As with Hallowe’en, New Year’s
Eve (NYE) has never ranked highly on my ‘nights to celebrate’ scale. For one reason or another years have passed, countdowns have been counted down and the parties I have attended have been satisfactory at best. This year, however, I received a small envelope at Christmas containing a ticket, which promised a night to remember if I dressed up in my best sailor suit (pirate outfit) and arrived at the Southbank centre in London before 8pm.
Yes! I had a ticket to Bellowhead‘s NYE special!
The evening itself was split into 3 sections, with the 3 Bellowhead sets central to those sections. Filling in the rest of the time were a number of folk-based activities with the slightest hint of Bellowhead silliness! Consequently we have an ABBA ceilidh, a silent disco and sea-shanties a plenty (although my woefully small knowledge of the latter meant I didn’t feel I would do my costume justice if I were to join in!).
According to the band’s social media outlets, 2200 people were expected to partake of the festivities, a large number, but strangely it never felt crowded – we easily got to the front for the Bellowhead sets with room to spare. In fact, the only time I had to queue was returning to the venue after watching the fireworks (above) from the terrace overlooking both the London Eye and the Thames.
Apart from the Bellowhead sets, the highlight of the evening had to be the silent disco. Originally conceived at the Sidmouth Folk Festival as a way of eluding the music curfew, it is a truly brilliant idea, which meant that 2 or more different musical activities could go on simultaneously in close proximity. The premise is simple, upon entering the disco arena, you are handed a set of wireless headphone, put them on, choose which of the Silent DJs you want to listen to and voilà, away you go! For me though there was no contest, his name had been batted around from the moment I heard of the gig (long before I received the ticket) – the legendary Jim Moray.
Having previously only seen Bellowhead at a seated gig, without any chance of getting up and dancing along, the chance to see them in their element was incredible. Each individual set had its own set theme (and costume) which allowed each of the various band members to get their own moment in the spotlight. And it wasn’t just band-members; the end of the second set saw Jim Moray take to the stage and lead us all in his rendition of Andy Partridge’s All You Pretty Girls and melodeon player Saul Rose snuck on stage for the grand finale.
My personal highlights however, had to be Kafoozalum (above), which won my heart the first time I heard it, and, of course the ever wonderful mindblowing 
madness that is the Sloe Gin Set.
A truly stunning night and, for the first time, an excellent New Year’s Eve. My only hope is that they do it all again next year.
Post by Mary Stokes - Meet Me
Located in the UK, music has been part of my life for a long time. I'm a classically trained violinist but have a wide range musical knowledge.
