Few bands have as great a live reputation as The Waterboys. From their mid 1980s “big music” period through the influential mix of Celtic, gospel and country on their classic Fisherman’s Blues tours, to the hundreds of brilliant shows accompanying the last decade’s rootsy, soulful triptych of albums Modern Blues, Out Of All This Blue and Where The Action Is The Waterboys have consistently blended tightness, inspiration and improvisation to reach heights of performance few other acts can. The 2020 version of the band features the established core of Mike Scott (vocals, guitar, piano), Steve Wickham (electric fiddle), Memphis keyboard great “Brother” Paul Brown, ace British drummer Ralph Salmins and funky Irish bassman Aongus Ralston.

Meanwhile the relevance and popular reach of The Waterboys has never been greater. Their songs have are performed by artists as varied as Ellie Goulding, who scored a top 3 UK hit with “How Long Will I Love You”; Prince and U2 who sang “The Whole Of The Moon” onstage and Fiona Apple, who recorded it last year; indie rockers The War On Drugs, Dawes and The Mystery Jets; and classic singers Tom Jones and Rod Stewart. “The Whole Of The Moon” featured in last year’s smash Netflix film Let It Snow and top HBO series The Affair. Waterboys music shows no sign of fading, and the very best place to experience it is in a concert hall. Come and feel the fire.

The late, great Ronnie Lane’s band Slim Chance will be at the 2022 Wickham Festival on Friday 5th August 2022

Playing the songs of Ronnie Lane…

After leaving the Faces, Ronnie Lane formed his own band, Slim Chance.  They are a tight band of good friends, which has evolved around three original members of Ronnie’s band – Steve Bingham, Charlie Hart and Steve Simpson. They are now regularly joined by Brendan O’Neill, Billy Nicholls, and Geraint Watkins, and together they deliver a unique and entertaining show, both joyous and of a high musical calibre.

The Slim Chance extended family consists of a host of wonderful musicians whose contributions will always be greatly appreciated: Jim Cregan, Colin Davey, Alun Davies, Des Horsfall, Malcolm Hoskins, John Lingwood, Frank Mead, Nick Pentelow, Jim Russell, James Walbourne and Graham Walker.

Ronnie always jokingly claimed that he found the musicians for Slim Chance in the pages of Exchange and Mart. In 2010 Charlie Hart and Steve Simpson trawled the streets of South London and miraculously found three more ex-Slim Chancers who were all keen to sign up again to the quest for Ronnie’s musical holy grail. By gigging round the country the line-up has gelled into a fine band and become a powerful entity in its own right.

The aim is to create a show which celebrates the range of Ronnie’s later music: to take this show to people in village halls and clubs, festivals and theatres at home and abroad; and eventually, joined by numerous friends, to resurrect the Passing Show itself.

Moulettes are one of the UK’s most unique touring bands and are steadily being singled out from the wave of Bjork & Kate Bush influenced Alt.Folk artists that have arisen this decade. With Strings, Guitars, Drums, Bassoon and Synths, Moulettes’ music weaves between Indie Folk, Chamber Pop and Prog Rock to create an incomparable universe.

Renowned for their breathtaking live shows it is clear that few bands have the creative range and work ethic of Moulettes. They are constantly evolving with a brave approach to production and arrangement that seeks peculiar ways of blending acoustic and electric instruments.

10cc first appeared at Wickham back in 2013 as a support slot which proved one of the big hits of the 2013 Wickham Festival.  They then played in 2015 and 2017 as headliners by popular demand.  Well … drum roll … they’re back at Wickham Festival 2022!!!  With a string of top 10 hits including Donna, Dreadlock Holiday, Rubber Bullets and I’m Not in Love, this evergreen act will bring our opening night to a fantastic finale.

Among the most inventive and influential bands in the history of popular music, 10cc are one of the very few acts to have achieved commercial, critical and creative success in equal measure. Fronted by original band member Graham Gouldman they are still going strong 40 years on.

10cc consists of:

Graham Gouldman
That loyal little song-bug has stood him in good stead through decades of distinction as one of the UK’s most productive and imaginative hitmakers. We’re talking very much in the present and future tenses, too, since he continues to write with contemporary hitmakers and see his classics renewing themselves constantly, as with the news that ‘For Your Love’ and ‘Heart Full Of Soul’, two of the timeless hits he wrote for the Yardbirds, have lately been part of live sets by the White Stripes. The headlines of Graham’s career may always be his early compositions for the scenesters of the ’60s, his crucial role in the super-intelligent ’70s pop of 10cc, and his livewire combination with Andrew Gold in Wax during the ’80s.

Rick Fenn
Born in Oxford, Rick was plucked for a band called Gentlemen to join 10cc towards the end of 1976, at the launch of the Deceptive Bends album and has been part of the team ever since. From 1979, he also toured and recorded with Mike Oldfield and with him co-wrote the song Family Man, which become a worldwide hit for Hall & Oates, and won him an ASCAP award for best song in 1984. In 1985, Rick wrote and recorded his own album Profiles, with Pink Floyd’s drummer Nick Mason. The single from the album, Lie for a Lie – sung by Dave Gilmour and featuring Maggie Reilly – was a hit in the USA.

Mick Wilson
Mick has performed and recorded with artistes such as Lionel Ritchie, Kylie Minogue, Westlife, Cher, Alice Cooper, Alison Moyet, Chris Rea, Donny Osmond, Robin Gibb, Cliff Richard, Lulu and the K.L.F.  He is also a regular member of The SAS Band which play all over the world, with guest performers such as Brian May, Roger Daltrey, Roger Taylor, Kiki Dee and Tony Hadley.  For over 20 years, Mick has had his own recording and production facility, which has been the base for a varied career as a producer and songwriter, as well as composing music for TV and live events, for companies such as Sky, BBC, ITV, Marks & Spencer, McDonalds, BT, Levi’s, Toyota, Mercedes, Ford and Mitsubishi.

Paul Burgess
Paul met Graham Gouldman in the early days of 10cc when recording at Strawberry Studios and when they planned to start touring asked him to join as an auxillary member, playing drums, percussion and keyboards for what was to become a ten year period. He started recording with them in 1976. In 1982, he toured throughout America and Canada with Jethro Tull and in 1983 played his final tour with 10cc around the U.K. The ’80s became a tour fest with Camel in (’83/’84), Elkie Brooks (’85), Joan Armatrading (’86), Alvin Stardust (’87), Gloria Gaynor (’88) and Icicle Works (’89).

Mike Stevens
Born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, Mike is a musician, producer and writer graduate from Birmingham School of Music, where he studied clarinet, euphonium and piano. He is widely known as the Musical Director for Take That, having performed with them on every tour since 1993, including the Progress stadium tour last summer.

A regular performer with Show of Hands since 2004, Miranda Sykes formed a duo with Rex Preston in 2009 and in just a few years they have developed into one of the most sought-after and acclaimed duos on the English folk scene.

A superb vocalist and double bassist, Miranda surprises audiences with her versatility on the guitar and with her unique interpretations of songs.

For the 2023 festival season Steve Knightley and Phil Beer are returning to the duo format that launched their stellar careers over thirty years ago. Audiences will be treated to the usual ‘Show of Hands’ classics like ‘Cousin Jack’, rousing festival anthems, instrumental virtuosity and stunning harmonies from two masters of their craft.