THERE probably isn’t any other festival in the world where you can get Iggy Pop and The Saturdays on the same bill.
But then Chester Rocks was always going to be a bit different.
With a line-up of headliners boasting The Wanted, Taio Cruz, Sugababes, Leftfield and Feeder, the two-day musical feast was a mixed bag of performances.
The event seems to have gone down a storm with all who flocked to the city’s racecourse at the weekend, which was transformed into a hub of pop, rock, dance and indie entertainment.
And, if you looked hard enough, you could even spot a few famous faces in the crowd, including cast members of Hollyoaks and Coronation Street.
Even Premiership footballers were out in full force – Tottenham Hotspur player David Bentley, whose parents live in Northwich, could also be seen soaking up the sun at Sunday’s festival.
“Chester is a cool place for a chilled-out festival,” said the England star. “My parents live around here so I have come down to Chester quite a few times and it is a lovely place. It’s great to see such a big event here.”
For many youngsters, Saturday belonged to one band – The Wanted. While the boys played thousands of teenage girls sporting pen-drawn tattoos screamed declarations of love to the All Time Low singers, and waved handmade banners reading ‘We love you’ and ‘Marry me Jay’.
Elsewhere, for one bride-to be among the thousands of fans, the festival was one giant hen party.
Dressed in pink sashes Claire Miller, from Hoole, and her friends enjoyed the best hen party in the world, watching their favourite band McFly light up the stage as she celebrated her upcoming wedding on July 30 at Chester Town Hall.
Claire, whose boyfriend proposed while they were at the cinema, said: “We are really excited about McFly, we are having a girlie day out, it's amazing to see so many great acts at my hen party.”
And while Saturday was for the pop fans, Sunday belonged to the rockers.
Indie fan Robert Finch, 24, of Chester, said he was impressed with Sunday’s varied line-up.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing Feeder,” he said. “Yesterday was more for the families, today is an opportunity to see bands I’ve liked for years.”
In an exclusive backstage interview with Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie, the 52-year-old said that, after playing Glastonbury last year, Chester Rocks was a ‘beautiful change’.
“Chester is obviously so different, it’s more of an open-air concert,” he said. “The racecourse is beautiful, I’ve never been here before and we had a reaction from the crowd that was fantastic.”
