Grace Jones
78 year old disco legend!

Created:

Penge West

This is the second festival in July that we’ve had to get the Overground to Penge West rather than Crystal Palace Station because there are more trains to Penge West than Crystal Palace. This meant that we had a 20 minute walk to the festival entrance, which is not that bad as it’s 15 minutes from Crystal Palace.

Access Team

This festival is run by Festival Republic and their accessibility team are fantastic. They helped me out with wristbands that help me reduce the amount of time I have to spend standing in queues. Which really helps with my arthritis.

Soul II Soul

By the time we arrived Soul II Soul had already started, we had missed the opening 10 minutes.

While I stayed at the stage to watch and dance Susan and our friend went to the Merchandise stand. They didn’t return with any Merchandise but pizzas instead. There was currently no Grace Jones merchandise because she wasn’t there yet and she was bringing it, we imagined that she was going to turn up with battered old suitcase full of t-shirts.

Soul II Soul were great there was a fantastic vibe in the audience. They finished their set with Back to Life.

Soul II Soul on Stage at Palace Bowl Presents festival

Sophie Ellis Bextor

I really wasn’t expecting very much from Sophie Ellis Bextor, but was astonished. She played a fantastic Disco set with lots of energy and great visuals. She played her own track, some ABBA and closed the set with Murder On The Dancefloor.

Sophie Ellis Bextor on Stage at Palace Bowl Presents festival, she is where a glittery dress and behind her is a video screen with neon lights and a white horse galloping towards the front

Grace Jones

Grace Jones was 40 minutes late coming on, apparently this is good for her as she’s usually later.

She started her set with Nightclubbing, by Iggy Pop. At the end of every track she changed her headwear, she had some incredible head gear.

Grace Jones close up of her face with a zebra striped headwear in the shape of an upside down heart, it is about 1.5 metres tall

At one point her wardrobe lady came on stage and helped get out her trousers, she was almost naked at that point and was then dressed in a sequin dress and hat and performed the next track under a laser.

She came down the front of the stage and a security guard carried her on his shoulders along the front of the barriers.

Grace Jones being carried by a security guard, she is singing and wearing a red headgear.

She was absolutely incredible and her band were brilliant. We left just after she sang Slave To The Rhythm (which turned out to be the last track), while hula hooping, so we could get to Crystal Palace Station before the crowds.

A fabulous night all told and we managed to get home just before midnight.