Friday
Vintage Trouble
If you haven’t seen this band yet you are in for a real treat. Direct from Hollywood and managed by the legendary Doc McGhee who is world famous for catapulting Guns and Roses onto the world’s stage, Vintage Trouble have one of the best live shows today. If you like Rock, Blues, Soul and Funk these guys have it all. Powerful rhythms and classic guitar work fronted by Ty Taylor, a sharp dressed James Brown styled Soul Singer whose stage presence is so magnetic you can’t stand still when you watch him. They were chosen as main support for Bon Jovi’s last UK tour and having appeared on Later with Jools through out the last twelve months they have repeatedly toured the UK and made several festival appearances. In 2012 they are destined for great things. Get ready for Trouble - Vintage Trouble – The Blues – The Soul and The Rock. Willowman's tip for the top in 2012.
Neville Staple
From The Specials The Neville Staple Band
Neville is legendary known as the original "Rude Boy" of British Ska and two tone music. His unique style of vocals (toasting) was the a for runner to rapping as we know it today.
Having served his apprenticeship in the late 70's and 80's with The Specials who had several major chart hits including "Gangsters" and "Ghost Town", a song that highlighted the down turn of employment and the winter of discontent. Neville went on to form "The Fun Boy Three" with two other former members of the Specials who went had several major chart hits including "The Lunatics have taken over the Asylum" also collaborating with Bannanarama.
Since 2004 he has constantly toured around the UK and Europe skanking his way to gaining a reputation as one of the best live acts within the word of Ska, Reggae and Two Tone music today.
In 2009 The Specials reformed to take the UK festival scene by storm. By doing so the band and it’s members opened up a whole new market place with a younger generation for Ska music ensuring it’s popularity remains part of our music culture.
Neville Staples and his band will perform all the major hits from The Specials, Fun Boy Three and other material related to Neville’s career. We are proud to present to you Neville Staples and his band - dance – dance –dance
The White Negroes
Having ripped the Willowman Festival apart in 2011 we couldn’t miss the opportunity to bring these guys back for a second helping of Hartlepool Rock!.
Their set is the liveliest you will ever experience along with a full horn section, a major tight and heavy rhythm section their unique blend of in your face rock n roll will once more leads us into temptation.
You will be lead through an intense set of original material by Mad Man "Ish" who has great stage presence. There self penned songs and roaring soul sound brings you to your feet every time. Last year we ended up with most of the audience dancing and revelling on the stage - who knows about this year.
Rhythmites
Formed in the late eighties and following the release of their debut album 'Integration' the bands popularity grew within the UK. European tours became a mainstay for the band throughout the nineties, and they gained popularity by playing both festivals and relentlessly gigging all over the UK. The band stopped working in 2000 and reformed in 2007 to play a few festivals and the band who know how to work a crowd decided to continue writing and over the next few years culminated in May 2009 when they began writing and recorded the album 'Stand Strong' released in May 2010. The album is full of Dub rythms and excellent musicianship from all areas of the band. Pulsating Reggae beats and creative vocals build up to a climax. The album has receives rave reviews and The Rythmites are back to full strength and sounding stronger than ever. Friday night at The Willowman Festival will prove to be a great opportunity for you to see such a high quality Reggae band.
Jah Wobble
Bass guitarist, singer, poet and composer John Wardle, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) but left the band after two albums. His renowned deep pulsating bass lines graced some of PiL’s finest work. Following his departure from PiL, he went on to a successful solo career continuing to the present. In late 2011 John announced his latest project in which he has rekindled his working relationship with one time fellow PiL band member and guitarist Keith Levene. The Willowman Festival are pleased to be at the for front of such a music collaboration between two excellent musicians who are still to this day remembered for some of post punks best music yet.
Project142
Project142, hail from North Yorkshire around Northallerton and are proud to be Yorkshire determined to make music that will be noticed. Describe themselves as grimey, hard hitting, heavy Drum and Bass dubstep electronica breakbeat; mixing together elements of a live band along with filthy produced beats and bass and a sic live DJ set. You WONT be disappointed!
"We are in control – You are the Experiment"
DJ Derek
An icon for many in the industry, including a host of Jamaican producers and Massive Attack. DJ Derek spent 10–18 years working as an accountant yet gave it up to play reggae in the St Paul's area of Bristol. Whose blend of 60s rocksteady. reggae ska, dancehall and soul music has made him legendary. Derek kindled his love for music as a washboard player in the 1950s and has played popular sets at many major festivals, including Glastonbury and The Big Chill. Despite never having visited Jamaica he MCs in Jamaican Patois while DJing. In 2006 he released the album "DJ Derek Presents… Sweet Memory Sounds", a compilation of some of his favourite tunes. In addition to having an encyclopaedic appreciation of the above music, DJ Derek is a notable fan of real ale and is also renowned for having visited every single Wetherspoons pub in the UK. He has also featured in Dizzee Rascal’s music video Dirtee Disco playing himself as a DJ in a disco hall for old aged pensioners. Most recently Derek was featured in an interview with Paul Merton on his BBC round Britain TV Show. We are honoured to have such an iconic figure to round the Friday night off in the Willowman Arms Real Ale Tent.
Saturday
Hugh Cornwell
As the original Singer, guitar player and main songwriter with The Stranglers, Hugh Cornwell was responsible for many of the ten albums and twenty one top forty singles including Peaches, No More Heroes, Golden Brown Nice n Sleazy, Duchess, Walk on By, Strange Little Girl, Skin Deep, Always the Sun and Grip. Hugh soon gained respect from his pears and gained a reputation as one of the UK’s leading songwriters where he still remains to this day.
More recently Hugh is once again breaking new ground and has recorded a highly acclaimed album, "Hooverdam" produced by Liam Watson, also known for the Grammy winning album White Strips' Elephant. The Willowman Festival brings Hugh and his band to the main stage on Saturday night where he will be performing many of those well-known songs. Make sure you are feeling "Nice n Sleazy" and "Don’t walk on by."
Subgiant
Subgiant gave us such a fantastic live performance at last years Willowman Festival. So much so that we have decided to bring them back to rock the 2012 line up. Electronic Drums, Bass guitar, mixing of effects and samples along with the never tiring DJ and noises bring together three very exciting musicians who will bring Saturday night at the Willowman to a dance frenzy. If you like the old rave scene then you will love Subgiant. There unique live approach brings a trance dance groove to the Willowman Festival in 2012.
Zub Zub
The band are the brain child of long-time Bass player of the Ozric Tentacles Zia Geelani, After split from his former outfit Zia along with some other former Ozric members Mindflux, Johno Egan and Alex Pym developed ZubZub into one of the most popular and greatly respected Electronic dance acts on today's UK festival circuit. Having produced three well received albums and a forth in 2011 "Primate" ZubZub will ensure we dance all night..
Hyde & Beast
As part of our "With added Sun from Sunderland" David Hyde, the drummer from Sunderland's very own Futurehead's has joined forces with the Beast Neil Bassett former drummer with Golden Virgins to create a visionary new band that have what can only be described as a retro sound mixed with Beach Boy-esk harmonies, fused with latter day iconic Beatles inspired song arrangements a unique sound creeps in and is subtly mixed with 60's classic guitar licks. A complete change of direction for David, no hard - hitting Punk style drums here boys. Well thought out sunny songs that make you feel like you are laid in the warm Californian sunshine waiting for the golden sands to be splashed with tantalising surf.
This band is The Willowman's tip for 2012 make sure you catch them on Saturday afternoon. Check out the new album "Slow Down" - they describe it as a "psychedelic mess" - masterpiece springs to mind… Hyde & Beast are also up for Xfm's New Music Award for the Best British Debut Album of the last year 2012!
John Otway
Otway shot to fame on the back of punk rock and a gymnastic performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test. His half-spoken love song "Really Free" reached number 27 in the UK Singles Chart... The song earned him a five album deal with Polydor Records, who viewed him as a punk rather than merely an eccentric. John's live performance is a journey through humour, music and madness. You Better beware, don't miss this real treat and iconic figutre at The Willowman in the Willowman Arms Bar Tent on Saturday afternoon, His 1990 autobiography, Cor Baby, That's Really Me (subtitled Rock and Roll's Greatest Failure) was a study in self-deprecation, and his touring continued to sustain him In the 1990s, he toured as "Headbutts and Halibuts". By then, Otway had realised he could use his fan base, who were in on the joke, to engage in minor publicity stunts.