Latitude

Summer vibes in rural Suffolk

Usually my wife Irene and I are fairly solitary souls, avoiding big crowds, but, occasionally, needs must. I may have mentioned before, that her all-time favourite band is the iconic Duran Duran, whose music she has enjoyed (both recorded and live) for more years than she'd like me to mention. Unfortunately their live performances in the UK are a little like hen's teeth, so when an opportunity comes up, we tend to grab it with both hands. One such date was when they head-lined at the Latitude Music Festival in deepest rural Suffolk.

Each entrance gate to the site had a colour-coded letter associated with it so we thought it should be easy to find ours. Well, we seemed to be going round and round and up and down narrow lanes and busy roads for ages, beginning to think we'd never get in. Finally we found our gate. Our relief, however, was a little short lived, as it seemed equally convoluted finding our way to the carpark.

Eventually, though, we were on site and finding our way around. The festival spread across a sizeable part of the 4,200-acre grounds of Henham Park, a historic estate near Southwold.

An enjoyable weekend for all.

We were only there for the day - I'm not sure either of us would have the stamina for more - but we did try to make the most of it.

Before the main event we mooched around taking in a few other performers and bands. Being old fogeys, quite a few names on the line-up were unfamiliar, so we had no particular expectations, just going with the flow.

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An act we found very enjoyable were Been Stellar from New York, with their somewhat dystopian view of modern life in their home city.

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Another unexpected delight was the singer/songwriter Marika Hackman, with her beguiling melodies overlayed with down to earth, gritty lyrics.

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Fox Mulder's alter ego...

The beauty of the slightly smaller stages is having better luck in getting nearer to the stage. One such close encounter was with David Duchovny . It was highly entertaining watching 'Mulder' strut his stuff along with his talented band.

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The Darkness need little introduction. They were on the main stage and, unlike the smaller stages, we were perched right at the back of proceedings. Thank goodness for the big screens.

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The legendary Nile Rodgers and Chic.

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Duran Duran.

Dyptich of the big left-of-stage screen. Messrs LeBon and Taylor. These screens are a blessing when you’re right at the back.

The headliners. Unlike a number of bands who have enjoyed long careers, Duran Duran are still writing and producing new and relevant material. Always a good live performance.

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Old fogies, with the main stage in the background.

I hope you enjoyed the photos and thanks for joining me on this look back at last summer.

(Other than the first and last, all photos taken on Canon 6D and 70-300mm)

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