Live Report: Forever Young Festival is a rousing, inimitable experience

Legend has it that “Naas is a great place to shop”, or so the sign told us for thirty years, and while the statement has been tested in recent times (thanks Newbridge!), one thing Naas has proven triumphant in is its devotion to live music. Oxegen came and went while Bon Jovi and AC/DC have also appeared out the backroads fields of Punchestown, and now we have one of the best festivals to appear in a long time, Forever Young.

While the kids gets their hip hop and RnB fix elsewhere, a good portion of us are reliving our youth by singing along with the likes of Jimmy Somerville, T’Pau, Holly Johnson, and many other acts who soundtracked our young years. The festival is amusingly compered by “Doctor” Clive Jackson of Dr. and the Medics, eh, fame. Jackson keeps the audience amused with his witty, self-deprecating manner and introduces the first band of the weekend, Wexford group Cry Before Dawn, who open proceedings in earnest with a terrific set that inevitably closes with their classic, Gone Forever.

The Hothouse Flowers are up next and are probably the only act of the weekend who don’t dispense with the hits as performed on vinyl; it takes a minute or so into Don’t Go before many realise it is in fact Don’t Go. Today Liam O Maonlai and crew have gifted us calypso version of their iconic song. Yes, calypso. The band don’t do cheesy banter, preferring to let their considerable musical prowess do the talking; as such, they duly deliver a rollicking set of artful Celtic soul. Perhaps the one concession they do make to this being a nostalgia fest is their cover of Prince’s Purple Rain, ideal for this misty summer’s day.

The highlight of the day arrives in the form of Kim Wilde, who thrills with You Came, You Keep Me Hanging On, and an encore of Kids in America. Damn, it’s Top of the Pops before my eyes! Fabulous sets by China Crisis and Hazel O’Connor roll by before Midge Ure owns the stage with a collection of hits from his Ultravox days as well as unexpectedly performing the Visage hit which he produced, Fade to Grey. As if this wasn’t enough, he seals the deal with a tribute to Phil and Philomena Lynott by covering The Boys are Back in Town, also a nod to his own days as a member of Thin Lizzy.

The Human League close out the Saturday night with an expected spectacular. Philip Oakey is a commanding stage presence and his voice seemingly hasn’t aged one bit in the forty-plus years of the band. While fans of the early albums are kept happy with various classic cuts, I am elated with the performance of later hits, Human, and the solo Oakey, Together in Electric Dreams.

Sunday and the sun arrive and it kicks into gear immediately with a rousing set from Big Country, whose Wonderland, Chance, and Fields of Fire are born to be played in a venue of this magnitude. It’s a bittersweet moment, the band performing as good as ever, but sadly departed singer Stuart Adamson will be forever missed. An early highlight of the day arrives on stage as XSM (ex-Simple Minds), consisting of original drummer Brian McGee and fronted by his brother, another 80s pop singer, Owen Paul. Like Big Country, the music of Simple Minds is ideal for this setting: big, bombastic, pop anthems and they don’t come any bigger than Don’t You (Forget about Me) and Alive and Kicking.

From The Jam follow, and it is a thrill to see Bruce Foxton playing the basslines to his classic songs in the flesh, the exercise is cheapened as the singer is literally dressed like Paul Weller, like something straight out of a tribute act. Up next is former local Tom Bailey, who brings some eccentric new wave to the stage with his Thomson Twins hits Doctor Doctor, You Take Me Up and so on. Bailey informs us that he spent many happy days living in the area before rolling out his massive hit, Hold Me Now.

T’Pau, Bonnie Tyler, and Toyah all deliver what is expected with great enthusiasm, but the Sunday stage is owned by Marc Almond, whose Tainted Love is greeted with the biggest reception of the entire weekend. Every crowd member is on their feet for what is surely the official anthem of the entire festival. It is a truly exciting moment to be here. Only Holly Johnson could match such inspired revelry and it is he who brings the curtain down on the inaugural Forever Young festival in his own inimitable fashion. One of the great concert experiences of the year, let’s hope this was the first of many years for Forever Young.

Naas, a great place to gig.