic Furs. My mate Chris found me standing in the front right side paddock, so we could do some Furs’ or Richard Butler actions together – just like old times, but now with his two lads as witnesses. I just love the Furs’ music. I have all the albums and play them all, even the World Outside sometimes.
It’s quite a short set – is a Furs set ever long enough? Nine songs from across five of their eight studio albums. What a start: President Gas. Surely selected with Trump in mind, though written in 1982.
The actions are as bold as ever with the salute to ‘President Gas’. Not a great idea to mimic that one. The other cracker from the album Forever Now is played later: Love My Way.
Richard Butler glides around the stage like an actor. He has hand gestures for every song – quite subtle but always something going on. From time to time he finds his brother Tim (I was born in the same hospital as him – Kingston – I know – I checked with him at their aftershow party once in Camden Roundhouse.)
Richard Butler seems to perform so effortlessly and gracefully. He must be boiling in all those clothes. The latest album, Made of Rain, holds its own with all the older material. The tracks selected were obvious choices – The Wrong Train and the excellent Boy That Invented Rock and Roll.
It’s all over too quickly. Just makes me want to get a ticket for the autumn tour but can’t see any dates I could do. The set ends with the classic, India, from the first album, starting with that thunderous drumming.
Next – Johnny Marr, this viewed from next to the main mixing desk tower. I don’t need all The Smiths’ songs to enjoy Marr but I love hearing them, as does everyone else, clearly. He really gets everyone going with the likes of Panic and This Charming Man. He only does four of his own solo songs out of the eleven-song set but perhaps he knows the probable audience and it’s all lapped up. How Soon is Now was tops.
There is a Light that Never Goes Out is his staple finish. Another artist to go to see again soon. I’ve seen him at festivals and supporting The Killers in Nashville, but never seen him on his own tour. Next time.
I go for another sit down in the paddock to front stage right. You can still see the stage even if seated.
Billy Idol attracts the curious in large numbers as well as Billy Idol fans. He works well with the short set. He has a new album and is out on tour but the old faves of White Wedding and Eyes Without a Face are the highlights.
The ole ‘King Rocker’ keeps going. A cartoon rocker who, if you squint, still looks like the Generation X front man that abandoned the UK post-punk scene for LA. He is forgiven, it seems.
After that the do I/ don’t I thoughts of going back to the dustbowl carpark stage for The Jesus and Mary Chain, finally evaporate. It’s been a long week. I haven’t been home since last Sunday. I settle for The The. Quite enjoyed them – interesting to see them rejoined by Johnny Marr for Beat(en) Generation and Dogs of Lust.
Marr was in The The for six years and played on two LPs. I was amazed how long ago The The started. I couldn’t replicate decades of play by a few months of listening to a bit on Spotify.
Infected and Uncertain Smile were particularly good and I’m glad I’ve seen them. Didn’t reach my enthusiasm for the Furs or Marr though.
Last on and respectfully top of the bill are electronic music legends, Kraftwerk. Never seen them before, but always an experience I wanted. Quite extraordinary really. What is live and what is not. Great lights – retro modern and four quite immobile figures lined up in a classic Kraftwerk set up. All the big tracks I wanted – Autobahn, Computer Love, Tour De France, The Model and Trans Euro Express.
I wandered forward in the crowd to get a closer look and a few pics. I was amongst a sea of beaming faces, no talking but just transfixed on the stage. A special moment. As I left the Bowl I still had twinges of guilt for missing Death Cult and abandoning the other bands on stage two, but the Kraftwerk experience was worth it. For me, unique.
This was a great event that could have been even better with regards to the other stage and I guess the organisers would have wanted more people in. We were lucky with the weather and my day was made easier with the seats in the premium area, with a decent stage view. Hopefully it will return but who knows?
Gigs with Ivan 