John Parr, Status Quo, Peter Hook & Other Great Photography Highlights at Rewind

by | Aug 15, 2017

British summer is well known for two things: unpredictable weather and the best festivals. So choosing the right festival experience can be crucial to keep your mood up during the downpours. Rewind The 80s gives you the opportunity to cruise through the decade with your smile in place, no matter the weather conditions. But it’s always good to have your waterproofs ready.

Here are some of my personal highlights from the North edition of this year’s Festival writes Edyta Krzesak.

Crowd at the Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Rewind The 80s Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Rewind The 80's Festifal North (Edyta Krzesak)

Rewind The 80s Festifal North (Edyta Krzesak)

John Parr @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

John Parr @ Rewind The 80s North (Edyta Krzesak)

I have to admit, two years ago when New Order were announced as headliners of The Other Stage at Glastonbury Festival 2016 I was over the moon. No matter the rain, the mud, the tiredness, I was sure I was going to see them, and I was just as sure I’d have the time of my life. Sadly, that wasn’t the reality. Bernard Sumner clearly forgot he was at a festival, playing to a bunch of ordinary music lovers rather than die-hard New Order fans. His decision not to interact with the audience and play all new songs nobody knew didn’t help to lift the spirits of mud-covered, rain-soaked festival goers, but I was still standing there hoping for a miracle. It didn’t come. What did were the first words he said to the audience: “You should be dancing.” Honestly, that was a bit too much for me, and I left the field thinking I should have chosen a different performer that night.

Peter Hook @ Rewind 80's North Festival (Edyta Krzesak)

Peter Hook @ Rewind 80's North Festival (Edyta Krzesak)

Peter Hook @ Rewind The 80s North (Edyta Krzesak)

Peter Hook @ Rewind The 80s North

So, with that experience of New Order still fresh in my mind, I was reserved when I saw Peter Hook & The Light in the Rewind line-up. But Hook is a different class of performer. He knows the nature of festivals well and, instead of pushing his newest work, at Rewind he offered what people hoped and waited for. The set (providing a mixture of Joy Division, New Order, and his new tunes) created the right vibe, with fans singing and dancing from the first to the last song. Transmission, Love Will Tear Us Apart, and Blue Monday all glistened like diamonds, and Hook knows the right way to gain new fans and make the old ones sing their hearts out. If you ask me, he should have been offered that headline slot at Glastonbury 2016.

Kim Wild @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Kim Wild @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Kim Wild @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Kim Wild @ Rewind The 80s North (Edyta Krzesak)

Another undisputed highlight was the woman responsible for more than a few broken hearts in the ’80s, Kim Wilde. With songs like You Keep Me Hanging On, You Came, Kids In America, and Never Trust A Stranger, she was always a queen of the stage, and her Rewind set proved she never gave up her crown. Standing up in a biker jacket and her red scarf, she ruled the crowd. Her voice easily and flawlessly hit the high notes, like the last few decades never happened.

Kim Wilde is an uncontested queen of the stage, but Rewind also had a king of guitar in the form of John Parr.

John Parr @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

John Parr @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

John Parr @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

John Parr @ Rewind 80’s Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

The man, who stole people’s hearts and hit number one with St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion), delivered one of the best sets I have ever witnessed at Rewind. Full of drama, the Restless Heart performer rocked the audience, almost setting his guitar on fire. There are just a few guitarists with as much passion and skill, and if you factor in his sense of humour and ability to connect with the audience, he has it all. He’s a magician, able to change a guitar into a living, breathing creature capable of all the softness and depth one could imagine. No wonder there was a long queue of fans waiting for the opportunity to chat or take a selfie with him.

John Parr taking pictures with fans @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

John Parr taking pictures with fans @ Rewind 80’s Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Rewind The 80’s is a two-day festival, and I have to say both headliners made my day. The first night turned into one huge dance party with Village People. The Macho Man and Go West performers are as energetic as they used to be in the ’80s. Dancing, shaking, singing, and jumping they spread joy along the way, making even the security guards sing. But it was YMCA that made the crowd go absolutely nuts. Fans, security, medics, stall keepers, press team, and everybody else in earshot jumped, sang, and hand-signed Y-M-C-A as the band performed their biggest hit.

Village People @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Village People @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Village People @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Village People @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Village People @ Rewind 80s Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

On the rock’n’roll side of Sunday stood Status Quo. The legendary band was on my bucket list since I’ve heard In the Army Now for the very first time as a kid. It was one of the first bands that shook my world and made me jump on the sofa, pretending to rock the stage with a guitar. They and Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing were to blame for my first announcement that I wanted to be a musician, making my mum wonder if her 5-year old daughter was okay.

Status Quo @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Status Quo @ Rewind 80s Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Francis Rossi of Status Quo @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Francis Rossi of Status Quo @ Rewind 80s Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

John Edwards of Status Quo @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

John Edwards of Status Quo @ Rewind 80s Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Status Quo @ Rewind 80's Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Status Quo @ Rewind 80s Festival North (Edyta Krzesak)

Kicking off with their biggest hits Down, down, Whatever You Want and Rocking All Over The World, the band beat the torrential rain that poured down onto the site as they hit the stage. Soaking wet but happy, singing In The Army Now I realised how lucky I am, living my childhood dream. Well almost, as being a music photographer is the next best thing to being a musician.

Photography and photostory by Edyta K

HAAL (Jess Agnew)

HAAL Return With New Single ‘Plate 43 (…Or Standing on the Toes of Giants)’

Borderless four-piece HAAL have returned with a new single titled Plate 43 (…Or Standing on the Toes of Giants). The single comes on the heels of an incendiary year for the band which saw them release their Thurston Moore-approved EP Back To Shilmarine to widespread plaudits, leading to remixes by JUICE (Ollie Judge of Squid) and Water From Your Eyes, as well as UK tour dates and festival appearances such as ArcTanGent, Outer Town, Wanderlust, and more.

Tide Lines (Nathan Dunphy)

Tide Lines Drop New LP ‘Glasgow Love Story’

Tide Lines’ ascent continues today, with the release of their highly anticipated fourth album Glasgow Love Story via their own Tide Lines Music label. The album includes the recent single Better Days, Homeward Bound., double A-side single By The Quayside / Leaving Town , and Cherry Blossom Sunset.

Jon Allen (Press)

Jon Allen Shares New Single ‘Midnight Oil’

Jon Allen’s new album project Seven Dials is rich with evocative narrative postcards of what life might have been like for the typical 18th century Londoner. And as his singles Down With The Tide, White Gold, The Shadow and Nine Lives have shown, while the events and circumstances back then were often very different, people’s intrinsic behaviour and motivations are almost unchanged. That’s something which is especially true of his new single Midnight Oil.

Andrew Spice (Press)

Andrew Spice Pays Tribute To The Unconditional Love Of Pets With Single ‘Gentle Sentinel’

As any pet owner knows, the relationship between people and our pawed friends changes dramatically over time and the love between a pet and its owner is a unique one – and often responsible for saving one in challenging times. This is something that Andrew Spice shared with his late, beloved cat Bea, who he pays tribute to with his new single Gentle Sentinel.

The newly named Woodsies Area of Glastonbury Festival 2023 (Kalpesh Patel)

Glastonbury Festival 2025: Woodsies And The Tree Stage Unveil A Spellbinding Lineup

The wait is over: Glastonbury Festival has lifted the curtain on its 2025 Woodsies and Tree Stage lineups, revealing an audacious mix of euphoric headliners, genre-pushing newcomers, and immersive soundscape creators. Together, these twin stages promise to offer festivalgoers something rare: a place to feel, think, move, and breathe within the wild and wondrous edges of Worthy Farm.

Amy Macdonald (Olivia Rose)

Amy Macdonald Announces New LP ‘Is This What You’ve Been Waiting For?’ + Tour Dates

Amy Macdonald’s gift for crafting positive, uplifting songs from relatable stories of triumphs, struggles and hope...
Andrew Cushin (Press)

Andrew Cushin Shares ‘New World Blazing’ Alongside Tour News

Firmly established as an artist’s artist with the likes of Noel Gallagher, Sam Fender, Louis Tomlinson and Pete Doherty all in his corner, Andrew Cushin is primed to rise to the next level with the 2nd May release of his second album Love Is For Everyone. Building upon his acclaimed debut Waiting For The Rain, he now takes the next step towards the new record by sharing the single New World Blazing.

Hurts (Press)

Hurts Celebrate 15 Years Of ‘Happiness’ With Vinyl Release And Tour

It’s been 15 years since Hurts released their debut album Happiness, a record which has since cast a towering...

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share Thing