Rockaoke Heads To Winchester!

OK, two more dates and our merry musical meandering with the fine Rockaoke gang will be coming to an end. Next up is O'Neill's, Winchester on Thursday 29th...don't miss it (As you can see, you can even do it with a limb in a sling...!)

DJs and playlists from Bestival

Ben asked us over on Facebook who the DJs were at Bestival that played at the end of every night and what they were playing. Well, being the super-helpful people that we are, here's a reminder of some of the songs you lot were dancing to as you enjoyed your Gaymers. And as for the top ten most requested songs in Vinyl Corner? We think some of you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Anyway, enjoy remembering those good times at Bestival, now that Summer seems so far away . .

Friday - Played by Nadia Robertson & Natalie Murray

Last Rhythm Remix Featuring Silvie Carter

She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult

Enjoy The Silence - Depeche Mode

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac

Saturday - Played by Jen Kamolwan & Nadia Robertson

My Life - Talk Talk

All Night Long - Lionel Richie

Sunday - Played by Jen Kamolwan & Natalie Murray

'Ain't no Mountain High Enough' by Inner Life

Shoot That Poison Arrow - ABC

I Want Your Love - Chic

Fifth of Beethoven - Walter Murphy, Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Inner Life

Everybody All Over The World - FPI Project

Love & Pride - King

Temptation - Heaven 17

Steph Burton-Wilson played the 10 – 12 slots and her playlist included:

Blue Monday - New Order

Mr Blue Sky - E.L.O

Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi

Gonna Make you Sweat - C&C Music Factory

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

Gonna Dance with somebody - Whitney Houston

Love & Pride – King

Most requested songs according to Steph:

Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi (about 100 times at Bestival!)

Sweet child o mine - Guns n Roses (a close second at about 50 times)

Outer Space - Prodigy

Song 2 - Blur

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

Most requested songs in the cider garden, according to Nat:

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

Grace Jones - Slave to The Rhythm

Michael Jackson - Rock With You

David Bowie - Let's Dance

The Doors - LA Woman

The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary

The Rolling Stones - Miss You

The Kooks - Ooh La

Johnny Cash - Personal Jesus

Cream - Sunshine of Your Love

Aberdeen - Are You Ready to Rockaoke?

Watch out Aberdeen, the full Gaymers "Let's Rockaoke" experience hits O'Neill's this Thursday! It's already rocked 19 other O'Neill's up and down the UK and was a major draw in our Cider Garden in the festival-summer, so don't miss it. As Chris Moyles so succinctly said: "It's such a good idea! Get a band - and then you do Karaoke". See you there...

Say hello to Fiona and Rhodri at Gaymers

After spending the summer running around the country making sure that Gaymers' sponsorship of the festival season went super-smoothly, Gaymers Music HQ managed to corner Rhodri and Fiona and ask them a question or two about what they do at Gaymers and the music they love.

In the future Rhodri and Fiona are both going to get involved in a bit of blogging action over here. For now though, here's what they told us . . .

Fiona Lovatt

Job title at Gaymers: Marketing Controller

So what do you actually do at Gaymers?: Look after marketing on all our brands with special focus on Gaymers, basically trying to let more people know about Gyamers and encourage them to give it a try

First single/album bought: Single - 'Half Way Down The Stairs' by Kermit the Frog & the Muppets, Album - Boney M, 'Nightflight to Venus'

Last single/album bought: Single - downloaded 'Maybe I'm Amazed' by Paul McCartney, Album - Temper Trap, 'Conditions'

Secret (and maybe guilty) music pleasure: Crowded House & Dolly Parton

Favourite bands: Rolling Stones, Ray Lamontagne

First gig: Aha at the Blackpool Opera House 1987

Best gig ever (non-festival): Rolling stones at the O2 September 2007

Best festival experience: Verve on the Sunday night at Glastonbury 2008, Guy Garvey talking about our Gaymers inflatable apple at Bestival 2009

Best lyric ever: Rolling Stones, 'Shine A Light' - "May the good lord shine a light on you, make every song your favourite tune"

Favourite gig venue: Brixton Academy

Top tip for surviving a year's worth of gigs/festivals: baby wipes and Primark pumps

What three websites could you not live without?: BBC News, Ticketmaster and TheTrainline.com

Rhodri Williams

Job title at Gaymers: Brand Manager

So what do you actually do at Gaymers?: I look after our festival involvement, the Gaymers Cider Garden and Gaymers Grassroots Gigs campaign

First single/album bought: Single - No idea, must have been awful! Album - Michael Jackson's 'Bad'

Last single/album bought: Single - 'Daniel' by Bat for Lashes, Album - 'The First Days of Spring' by Noah and the Whale

Secret (and maybe guilty) music pleasure: Early 90's 'Madchester' bands & Jamiroquai

Favourite bands: The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Stereophonics, Foo Fighters

First gig: The Stereophonics, Cardiff CIA

Best gig ever (non-festival): The Rolling Stones, Millennium Stadium

Best festival experience: The end of night snow storm in the dance tent, Glastonbury

Best lyric ever: 'I still miss you baby...but my aim's getting better'

Favourite gig venue: The Forum (you can get Gaymers draught in the Bull & Gate next door!)

Top tip for surviving a year's worth of gigs/festivals: Don't mix your drinks

What three websites could you not live without?: BBC Sport, AA Routefinder, Google images (for presentations!)

So there you go. We all know a little bit more about Rhodri and Fiona. Watch out for more from them soon on the blog. We're off to listen to Kermit the Frog right this second.

Bestival - Everything's Going Swimmingly

Oh boy, are you ready for that long swim to the IoW for Bestival? Yes? No? Whatever the case, remember to raise a glass of Somerset's finest apple or pear cider to those brave enough to undertake that charity swim. Make sure you come and see us in our Cider Garden...also home to this summer's festival favourite, Rockaoke...currently still on tour in O'Neill's round the UK (next one is Leicester on the 16th). We're can't quite believe the festival 'season' is nearly over and are getting quite sentimental...especially about good ol' Glasto; what a year for the big one, eh? We're still positively brimming with Glasto and cider-related trivia - did you know that we press enough apples a year to give everyone at the festival 600 each of that lovely fruit? Or that when the first Glasto started in 1970, we'd been making cider for exactly 200 years (and Hendrix had been dead for just a day) which is pretty darn impressive (we think)! Anyway, here's a few links for fun and to get you well and truly in suitable Swansong mode; the first is for Bestival's new and ever-so-cool iPhone App; the second is for a lovely Spotify playlist courtesy of GeoffB, via shareyplaylist.com. Nice...

Bestival's Calling and DJ Derek Is Waiting...

We're in a suitably 'spectacular' mood in advance of this year's Bestival. There can't be many small islands around the world that have such an impressive rock 'n' roll heritage (that includes you, Australia) - the roll call of quality musicians who've landed on its shores beggars belief. The IoW started hosting festivals in '68 and three glorious years saw the likes of Marc Bolan, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison and Jim Morrison all welcomed. Strangely, after such auspicious beginnings, the festivals fizzled out and it wouldn't be for another 32 years until the stars descended again. In the meantime, the island had to make do with a few years of musical glory in the form of one of its ex-milkman Mark King and his band, Level 42. Anyway, '02 welcomed back rock royalty in the form of er...Hundred Reasons and The Coral. Hmm, well Robert Plant was there and Ash put on a great show, at least! Anyway, the following years saw the star factor rise and Neil Young, Mick Jagger, Iggy, Lou Reed, etc. all made appearances. Bestival itself has been a part of the island's musical life since '04 - and bands seem to love coming back; Hot Chip, for instance, have made no less than 4 appearances. This year's line-up is a cracker - from the chilly Teutonic tunes of Kraftwerk, the electro-beats of MGMT to era-defining tunes from classy Bristolians Massive Attack, the big acts are really out in force. Further down the enormous line-up, there's masses to choose from - BUT...our hot tip has got to be DJ Derek. Who? Well, this bespectacled, 67 year old ex-accountant who MCs in Jamaican patois (despite never having visited the island) has been a much-loved and credible part of the Bristolian music scene for years. If he's good enough for a Massive Attack after-show party, he's definitely worth a listen; don't miss him.

Ready to "Rumble"? (you'll see why below...)

OK, with our last festival (that'd be Bestival) nearly upon us, we thought it'd be fun to have a look at the story behind some of the names of bands we've been enjoying this summer. The official title of such musical (or non-musical for that matter) mulling is 'etymology'. There, now you know. Anyway, here's a few near-legendary stories behind the names: 'Faith No More' (named after a horse they saw on a betting form); 'Duran Duran' (from the villain in the cult Sci-fi film, Barbarella, Dr. Durand-Durand); 'ZZ Top' (a combination of wanting to sound like their hero, BB King...and borrowing the 'ZZ' from another Texan Bluesman, ZZ Hill); 'Radiohead' (after what they called the 'least annoying' song on Talking Heads' album, True Stories!); and, finally, what must be our favourite of the summer...'The Rumblestrips' ("one of a series of rough or slightly raised strips of pavement on a highway, intended to slow down the speed of vehicles, as before a toll booth" - ahem! and thank-you, Leicestershire County Council for that eloquent description). Aside from these, the No. 1 etymology-ism (is that a word?) in our book is that of the classic and often wayward US rock band, The Replacements. According to musical legend, the nascent group were given a gig after one band failed to show; when asked who they were, they said...you guessed it..."We're the Replacements"...ah, pure class!

Nothing Evil About Either Twin!

Well, Reading and Leeds, you did us proud....not least with Radiohead rocking the last night of the former by opening with all-time classic 'Creep'. The Arctics held up nicely at Leeds after the turbo-charged mayhem of The Prodigy with only their second gig since the release of 'Humbug' - showing that they can keep themselves fresh and relevant while many contemporaries stagnate.

Which is certainly what Mr. Patrick Wolf didn't do during his frankly manic Reading performance - he's rapidly turning into one of Britain's most watchable performers, love or hate his pop-tastic tunes. One of our favourite bands, the mighty Maccabees, put in another great festival show, as did Ealing's White Lies. It was heartening to see old heavies Faith No More hold onto a fair few of the crowd on their stage when many departed to see the Followill Bros. rock out on the main one. They also raised a big smile with their cover of the 'Eastenders' theme tune! Anyway, for two festivals separated by so many miles - and age - this year's 'twin-ing' was a great one...and we think a lot better than the imagined line-up (above) could have produced!

Twins - Separated At Birth? (Win yourself some Gaymers!)

About ten years ago we think it was the Daily Mail which pointed out an alarming similarity between Noel Gallagher and 'Parker', the famously moribund chauffeur of Lady Penelope in 'Thunderbirds'. It gained so much publicity that Elton John even threw the comparison at him in an outburst of pop star hissy-fitting. So, with the twin delights of Reading and Leeds soon upon us, we've come up with some other possible 'Twins - Separated at Birth?' examples from the world of music.

If you're over 18 and can come up with some others, you'll win yourself a case of Somerset's finest; best three 'twin-ings' get a case!

Right, here we go - and you may need to bear with us on some of these!

1. Caleb Followhill and Dominic Monaghan

2. Thom Yorke and Yoda (image credit)

3. Michael Stipe and Leonardo of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

4. Noel Gallagher and 'Parker' from the 'Thunderbirds'

5. Billy Corgan and Dr. Evil (image credit)

6. Keith Richards and Captain Jack Sparrow (well, Mr. Depp did base the character on Keef, after all) (image credit)

7. Gaz Coombs and Zira from Planet of the Apes (image credit)

8. Romeo Stodart of the Magic Numbers and Justin Lee Collins (image credit)

9. Roger Daltrey (The Who) and Sarah Jessica Parker (no, really!) (image credit)

10. Brian May (Queen) and Anita Dobson (easy one, that - they're even married! (image credit)

How's that for starters?! Now leave your suggestions in the comments, post them on our Facebook wall or @reply us on Twitter and we'll pick our favourites at the end of play on Tuesday next week. Eeach person will get a case of Gaymers as fast as our little hands can get it to them.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun (in the Cider Garden and Tree House)

And so, as the festivals fly by, we reflect on the events of the past couple of months and look forward to what’s up next…

In June, The King of Pop sadly left the building (probably moon-walking, lets face it) and a stormy Glastonbury followed on that rather gloomy note…..but undeterred, the famously hardy faithful dried their eyes and enjoyed what was the most memorable Glasto for years.

Highlights included Friday night’s sublime Fleet Foxes, the crowd-pleasing Lily Allen, and of course the legendary and freshly reformed Specials. Saturday night belonged to ‘The Boss’ and his particular brand of flag-waving ‘stars and stripes' stadium rock, while Sunday served up some classic Madness and brought a high-octane and much lauded performance from reformed estuary boys, Blur - pure Glasto gold.

July now, and along came London’s lovely Lovebox and with it the incredible, gravity-defying, Gaymers Treehouse...just how nice was that? The likes of Duran Duran kept the oldies happy with their musical trip down memory lane, while Bombay Bicycle Club, The Boxer Rebellion and N.E.R.D kept up the youthful interest with slightly more, well, cutting-edge sets.

On to Latitude in sunny Suffolk; complete with our Cider Garden Experience. Friday night belonged to pop gods the Pet Shop Boys, plus Squeeze and Bat for Lashes - a fantastically eclectic line-up. Saturday was taken over by a cracking set from The Doves and headlined by an uncompromising, if strangely hatted, Grace Jones, leaving Sunday memorable for the 'darkness' of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (and a beautiful acoustic set from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke)

Dorset’s Camp Bestival was next, bringing with it the delights of Mercury Rev and a back-on-form Kid Creole…..and that was just day one. Polly Harvey stamped her authority on the Saturday night slot with a classic performance, while Candi Staton and 70s legends Chic gave us a disco-double to strut our funky (well, wet weather) stuff to.

All these shenanigans leave us with nothing left to do but look forward to the terrific twins of the festival family in just two weeks time...come on Reading and Leeds!

Let's Rockaoke

It's true, we're taking Rockaoke on the road - the stars of our Cider Garden are going to be popping up in 21 O'Neills Pubs between Monday 3rd August and the 6th November! It's the least we could do to celebrate Gaymers going on draught in this fine pub chain...so come along and 'live the dream'! All you need to do is (a) turn up - check the dates in the pic above by clicking on it; (b) get up on stage; (c) pick your rock, indie, pop or even punk classic song and (d) belt it out with the boys!

Giving Our Best to Bestival

Well, Ms. Harvey really delivered on Saturday - looking and sounding as amazing as ever and putting on a stunning acoustic set. She treated the suitably wowed crowd to fantastic new songs such as ‘Let England Shake’ and ‘The Last Living Rose’ (sparking rumours of a upcoming ‘English inspired’ new album) alongside die-hard favourites, like ‘C’mon Billy’ and ‘Down By The Water’ - absolutely unforgettable!

The same time that evening and splitting the Gaymers camp in two, The Cuban Brothers exploded onto ‘their’ stage! Beginning with Miguel Mantovani (Mike Keat) being carried on a throne through the crowd to said stage, they proceeded to add impossible amounts of energy and extravagance to a fiercely entertaining and crowd pleasing set.

(Incidentally, note must be made of the performance on Saturday afternoon of the mad Welsh ‘gangstas’, Goldie Lookin’ Chain - the fun-lovin’ Dorset ‘posse’ lapped them up!)

An overcast and rainy Sunday ensued, but spirits soared again thanks to some infectious disco from Candi Staton… a sea of ‘pac-a-macs’ defiantly grooved against the stunning backdrop of the castle. Other highlights of the final day were a cracking set from the returning Dub Pistols who unleashed their eclectic blend of Hip-Hop, Ska, and Breakbeat on the seemingly tireless crowd, an awesome set from Camp Bestival’s very own Rob Da Bank and 70s R&B/disco legends Chic, shaking their funky ‘thang’ one more time.

Not much time to recover before we do it all again at Leeds and Reading! It’s a hard job…

Dorset's Rock Daughter Is Coming...

The appearance of Dorset's own PJ Harvey is being hugely anticipated down at Camp Bestival - with a full day of sunshine, the spirits are high and the likes of Beardyman have really got the crowd going. Even more exciting than being able to watch Ms Harvey's only UK show is the fact that it's going to be a completely acoustic set...should be pretty amazing. Tomorrow's big attractions include 70s disco/RnB sensations Chic, the legendary Candi Staton and the returning Dub Pistols. Wrapping things up at the end of Sunday will be a major son et lumiere show...performance courtesy of the English National Ballet and music courtesy of the festival's own Rob Da Bank.

Dorset Set to Wake The Dinosaurs?

Well, Rhodri's on the Jurrasic Coast at the moment checking out the beautiful boutiqueness of Camp Bestival. 2008's 'Best New Festival' in the UK Festival Awards (dubbed 'Perfect' by The Flaming Lips, no less, last year) has some luxury accommodation going for it, though Rhodri's assured us he's going to be using his Millets 'festival special'.

Right now he's checking that the Gaymers cider is flowing...and looking forward to catching sight of the likes of Mercury Rev, Chic and the West Country's finest, PJ Harvey.

There's 'only' a 20% chance of rain tomorrow, looks like sun....so this bash is set to be a whole lot of fun...our tips for festival success are Ian Dury-esque rapper Roots Manuva, the lovely Miss Laura Marling and Southern soul legend Candi Staton (there's GOT to be a big chance she'll be making an appearance alongside Florence and the Machine when they cover 'You've Got The Love'...surely?!). Anyway, the fossils (and the younger crowd) will certainly be rocking this weekend!

Weekend fun at Latitude at Lovebox

So, that was all rather enjoyable. Latitude and Lovebox sponsorship all in one weekend.

So, the weather had its ups and downs (quite a lot of downs at Latitude), but on the whole from what we've seen and heard - you guys had a whole lot of fun getting into some amazing live music and sampling a Gaymers or few.

Highlights for us include the Thom Yorke set at Latitude and Groove Armada showcasing some new stuff as well as the classics to close yet another great Lovebox. Oh and the treehouse. We loved it and you most certainly loved it.

If you've kept an eye on the blog and Twitter you;ll have already seen some pics and heard a few things about what we've been up to - but as soon as we can, we'll stick up our "professional" photos on Flickr. In the meantime, check out what everyone else has been sharing on Twitter, Flickr and everywhere else on the web.

And we'll leave you with this fan recording of Thom Yorke debuting new song 'The Present Tense' at Latitude .

Bonus feature . Just before closing down, we stumbled on this . . . possibly the best mashup ever made - Nirvana V Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit Up . We like.

Lovebox Loveliness...

Here's what you can look forward to tomorrow.....make sure you come! The Gaymers Stage and truly tree-rific (sorry) Treehouse in full cider-effect!

Loveboxed Out...

OK. We can't camp. But we want to stay. Please. What a top festival. Look, here's a cartoon-ish birds-eye-ish view to enjoy...........come tomorrow, please do!

Rockaoke has 'morphed'!

Nice outfits! These were the last pix from Latitude for Rhodri (just arrived - it's been sloooooow getting these images), he left a while ago for London's oldest park (nice bit of trivia there) and some Lovebox action - to include a trip to the treetops, where our bar is located!

Come into the Cider Garden at Latitude...

This looks very inviting from where we're sat...this is where Rockaoke is in full-effect...next post will show us exactly what's been going on with it (pix been promised by Rhodri)...before he heads off to Lovebox!

Not that we've...

...got an inflated opinion of ourselves!

Squeeze Pleeze...

Word(s) from our roaming man and woman in the field(s) at Latitude are that (a) Little Boots sounded amazing...but they didn't have a hope of seeing her as it was so packed and (b) Squeeze played out some of their wry Cock-ernee tales acoustic-stylee, which went down a storm with the packed tent. The PSBs were amazing too....an AV extravaganza no less, exploding glitter, giant orange cubes on heads, dancers dressed as, er, skyscrapers, etc. etc. Oh, and apparently, the main arena's closed for 'elf & safety checks at the mo'.. and there seems to be a bit of debate going on re. the drainage at Latitude vs. Glasto (diff. soil types, apparently! "It's like listening to a dinner party conversation in Hampstead", apparently!). Anyway, the final highlight from yesterday was Ms. Hynde and the Pretenders ripping through some classic tracks, while spraying her typically caustic wit around the arena..."please rain", "you're a bunch of pikeys", etc! (Pikeys? Hardly! I think someone should have alerted her to the previous conversation!). Anyway, Rhodri and Fiona are looking fwd to a fun-packed day....all set to end with a genuine diva of pop, the oh-so-scary but hugely talented Ms. Grace Jones at the Obelisk Arena! Click on that link for her at Bestival 2008, amazing...

Obscure Ashes+Music Reference

There's something of a neatness to the Ashes getting interesting yesterday and the appearance today of a band at Latitude that's inspired by an obscure cricketing mathematical formula. Appearing at the Uncut Arena, The Duckworth Lewis Method is comprised of Neil Hannon from The Divine Comedy and Thomas Walsh from the Dublin band, Pugwash. The name's taken from the formula used to settle rain-affected one-day matches and the boys will be playing songs about (what else) Pakistani batsman Javed Miandad, Shane Warne+Mike Gatting and a tribute to Test Match Special! The tunes will suit the laid-back vibe of Latitude and fans of Hannon's day job will enjoy the wordsmithery. Other big attractions today are Chrissie Hynde and her returning Pretenders, Kiwi pop songstress Ladyhawke and the pop masters that are The Pet Shop Boys (still basking from their Outstanding Contribution to Music from this year's BRITS). Other notables that the Gaymers boys and girls on the ground might be checking out are the mighty Squeeze, Bat for Lashes and post-punk Manc legends, Magazine (all at The Uncut Arena; do drop into the Gaymers Cider Garden as you head that way).

Tree Top Teaser....

....just been sent these pix of our Gaymers Tree House in situ at Lovebox...it looks great! Make sure you pop up when London's loveliest festival starts - grab a cider and soak up the view. Things are hotting up at Latitude too...the music starts tomorrow...looking forward to hearing back from Rhodri and Fiona about how the Cider Garden's going...

Off to Eden

Well, our summer Rock odyssey continues....Rhodri's rolling on down Cornwall-way to check out Oasis at the Eden Project tonight (all in aid of 'research' we're assured!). Meanwhile, we're all manic getting prepared for the double whammy of Latitude and Lovebox this weekend. Four days of sublime Southwold shenanigans starts this Thursday, while Lovebox kicks off in London's Victoria Park on Saturday. We're jumping between the two to make sure the cider flows and to catch as much of the musical action as we can. Excitement is mounting over watching Groove Armada play some new tracks live for the first time on Sunday at Lovebox - some of them sound ace (check out http://www.lovebox.net). The other big news from Lovebox is that Mark Ronson's joining his heroes Duran Duran on-stage on Saturday...should be fun. Finally, can we just ask exactly when did this part of Suffolk re-brand itself, American-state stylee, as 'The Sunrise Coast'?

Glasto Gaymer'd & Out

So, farewell Glasto 2009 - as the Beeb have been saying all weekend, it's really been the best one in a long time. Loads of amazing comebacks and some very (very) welcome first time appearances. Blur tonight were amazing - a few demons exorcised/excused with both Country House and Song No. 2, so thanks boys! The Prodigy were also back on form, louder and visually more stunning than ever before - and it was amazing to see a new generation of fans adopt them as their own. A few years in the wilderness has done them no harm at all. Anyway, take care to everyone wending their weary way home tonight and tomorrow....we've no time to waste as London's lovely Lovebox festival awaits! Cheers.

Pear Cider To Fergie

Oh yes, a claim to fame for the Gaymers Glasto bunch. Rhodri texted us to say that he'd personally carted round a case of pear cider to the Black Eyed Peas backstage area at the Jazz World Stage a couple of hours ago...!

Saturday into Sunday...

Yesterday, the Boss looked like he just, well, bossed it with a joyous set...and simultaneously Mr. Justin Vernon (AKA 'Bon Iver') apparently managed to elicit a huge satisfied sigh from The Park Stage crowd. The assembled masses at that stage were also treated to a surprise and rollicking gig courtesy of The Klaxons...in full costume-effect. Big disappointments/surprises for us? Well, maybe Spinal Tap are best remembered from the film....and we were gutted that Mr. Young didn't join his old mates CSN onstage, but Quo reprised all the energy of their amazing Live Aid performance all those years ago...no, really. Talking of all those years ago....The Specials, WOW, what a show....and pure genius to end with Ghost Town. It's now building for the appearance of Blur and The Prodigy.....the Gaymer's gang on the ground are reportedly split over who gets their vote...

Off for the Boss

Blimey. It's Saturday night already and time is flying by. As predicted, the Gaymers is going down rather well and the rain hasn't stopped the fun one bit.

Bruce Springsteen is massive at Glasto this year and tonight is all about the 'Steen' - live on the Pyramid stage in a bit and just witnessed on the John Peel Stage doing a surprise session with The Gaslight Anthem. NME gives us the full detail (we love the 'Bruuuccce' chants in particular):

"To shouts of "Bruuuccce", the grinning singer/guitarist started playing along with the band to their 2008 single 'The '59 Sound', playing a guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Springsteen, dressed in black, shared a microphone with fellow New Jersey resident Fallon as they sang the chorus together before he left the stage to huge applause."

So, as we wait for the big guy to take to the stage, here's some classic Springsteen courtesy of the YouTube. Oh and here's a collection of clips of people at Glasto singing Springsteen. Some good and some, er, not so good.

And definitely not as good as the man himself - here he is belting out Born in the USA in Paris, 1985. Bring it on.

Jacko stuff....maybe at Glasto too?

Planned mass moonwalk at Liverpool St. station!

New Technology

The Interweb, Twitter....now these devices! Whatever next?

Morning.

After the sad news of last night, it's a suitably grey wet day...we're also sorry to report that there may be some thundery nonsense on the way too. But - it's now looking like the weekend might even be....wait for it....dry. Anyway, highlights of today's Pyramid performances might just be from Terry Hall and his gang, the sublime Fleet Foxes and Glasto's US Rock Icon No.1, Mr. Young. Elsewhere, look out for Kanye West's favourite Englishman, Mr. Hudson (Other Stage) and the Rumble Strips (John Peel Stage)....described by DailyMusicGuide.com as "Undoubtedly perfect summer festival music".

Just in - going the extra (Gaymer's) mile...

Morning. This picture has 'just' come in from yesterday afternoon - is it busy down there or something? And how's this for dedicated or what?

Michael Jackson's dead...

...which is sad.

Specials trivia: Terry Hall wrote 'Our Lips Are Sealed' for the Go-Gos originally and then recorded it with Fun Boy Three. It's subsequently been murdered by some American related-teenagers, but a rather nice version with him co-singing it is now on Nouvelle Vague's 3rd album, just out! Interestingly, Rolling Stone named it as one of the Top 100 Greatest Pop songs of all time. So there. Talking of Nouvelle Vague...there's also a brilliant version of 'Ca Plane Pour Moi' on that album..took some doing!

Win Some Reading/Leeds 2010 Tickets

If you're still heading to Glastonbury and going past a Tesco in Shepton Mallet, or an Asda in Yeovil/Bridgewater/Taunton/ Frome/Highbridge...grab a Gaymers festival pack (choose from Gaymers Original or Pear....oh yeah); there's a chance to win tickets to Reading/Leeds next year.

The Low Anthem....

6 Music's just played 'Charlie Darwin'....if you like the sound of the Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver, you'll love these guys - don't miss them, they've got 3 sets at Glasto coming up. Lovely folk rock...

Here comes the sun...

Best Glasto rhyme from Twitter earlier when it all started getting a mite wet...."It's raining, it's pouring, there's mud, not grass for flooring". Nice one, solarpilchard!

Pre-Festival Cider? Try The Rifleman's Arms in Glastonbury

http://tinyurl.com/npzpet

Our Own Circle of Trust

The Gaymers gang are all on-site! Well, apart from us saddos back here, that is. NOT jealous, NOT jealous...we hear the Beeb will have some excellent televisual coverage...

6 Music

Oh Lordy. 6 Music has just said there's going to be torrential rain tomorrow and probably for the rest of the festival...but the lovely Emily Eavis quickly reminded us of the Glastonbury spirit....chins up!

The First Wave!

Here we go, folks...it's getting exciting now! Rhodri's our man on the ground and he's sent in these pix....it's proper counting-down time! We're really not sure what those fellas are doing here (maybe 5-a-side?), but look at those tents in the other pic - time to bag your 'pitch' (erm, it's a technical phrase), attach something memorable to it and get in the mood...

Other Gaymers Musical Shenanigans...

Before we forget, we started this blog just as Glasto was about to start, but it seems mad to miss saying anything about all our other Gaymers Music work? First off, here's a quick look back at three urban festivals....

1. Gaymers Camden Crawl Blog/The Great Escape/Liverpool Sound City
We kicked off this year’s musically-minded marketing with Camden – and even got to stick our name right alongside it. It’s one of the oldest (if not the oldest) music festivals and had everything going for it this year – from Suggs & Co. trundling round in an open-top bus to Graham Coxon pulling a surprise gig. The Great Escape was seaside rock at its best – Evan Dando even showed up, while Hockey delivered a storming set at Hector’s House. Liverpool’s a musical force way beyond most cities round the world, so it wasn’t surprising that Sound City more than lived up to its name, while even its website looked as classy as ever.

and then....

2. Gaymers Grassroots Gigs
We ran six more of these in April-May. As per 2008, the format saw bands returning to their home towns for an intimate gig in a place that was special to them way back when. Bands this year were - The Zutons, Starsailor, The Rumble Strips, The Twang, The Holloways and The Maccabees. You can catch each performance on the mighty Channel 4.

Gaymers Music First Blog Post...

The Gang of Four may have re-formed this year, but the big music news must be the first ever blog post from the ‘Gaymers Gang of Five’, surely? No? Oh well. Anyway, here we are – Fiona, Rhodri, Matt, Jonathan and Martin.

Over the next four months, we’ll be your guides to all that’s musical in the world of Gaymers. And there’s a lot – from past exploits at the Gaymers Grassroots Gigs, Download and three urban music festivals (The Camden Crawl, The Great Escape and Liverpool Sound City) to a whole host of summer festivals coming up.

First up’s Glasto, swiftly followed by London’s own Lovebox, the laid-back Latitude, Camp Bestival in deepest Dorset, the twin-tastic mayhem of Reading/Leeds and then a swift trip on the ferry to Bestival…and a day of fancy dress!

We’ll be sharing photos over at Flickr, sticking our videos on YouTube and remember, as ever, we’re all over MySpace as well. Oh and yes, we’re on Twitter so you can follow us over there if you like. Just be sure to say hi.

Hope you enjoy this summer with us.