If ever there was a festival about FUN it has to be Rewind, for 3 days Temple Island Meadows was transformed into a huge party, celebrating 80s pop to the max.

This was Rewind South's tenth anniversary and the organisers did it in style, with a line that included the likes of OMD, Kool & The Gang, Shalamar, Jimmy Somerville, Marc Almond and Midge Ure.  

The arena was fairly small with the main stage which played host to non stop music, behind the traders were 2 smaller stages The Riverside Stage had live music, while the Forever Stage had a bit of everything, comedy, silent disco and Martin Kemp.

The 

Saturday

Neighbours heartthrob Jason Donavon set was just what the crowd ordered non stop sing alongs, including 'Any Dream Will Do', 'Too Many Broken Hearts' and 'Especially For You'.  Next up it was Nik Kershaw a few grey hairs, but his voice shows no signs of ageing as he blasted out the likes of  'The Riddle', before inviting Chesney Hawkes to duet on 'Wouldn't It Be Good',  Chesney Hawkes was called back on stage for a rousing rendition of  'The One and Only'.

The highlight of the day was Midge Ure, it seemed hardly fair that an artist with such a rich back catalogue was only given half an hour, his set wasn't so much mystic and soulful, but more honest to god rock with a smiley face.  The set incorporated tracks by Visage, Ultravox and his own solo work, including 'Fade to Grey', 'Dancing With Tears In My Eyes', 'If I Was' and of course 'Vienna'.

Marc Almond walking on stage was the cue for thousands of inflatable flamingos to be raised in the air, 

Funk and soul legends Kool & The Gang headlined Saturday night at Rewind South, getting people of all generations on their feet and dancing to their classics 'Celebration', 'Get Down On It', 'Ladies Night' and 'Cherish'. Billy Ocean took a moment from his set to pay tribute to the late Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin with a rendition of 'I Say A Little Prayer For You'. Screams reached fever pitch when 80s heartthrob Jason Donovan hit the stage to perform his pop hits 'Too Many Broken Hearts' and 'Especially For You'. Nik Kershaw is testament that great songs live forever, with 'The Riddle' and 'Wouldn't It Be Good' sounding just as good today as they did the first time we heard it. Nik brought out Chesney Hawkes to duet on 'Wouldn't It Be Good' before Chesney led the crowd on a lung-busting sing-along to his signature tune 'The One and Only'.

Midge Ure thrilled with killer performances of 'Vienna', 'Fade to Grey' and 'Dancing With Tears In My Eyes' while Marc Almond took us back with 'Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go' and 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye'. Shalamar brought a burst of R&B and disco into the mix with 'A Night to Remember' and 'I Can Make You Feel Good', and Howard Jones served up great portions of synth-pop including 'What Is Love?' and 'Like To Get To Know You Well'. Earlier in the day, From The Jam opened the main stage with an electrifying set, quickly followed by The Orchestra (former members of ELO) who got the crowd warmed up with classics like 'Evil Woman' and 'Xanadu'.

On Sunday, Rewind South closed its 10th birthday celebration with a bang. Crowd favourites OMD blazed through a breathless hour-long set of all their best-loved records like 'Enola Gay', 'Tesla Girls', 'Joan of Arc' and many more. It was high spirits and even higher notes with Jimmy Somerville and the Rewind Big Band getting the crowd dancing to 'Smalltown Boy' and disco classics 'Never Can Say Goodbye' and 'Don't Leave Me This Way', which he performed with Sarah Jane Morris of The Communards. Pop-rock queen Kim Wilde was a force of nature, strutting across the main stage with 'Kids in America', 'You Keep Me Hanging On' and 'Pop Don't Stop' from her new album "Here Come The Aliens". Roachford, China Crisis and Paul Carrack provided the perfect soundtrack to a summery Sunday afternoon. Carrack performed classics from his illustrious career including 'Over My Should' (Mike + The Mechanics) and 'Tempted' (Squeeze). Elsewhere Heaven 17, Roland Gift, T'Pau, Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins, Doctor & The Medics kept the hit machine going.




Rewind Festival returns in 2019 at the following dates: Rewind Scotland (Scone Palace, Perth) 19 - 21 July, Rewind North (Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire) 2 - 4 August, and Rewind South (Temple Island Meadows, Henley-on-Thames) 16 - 18 August.