Icons of 80s and Starsailor bring 4000 music fans to Warrington

Pics by Paul Jackson

More than 4000 music fans descended on Warrington town centre to help kick start this year’s Warrington Festival.

During a musical weekend of activity Go West, Nik Kershaw and special guests, T’Pau came together as the Icons of the 80s for one special concert experience on Warrington’s Bank Park.

T’Pau opened the show playing some new material and their biggest hits; Heart and Soul and China in Your Hand, which spent five weeks at number one back in 1987.

Go West and Nik Kershaw came together to play an amalgamated set of their own hits including We Close Our Eyes and I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me and also a number of rock and indie covers.

The crowd went wild for the 80s legends with many gig goers wearing leg warmers and tutus and waving neon glow sticks.

Then Warrington paid an official tribute to local band, Viola Beach who tragically lost their lives while on tour in Sweden earlier this year.

Starsailor, along with 13 regional artists, came together for an all-day music event on Bank Park.

Starsailor, who were performing their first outdoor headline set in Warrington, paid their own tribute to the band by performing one of their tracks, Swings and Waterslides.

The gig also included sets from Manchester indie four-piece, The Rainband who appeared at Glastonbury in June, PSYBLINGS, who played the Viola Beach celebration event at Parr Hall with The Coral and Courteeners earlier this year, and Ellie Dibben who was a support act at last year’s Warrington Festival alongside Viola Beach.

An exclusive video tribute to Viola Beach was also shown as part of the event with unseen footage of the band performing some of the tracks from their posthumous album, Viola Beach, which went to number one last month.

These two events launched a two week celebration of culture, sport and entertainment across the town which lasts until 2 October.