Grace Jones wows Secret Garden Party

But festival nonsense steals the show

United Kingdom | 28 July 2008

Grace Jones headlined the Secret Garden Party on Saturday (26 July), but the soiree's nonsense was arguably the highlight of the weekend.

Despite taking to the stage some 45 minutes late, the stylised disco queen still wowed crowds with a hit-fuelled set that included 'Nightclubbing' 'Pull Up To The Bumper' and 'Slave To The Rhythm'.

With a full band and several dancers plucked from the crowd, Jones drew the largest audience of the weekend. During one of her tracks the singer urged sound engineers to turn her up as she halted the song before re-starting it. As ever fashion was as important as the music with Jones changing her jacket and headset for each song.

However it was the usual bout of festival tomfoolery and quirkiness that ultimately stole the show. The sold-out event saw people dressed as rabbits, cows, Smurfs and many more eccentric characters as they watched and partook in mud-wrestling, human Tetris and medieval jousting.

One of the most popular activities involved people racing down a hill in wheelchairs, mobility scooters and a bicycle-come-grass roller before going over a ramp into bales of hay. Though it was a man who attempted the hill in a giant tractor tyre that got the biggest cheer as he went over the bales, knocked down a lady and ended up in the lake.

A DJ pirate ship that was moored in the centre of the lake came to an explosive end of Saturday night as fireworks were set off of it and it was burned down.

Elsewhere emerging reggae-soul Londoner Natty proved popular as he ran though summer gems like 'Bedroom Eyes', 'July' and 'Cold Town', while indie-poppers Alphabeat and The Hoosiers both drew reasonable crowds.

The 8,000 strong festival also saw performances from Morcheeba, St Etienne, Sons and Daughters and Glasvegas. Check back for photos and our full review.