Iggy Pop by Man Alive!

By James Drakeford: Sunday was more our bag of tricks, with a varied crowd of young and old present. It was only perhaps marred by the bizarre booking throughout the day.

We arrived at the festival on time only to find that the main stage had started early and we missed Tommy Scott and the Red Scarf, which was disappointing given that he joined us in the press pit during Shaun William Ryder and seemed like a genuinely nice guy.

The day started out with scouser Ian Broudie and The Lightning Seeds, followed by festival regulars Feeder who both generated far greater interest from the crowd than Manchester indie band I Am Kloot who was booked higher up on the bill.

This decision seemed to fester on the mind of Ian Broudie who referenced how early they were on numerous times throughout the set, but didn’t deter the crowd from getting there early enough in the Cheshire sun to enjoy it.

The Seeds’ ploughed through the crowd pleasers from the Greatest Hits album including ‘Sugar Coated Iceberg’ and ‘Pure’, but excluding ‘Three Lions’. This decision left some disappointed, while I was pleased by its exclusion with it being an England football song which is irrelevant given the time and place. Feeder followed with their back catalogue including ‘Buck Rogers’ and ‘Just a Day’, along with the single from the last album ‘Renegades’, which all in all got the crowd bouncing.

photo by Man Alive

Shaun William Ryder (pictured left), who was seen as a potential car-crash, impressed the crowd with his brand of ‘lazy rock’. The former Happy Mondays frontman was a mere spectator as he shrunk into the background with his face buried in his flatcap. He chipped in for the odd line as his band played all the big numbers from Happy Mondays and Black Grape.

Claiming Gorillaz hit ‘Dare’ as his own number 1 hit for the day, Ryder sent the crowd into frenzy before rounding things off with Step On (Twisting My Melon), and amusingly departing the stage with glass of wine in hand half way through the song leaving his band to finish the set themselves.

The mis-booking continued when The Australian Pink Floyd Show renowned for their great light work and laser show were booked during the day while it was still light. This did not prevent the crowd making the most of the fantastic covers and enjoying the numerous giant inflatable props they bought with them. The set seemed to fly through and the crowd were left wanting more as they drew to a close.

Bursting onto the stage next was headliner Iggy Pop and the Stooges, in an energetic performance which couldn’t contrast Shaun Ryder’s stage presence any more if it tried! The 70’s rock legend looked more and more like the crazy puppet from the car insurance adverts by the second as he bounced around the stage throwing the mic stand around like a rag doll, and causing havoc for security as he ventured into the crowd and also inviting a stage invasion.

In a less than rock and roll moment, security removed females from the crowd who decided to flash the ageing rocker, while the crowds only complaint from an otherwise superb set was the exclusion of Trainspotting soundtrack ‘Lust for Life’.

In an anti-climatic finish, Leftfield took to the stage to a mass exodus as the sun set over Chester Racecourse. Those that did remain continued to party into the night as the festival closed with the song from the Guinness advert, ‘Phat Planet’.

For a brand new festival Chester Rocks certainly impressed enough to warrant a return next year as we lived the ‘life of riley’ in the 30-degree sun enjoying a weekend of top class performances.

The Saturdays by Ikkin

By James Drakeford: If Carlsberg did music festivals… No, actually, if Pimms did music festivals it would probably be something a little like Chester Rocks.

It was something of a culture shock to exchange the sniffer dogs and security searches at student festival Beach Break Live in South Wales a couple of weeks ago in favour of Chester Racecourse where Cheshire ice cream, a Moet bar, and a Pimms stand greeted you upon your civil arrival for Chester Rocks on a glorious Saturday afternoon.

If the location didn’t give you an inkling to the ambience of this festival, you were assured upon arrival that this is modestly middle-class.

While the Sunday line-up consisted of ageing rockers, and ‘songs your dad would listen to’, Saturday kicked off what we called the ‘family day’ with the teeny-pop line-up attracting a deafening level of screaming 14 year old girls who were accompanied by their parents.

Stephen Langstaff and The Christians opened early to a small crowd who were still arriving or enjoying the stalls and the funfair, while Eliza Doolittle followed to draw the crowd in with her unique sound of folk pop.

With the crowd now sitting and enjoying the sun, Sugababes got the crowd onto their feet as they reminded us exactly how many chart topping hits we all know word-for-word with a recognisable 40 minute set, before The Saturdays and The Wanted exemplified our decision to call it ‘family day’.

The Wanted interacted with the crowd brilliantly and really came across as a bunch of down to Earth lads who were having a good laugh and enjoying being where they are as they pointed out a female police officer dancing along while patrolling the festival.

McFly by Ikkin

McFly wowed the crowd with their set complete with all their hits, an explosion of confetti, and a big fiery McFly sign on stage. The pop-punk Londoners biggest cheer of the night came towards the end of their set however, when they performed a unique cover of Tinie Tempah’s hit Pass Out.

Headliner Taio Cruz closed the evening with his chart-topping singles ‘Dynamite’ and ‘Break Your Heart’ in what proved to be a great day to sit out in the sun and enjoy the music and the accompanied family friendly atmosphere.

photo by Jacob Powell

By James Drakeford: Eight hours of motorway driving, counting endless sheep, and mind-numbing attempts at pronouncing the road signs passed by and finally we arrived at what could have been mistaken as ‘the arse end of nowhere’.

We had arrived at Pembrey County Park for the fifth instalment of Beach Break Live. The British equivalent of America’s Spring Break. 20,000 students raving it up at the Dragon’s Den endorsed festival which marks the end of the exam period and the start of summer; four glorious days of music, sun and sand in the South of Wales.

Instantly the flaws of this comment came to fruition. It doesn’t take a weatherman to tell you that South Wales is notoriously wet so come Thursday night, it was time to set the tent up in the pouring rain and gloomy darkness. But, like all good festival crowds this did not deter the short-shorts, the beaming smiles, and the late night partying.

As Friday rolled by, the weather remained consistent with its reputation. Regular festival goers were telling me that they felt under-prepared – only packing ‘shorts and summer stuff’ after being led astray by the word ‘beach’. The sports events on the beach remained deserted and the main stage had opened quietly. Not looking promising.

Then comes rising star Maverick Sabre. He did well to wake things up playing hotly tipped single ‘Look What I’ve Done’, and even put his own spin on Oasis anthem ‘Wonderwall’. Speaking to StaffsLive after his set, he said: “I played Isle of White festival last week and there were about 8,000 people in the tent and it went crazy. I thought it was going to be really tough for anyone to match that. Then today, I played to a quarter of that, and it went off the hook. They really got into it from the start.”

Ed Sheeran got the crowd singing with his acoustic prowess, and Professor Green followed to get the crowd dancing. All of this was warming up nicely for arguably the biggest act on the bill, Tinie Tempah, who was the first main stage headliner of the festival. If anything was going to dispel the rainy-blues the antidote was always going to be the Brit award winners energetic and charismatic set.

With everyone now well and truly in the party mood it was time to head over to Merlin’s Forest for Zane Lowe’s late night DJ set. It was a very hit and miss set that frustrated the crowd by teasing crowd pleasers only to cut them in favour of songs that didn’t quite gel (to the extent that the crowd continued to sing to the song before long after it was cut). But even still, the day was a success.

photo by Jacob Powell

Saturday had sunglasses and suntan written all over it (albeit with the odd attempt of rain just to remind you that you’re still in Wales). The masses flocked to the stages nice and early to enjoy Will And The People putting on a fantastic set with highlights including catchy tune ‘Mr Sketchy’, and Pixies cover ‘Where is my Mind?’.

Beardyman created a huge frenzy when he took to the main stage. The crowd began throwing colourful chalk in the air and before long the pit area looked like one massive tie-dye. Thousands of students roared with excitement with the exception of one or two who had greying hair and wearing thick raincoats as they shook their heads with bemusement as they ‘just didn’t get it’ (probably fellow press!).

The set was void of the beatboxing that was used as a platform for the former UK Beatboxing Champion’s career. Beardyman claimed afterwards that: “Beatboxing is a load of rubbish, its novelty.” He added: “I didn’t do any today, and I’m sure there will be a couple of purists who will be a little pissed off. But you can’t listen to purists if you have a dream and I have a dream to move forward.” Either way, the move seemed to pay off because the crowd couldn’t get enough of it.

With Ms Dynamite’s flight being delayed; We Are Scientists, Example, and White Lies rounded off the strong line-up on the main stage, before dance acts Nero, Shy FX, and Sub Focus joined Ms Dynamite in Merlin’s Forest to keep the crowd buzzin’ well into the early hours of the morning. It makes you wonder how they can afford to get so much on for just £100 a ticket.

Before you know it, it was already Sunday. We learnt that festival favourite Newton Faulkner enjoys chilling backstage playing guitar hero in the Jagermeister tent, having skipping competitions, and just jamming acoustically for us all to enjoy. A great laugh which was almost as good fun as his solid set on the main stage which included his own acoustic rendition of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Who could’ve guessed that one man and a guitar could grip people’s attention so avidly?

The main stage then went out with a bang as Katy B warmed up the punters before dub-step super band Magnetic Man blew them away. The perfect combination given that the two acts have collaborated so frequently.

And then the big finale, if you’re going to start the festival strong, the key is to end the festival in an equally memorably fashion. Cue Mark Ronson. Following DJ Yoda in Merlin’s Forest, Ronson ensured that everyone would be returning to the real world the following day craving more.

It’s a shame that the weather was so hit and miss because this unique blend of holiday/festival could never reach its true potential. Then again, strolling down to the acres of beach to watch the sunrise in the morning after a heavy night was the perfect way to cap off a remarkable festival. Overall; a fantastic value for money, and I’m definitely looking forward to 2012.

Click here to view our photo gallery from Beach Break Live.

We’ve enjoyed another year of top stories and great reporting from our journalism students.

But don’t forget to check back in September to see more great work from journalists at Staffordshire University.

Students all across the country will be soaking up the summer sun and tanning it up on beaches across Europe, while others will mark the summer donning wellies and trudging through mud in trademark fashion at the vast range of great British music festivals on offer.

This summer StaffsLive reporter James Drakeford will continue to bring you all the action from some of the country’s leading festivals, starting this weekend with Beach Break Live.

StaffsLive will be returning to Pembrey County Park in South Wales for the fifth instalment of the all-student festival which was endorsed by TV show Dragon’s Den.

Kicking off the summer of fun at BBL will be headliners Tinie Tempah, Magnetic Man, and White Lies, along with a long list of talented acts including former Staffs Summer Ball performers Example, and Radio One DJ Zane Lowe.

After Beach Break, we will also be joining you at festivals across the region. Acts such as The Saturdays, and ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me out of Here’ runner-up Shaun William Ryder will be gracing the stage at Chester Racecourse for the first ever Chester Rocks festival on July 2-3.

We will also be counting down the days to Stafford’s very own V Festival which sees Eminem and Arctic Monkey’s amongst those coming to Weston Park on August 20-21.

Not content with bringing you the action at the music festivals, we will also dabble in the arts when we bring you premiere’s from Manchester International Festival, including Platoon and Spiderman star Willem Dafoe in theatre production ‘The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic’ on July 9, and Johnny Vegas’ return to MIF following 2007 feel-bad hit ‘Interiors’, with a new show entitled ‘And Another Thing…’ on July 16.

While we would love to cover every festival across the continent, sadly that is not possible. So let us know where you will be going this summer, and also what festivals you would like to see StaffsLive covering via our twitter @StaffsLive. And on a final note, happy camping!

The Manchester Metropolitan University graduate was studying sport and exercise science when he took a door security job at Steam in Crewe.

Richie Skelding

Now, seven years later, as the owner of the same club he is hosting some of the biggest student nights in the region.

Richie (pictured), 27, never thought about owning his own business and was studying a course he hoped would lead him to become a personal trainer.

But the security job soon had him thinking about student nights and what would make them better.

He said: “It was seven years ago when I first started organising events.

“Steam was my first, it was a student night with cheap drinks and lots of games and fun for them.”

Three years ago he bought the club, previously known as Steam, with a business partner and renamed it Metz.

Now the not-for-profit club is attracting hundreds of students from Staffordshire, Keele and Manchester Metropolitan universities.

All the money made goes back into student events.

As a result Richie is having to work as a personal trainer as well to make ends meet.

“Every year has been better and better for us,” he added.

“Be honest, be ready to work hard for what you want and you need to know your market.”

Daniel Hyland, 20, a student from Staffordshire University, said: “I went to one of these student nights a few weeks ago and had a really good night.

“The prices were quite cheap, there were loads of people, it was well organised and overall a really good atmosphere.”

Yaya Toure’s scrambled goal sent the Potters home without a trophy.

But while the team’s performance left a lot to be desired, the fans once again stepped up and showed why the Britannia is the noisiest stadium in the Premier League

From 7am, fans gathered at the Britannia and Stoke railway station to begin their journey to the home of football.

Songs, banners and painted faces were the order of the day as the carnival spirit took hold.

StaffsLive were there to capture all the best moments.

We have teamed up with local band, Universal Thrift Club, to produce a StaffsLive TV tribute to the fans - the Pride of the Potters.

The bar opened up its venue to a number of vintage companies.

There was a colourful mix of clothes, shoes, bags, hand-made jewellery and paintings for people to buy.

Holly Crow had a stall at the fair for her company Handmade by Holly.

She said: “Vintage is individual, bespoke and original, that’s why people are attracted to vintage pieces, nobody wants to be the same as everyone else.

“The fair has been really good for my business and getting my name noticed, not only has there been interest in what I’ve got on my stall but there are people asking if I’ll make them certain dresses to order.”

Gemma Croxton had vintage tableware on display and provides sets for weddings and special occasions.

Her company is called Alice’s Tea Party.

She said: “I’m getting married and wanted a vintage theme for my wedding, when I found that there was no one else locally providing classic table-wear from the potteries I thought I could provide it myself.”

Helen McArdle creates hand-made jewellery to order.  Her company is called Hels Bels Beautiful jewellery.

“I know that my mum has still got dresses from the 70s and she occasionally brings them out of the wardrobe and I’ll be asking her to borrow them,” she said.

“Vintage is very fashionable and I think a fair is a good way of bringing the popular fashions from the past back to the current day.”

Click below for a full report and images from the fair.

By Holly Ranford

The 20-year-old was travelling along the A522 Leek Road in a blue Toyota Yaris when he collided with a tree near the JCB site at 7am on Monday morning (May 16).

His two passengers, an 18 year-old man and a 19 year-old man, were taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire where they were treated for minor injuries.

John Parrott

By James Drakeford: John Parrott has been crowned Stoke’s Snooker Legend.

A packed crowd at Hanley’s Victoria Hall watched three world champions and a six-time runner-up showcase their talent in a two-frame tournament as part of the Snooker Legends tour.

Parrott came agonisingly close to a century break in the opening frame of the first semi-final against Jimmy White when the black fell millimetres short on a break of 94.

Putting on a master class in a high tempo game, Parrott defeated Jimmy White 2-0 before the more tactical and cautious approach of  ‘The Grinder’  Cliff Thorburn overcame 1985 World Champion Dennis Taylor 76-40 and 99-0 in the second semi.

In a battle of speed versus caution, the former Question of Sport team captain Parrott came from behind to win a tense one frame decider in the final against the Canadian, Thorburn.

The legends tournament harks back to the glory days of snooker when more than 18 million people tuned in to see the likes of Dennis Taylor, Cliff Thorburn, and Jimmy White.

Now the trio join Parrott on the Legends tour, along with glamorous referee Michaela Tabb, and the  host John Virgo.

Virgo kicked the night off with his famous trick shots and impersonations.