First ever Let's Rock Shrewsbury gets Gold reception from 80s fans
Thousands of retro fans lapped up a day filled with cheesy hits and classic ballads.
Some of the 80s' biggest names rocked Shrewsbury's Quarry Park with over 10 and a half hours of cheesy hits and classic ballads.
A crowd of thousands ignored the bad weather forecast to see their childhood heroes and teenage crushes in the flesh at the Let's Rock Shrewsbury retro festival on Saturday.
It was the first time that the event had been help in Shrewsbury after similar festivals had been held in Bristol, Exeter, Leeds, Norwich, Southampton and London.
WATCH: Shrewsbury rocks out at retro festival
From Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley to ABC, the line-up featured a who's who of 80s heart-throbs – and the audience soaked up every second they were on stage.
Other performers on the bill included Brother Beyond, Jaki Graham, Clare Grogan and Altered Images and Nick Heyward.
The Real Thing, Heaven 17 and Nik Kershaw played in the evening, and the night was rounded off by Billy Ocean.
Among the acts was Shrewsbury's very own Carol Decker, playing some of her biggest T'Pau hits.
"This is a special moment for me," she said. "Come on Shrewsbury – welcome me home."
Away from the stage armed police were on hand mingling with the crowds.
The first act on stage was Tony Hadley, playing a combination of cover songs and hits from his days as the lead singer of Spandau Ballet.
"We've got a fantastic job up on this stage," he said, to cheers from the crowd.
"The sun is shining and you're all fantastic. Shrewsbury is a musical place.
"And what's so great is to see so many young people here. Who is Tony Hadley? Don't worry – your parents will tell you."
He played covers of Queen's Somebody to Love and Stereophonic's Dakota, as well as a handful of others, which involved a great deal of audience participation.
But it was when he was singing his own hits – particularly Gold and True – that the crowds were at their most wild.
As the day continued and further acts took to the stage, the audience only seemed to enjoy themselves more – despite high wind meaning that some of the people further back struggled to hear at times.
Clare Grogan, of Altered Images, jumped around the stage having lost none of the energy she had more than 30 years ago.
"Do you see how I've brought a little bit of Glasgow with me?" she asked when it started to rain.
She sang I Could Be Happy, Don't Talk to Me About Love and read a list of people celebrating their birthdays before singing Happy Birthday.
Between songs she joked with the audience and other members of the band, but took a few moments to speak about the terrorist attack in Manchester last week.
"It's been a tough week," she said. "For some it's been tougher than others. The worst week ever.
"Let Manchester hear our roar of love."
Everybody in the crowd said they'd enjoyed the day – but many of them had come specifically for one or two acts that meant the most to them when they were growing up.
For some this was the first chance they'd had to see their idols in the flesh, and few of them left disappointed.
Clare Mahony and Michelle Player travelled from Birmingham for the festival to see Tony Hadley, and said it had been well worth the trip.
Michelle said: "That was a childhood dream.
"Tony Hadley was all over my walls when I was a teenager, but this is the first time I've seen him in the flesh.
"The tears were flowing. He absolutely lived up to my expectations."
Paul Wonnacott from Crewe, 49, said: "It was a bit quiet because of the way the wind was blowing.
"The missus is a big fan of Spandau Ballet and she really enjoyed Tony Hadley.
"I think festivals that bring together a whole range of retro acts are great. I've been to this sort of thing before, and it's all good fun."
Kate and Glynn Burrows took advantage of the Quarry's green landscape to set themselves up under a tree out of the way of the main crowd. They said it was the perfect spot to avoid the bad weather and see the stage.
"The 80s are pretty much our era," Glynn said.
"We met in the 80s. We danced to these songs," Kate added.
"Tony Hadley is a crooner – he's excellent.
"It the first time we've been here and it's fantastic actually. I like the fact that you can go in and out. If there's a break, you can go and have a bite to eat or a drink and come back in whenever you want. You're not penned in for 12 hours.
"There's a good section down the back where it's all mellowed out too."
Families had brought blankets and clothes for so that they could enjoy the full day of music regardless of the weather.
At the back of the sectioned off area of the Quarry was a bar and food stalls, and many of the crowd set themselves up nearby to watch the bands perform from afar.
Nearer the front were the more dedicated fans, who jumped around, joined in with every chorus and cheered at the end of every song.
But if the singing that could be heard across the town and the happy faces at the end of it all was anything to go by, Shrewsbury loved its first Let's Rock.
