The Ocelot 122 - Oxford and Newbury edition | Page 36

Festivals

Towersey Festival:
August 26 – 29

Towersey Festival, one of the warmest
and most family friendly festivals of the
summer, runs from Friday August 26 to
Monday August 29 with an incredibly
diverse musical line-up including Billy
Bragg and Midge Ure. Another big
name is The Wonder Stuff. Mike Barham
managed to catch up with lead singer
Miles Hunt about their latest album ’30
Goes Around The Sun’ and performing at
Towersey.

He said: “I came across a box with lots of old Wonder
Stuff live recordings and demos of albums [so] I’m
compiling a 30 years of live recordings anthology. There’s
stuff there from ’86 - ‘87, from last year, and every step
in between,” adding that listening to his 20-something self
prompted a few giggles. “Lots of bits amused me ... how
sharp I was with the audience sometimes … so some of
that might need editing out.”
The Wonder Stuff are currently celebrating their 30th
anniversary in style. New album 30 Goes Around The Sun
earned them their first Top 40 hit in over 20 years, while
the accompanying tour resulted in rammed gigs, and trips
to countries they hadn’t visited in decades.
Emerging alongside fellow West Midlands indie combo

Miles Hunt

Pop Will Eat Itself, ‘The Stuffies’ racked up an impressive
run of hits, including Who Wants To Be The Disco King?,
Circlesquare, The Size Of A Cow, Caught In My Shadow,
and a No1 cover of ‘60s pop hit Dizzy, with Vic Reeves in
1991. But within three years, The Stuffies were stuffed!
“We split in 1994; I couldn’t stand working with the
rest of them, it’s as simple as that,” states Miles, who
went on to establish his own career prior to the inevitable
reunion. “We reformed in 2000 and have been together
ever since.”
There’ve been several solid albums since returning,
but 30 Goes … has clearly hit a sweet-spot, mixing
Miles’ mature songwriting style with subtle echoes of past
glories - from occasional aural references, to working up
songs in a rehearsal room with the full band.
“I hadn’t done that for 20-something years, so we tried
it and got 6-7 songs written, or 6-7 songs that were on
the way to being written. It was nice to do an album for
the 30th anniversary in the style of the first album. I’m
keen to do that again soon.”
But before the next release, there are more live shows,
including a headline appearance at Towersey Festival, in
Thame, and Miles can’t wait to get back out on the road:
“The band’s great … I couldn’t be happier, spending the
time with everyone. We all get on so well.”
Tickets are available from £30 (adult) per day/ £110
(full festival). The Wonder Stuff appear on Saturday 27
August.
Details can be found at www.towerseyfestival.com

36 www.theocelot.co.uk
Ocelot 122 Ox.indd 36

25/07/2016 21:37