 Weapon UK were our penultimate band on Sunday night. They go back a long way having toured extensively with Motorhead in 1980 on the 'aces up your sleeve tour' . They write beautifully crafted songs with real melody, but are also a phenomenal force in every sense. I've been a Rock fan for forty years I've seen the best bands in the world I really have, but I would place this band right up there with Thin Lizzy and UFO. Here at Mearfest we can claim many firsts, Weapon performed three new songs live from their forthcoming new album 'Ghosts of War' this was for the first time ever including the title track, '79 Revisited' and 'Emerald God' both incredibly touching and relevant songs for us. Live they were excellent and to be able to host such greatness at Mearfest was a real honour for both myself and Claire. Considering front man Danny Hynes lives in Sweden, he came over armed with a beautifully crafted traditional pippi långstrump for Amélie, then bass player Tony Forsythe travelled from Norway. The band showed huge commitment to play our show. Jeff Summers was the life and soul as always and along with the superb drummer Darren Lee the line up was complete. They even had gifted to them a dozen truly fiery pale ales from Mr. Grimley ales, just to say thanks guys, for all your support over the last year. We had already alerted Berkshire Fire and Rescue and they had deployed a special response unit to be on standby, as Weapon UK not only 'set the Stage alight' with their fantastic performance, they lit a warm glowing fire in all our hearts. A fire for all that witnessed this wonderful performance will never go out.    SPECIAL ALE BY NICK GRIMLEY
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 Sunday evening we had a real treat in store The combined talent and force of Satan's Empire and Victorius performing under the name Victorius Empire. This fantastic pairing came about because unfortunately Garry Bowler and the lovely Alison Metcalfe who normally stage manages for us, (HOW YOU WERE MISSED ALISON...!) were away on hols and Satan's Empire were without a drummer. First up were Satan's Empire with a shortened set with Victorius' s drummer Ryan Shepherd taking the throne. I've said a lot about this band over the last few years but for me they are absolutely superb and one of the best live bands I've ever had the good fortune to witness. Derek Lyon is such a great frontman with a huge personality and voice to match Paul Lewis and Sandy McRitchie are excellent guitarists and you will go a long way to find a more precise and likeable bass player than Wayne Hudson. It was a short, savage set and over before we knew it. Next were Victorius who had all taken the herculean task of driving all the way down from Scotland to be with us all. WoW what a BAND ! They are modern Masters of Metal with such incredible musicianship, power and steel they stormed it. When Derek Lyon got back up on stage to perform the early Maiden Classic " Wrath child" they literally tore the roof off the place! THANK YOU TO: John Gibbons, Stewart Kennedy, Ryan Shepherd, John Brandon who I think are still driving back to the top ends of Scotland in their van. What a journey conquered. You honoured us both and our lost daughter Molly with your friendship, your music, your dedication and your art ALL HAIL THE EMPIRE! ALL HAIL VICTORIUS THE GODS OF THE NORTHERN SKIES.........   Apart from wonky bunches...... HOLD TIGHT WE HAVE 2 MORE AMAZING BLOG REVIEWS TO COME AND OUR FINAL THANK YOU LIST Second up were Tamworth Noise Masters Chemikill ! I've liked this band for some time now with their fantastic doom laden songs fronted by Tracey Rand with mainstay Garry Wain on bass guitar Formed way back in 1986 this band have tried the boards for years really earning their dues and perfecting their craft. Chemikill started their journey as a Thrash Metal band but after winning the Tamworth Battle of the Bands way back in 1995, and held the title for two years. Chemikill have some great support slots under their belts with the likes of BEHOLDER, ABSOLVER, OBZIDIAN, WOLFSBANE, WILD SIDE RIOT, DAVE EVANS ( AC/DC FIRST LEAD SINGER ), DELAIN, WYZDOM, EXLIBRIS, AZYLYA, VISIONS OF ATLANTIS, GIRLSCHOOL, RAVEN, MOTORKILL, LOVE BITE, APPERITION, ENEMO J, and TYTAN, just to name a few. Tracey joined them in 2017, and they are at present recording their new album. I am good friends with Garry and he has been through a great deal of late, but he still managed to play for us, despite everything. How wonderful then to see the band back in full flight and performing their incredible music to an appreciative crowd. Not technically a NWOBHM band but they are British through and through. They hail from the Midlands, the birthplace of Heavy Metal. With their very obvious Sabbath influence and classic metal sound they were a very welcome addition to the party. They came, they saw, they conquered! BRILLIANT !   PHOTO BY NICK GRIMLEY Our first NWOBHM band on Sunday Rampant were third on and I knew this was going to be something very special indeed. Rampant were created in 1980 but then haven't been in action since 1981 due to tricky life stuff. They reformed specially for Mearfest with the original vocalist Tee Rets along with guitarist Paul Playle, this was going to be a very historic moment. Expectations were high but after a rocky start as they were 'Fighting For Freedom' in the wrong key, they picked themselves up and took off, back on that rocky road they call metal. Chris Chitticks and his son Lee Chitticks were brilliant additions, as was the amazing guitarist Jamie Carter who was not even born back in 1980. 'Run For The Hills' was next up, which went well. Third or fourth into the set came a big surprise for us, I was told to "FIND CLAIRE, the next bit it's important!" Well, who could have imagined the flow of emotion to come. Tee was saying a few words and looking at us and pointing to Molly's hand. 'Beyond The Stars', now entitled 'Angel Of Dreams (Beyond The Stars)' was about to be performed with passion and gusto. Angel of dreams is the poem I wrote for our daughter Molly in 2016, Tee was telling the story of how the new words came about. The idea just came to him....? Molly was obviously hard at work spirit side. He had very little time to prepare for it, as he just about managed to have the new chorus 'almost' in his head, but thought he might have to read the words whilst singing, which his professionalism would not allow. While driving to Slough in the back of the car, he was still rehearsing some of their other lyrics, as it had been a while since 1981. He went over and over my words until he could recite them back verbatim. He had successfully stored the correct words in the correct order deep within his heart. As he got the mearfest crowd behind it, he was visibly fighting back tears, we all were. Molly's mother Claire was in total bits by this point, as she looked beyond the band to the handprint, this was all we had left of her, today we now have so much more. The whole band could see and feeling their impact on this day, it was an incredible moment. This is why we say we are not a normal regular rock festival, as anything can happen that hits your heart strings with a big wobbly twang. While singing this one song, Tee was thinking of his partner Gina, who lost her son Mark, so he felt he was being channelled by Molly herself, (no doubts there Jimmy) to sing our combined lyrics for all our lost children. For which we thank you for being so open minded, guided, creative and honest. The next song that followed was an anti nukes/war song called I'll Press The Button Before You, which was originally recorded as their first single back in 1981, but sadly it never saw the light of day and they broke up soon after. Fast forward to 2019 Tee could not believe people were asking for autographs or more 21st Century Selfies, which took him by surprise. A truly tremendous performance, charged with emotion, power and the sheer joy of performing. I have got to say that the whole band threw themselves totally into the event helping us both throughout the weekend with numerous tasks . This is far and above what we expected and was most welcome There is something to be said about the saying " the more you put in, the more you get out" We are both so appreciative . Thank you Xxx WONDERFUL !!!! 11 / 10 ! FOR MARK & MOLLY - FLY HIGH ANGELS    Snatch Back have come a long way since the seventies when we all lived in one state of rock monochrome. I have been familiar with the band since I received their ep 'back in the game' a while back. Ste Byatt is a tremendous guitarist, his lightning moves done with bare feet. Ian Wood the bassist is a very skilled musician and with their dynamic and soulful vocalist John C Cowley at the front and the awesome drummer Steven Plattthey set the bar high once again They played for us back in October last year at our South Shields show, they were so good we had to have them back for this historic gig. By the time they got up on stage, the village hall was becoming ghostly, our crowds had so much space to move around outside the building, we had to heard them all back inside when the bands were playing. The band felt a little worried that by Sunday all our Mearfesters would be leaving early to go home and get settled on a School night or just rocked out! Hey guys, would we let you down? There was no need to be worried, Brian did his calling song from the mic on stage, letting everyone know they were on, the crowd stubbed out rollups, put away their vapes, paid for another pint, grabbed a builders tea and slice of cake, then flooded in. Within a nano of historic ROCK time, Snatch Back had them all singing along to "Need some heat" from their last cd. They bravely decided to launch songs off their new album, which no one had heard of. There was a fantastic response to everything, clapping & chanting along to "Hard Times", as we have all been there right! They were tested by a broken lead mic & guitar strap mid solo, but the band played on. Their set was infectious, as the excitement lingered even until the morning after, where they sold their CD's inside their Slough based B&B's dining room, but what was even better than that, was being asked to sign their stuff while their eggs were being perfectly poached, by UK & German proper authentic rock fans, this just gave them the buzz of knowing they had done something so right as to appear on stage for us. I am told that the Snatch Back buzz is still continuing, two weeks after the event, as they have been overwhelming with the generosity and creativity of our fine dedicated team of chosen photographers and by gaining new Facebook contacts by fans and musicians after the event. So much so it has motivated them to get their new album released. See, we at Mearfest have done it again! By bringing people together, reuniting old acquaintances, creating lifelong connections, inspiring new music, rekindling old music, being a team of people all trying to do good by each other and for our causes. We are all ONE. From those black and white days, the band have transformed into being more richer in colour, resplendent in their new colours, incredible on stage to watch and listen to. They bought their Metal to us all once more The New Wave lives. A TRIUMPH !   Starting Sunday's Shenanigans at the very awkward time of 13.30pm, were the wonderful Culloden from South Shields. We have hosted them this time last year, now there was a new line up. Andrew Halliday, Stefan Rosic and Alex Connor were joined by new guitarist Jack Brown As always, the band put on a great set with the brilliant track 'Witchpricker' being a favourite of mine. Once again we were treated to Andrews unique vocals, (the Screams of Satan) it's always great to see the crowds reaction. This year to fully celebrate the 40th year of this music, alot of our bands chose to perform a NWOBHM classic amongst their set. Culloden were no different and selected ' SEE YOU IN HELL' by the legendary Grim Reaper. I decided to ask the almighty God of rock a simple question for which I received a divine answer. So, to sing this classic we invited the main man himself Steve Grimmett, who agreed to join us along with his lovely wife Amelia Grimmett as our special VIP guests of honour. Refreshed with several cups of our finest tea blends, Steve got up on stage to a thunderous applause, by joining the young Tyneside lads of Culloden, whose faces were a convoluted mix of TERRIFIED verses VOLTAIC! Andrew the lead singer was beside himself with fear and excitement. I could see his mind trying to keep it real, but how could he as it was completely unreal that day. I think Steve was just trying to keep up to speed with the actual speed of Culloden's version of his song. These northern lads had hit the big time, it really didn't matter that it was only 2pm on a Sunday afternoon in Farnham village hall Slough. To them and to every single person in that room who could hear and more to the point feel the sheer power of Steve Grimmett's vocal cords, the lads were in their minds and ours, in a London stadium with ten thousand people holding camera phones and horning fingers in front of them, as there was no doubt Steve has a truly inspiring voice, but then he is used to projecting to packing out stadiums world wide. Today Steve was visibly happy, as he knew he had just made a few lads from the north east's dreams come true, and had left our afternoon Mearfest audience completely astounded and wanting more. Steve and Amelia stayed right to the end of the day, which as you all now know, we love ANYONE who stays right to the end. They had a million selfies taken with lifetime fans and old friends, kindly signed 40 years worth of merchandise, which I personally had dragged down from Norfolk in Ikea storage boxes, they were both happy to talk to everyone in the room. There was no ego from any person from any band there that day, this is what Mearfest is all about, making dreams come true, the older more experienced and worldly wise, talking and teaching the younger inexperienced yet keen with new ideas. Learning and respecting each others points of views across the metal boards. On a totally different tangent, this whole collaboration had got my wife Claire Mear very excited as Steve wore an incredibly stylish green blue Scottish kilt. Not only did Claire's previous fashion/music industry stylist's mind think this was the most perfect stage clothing for someone who had only recently been through such painful physical trauma by losing a leg, we could all see his inner strength, at overcoming such a loss. He looked just perfect for the day, not to mention but I will, how it complimented our two year old daughter Amélie's little red kilt, which she wore that same day, donated by the amazing baby clothing recycling company SUPERLOOPER. Coincidence or statement? It must also be said that Karl and Ryan the previous band members of Culloden were missed, but the two members did them proud on and off stage. Well done lads. It set the bar high for the rest of the day and put the icing on the cake for me and many others attending. It was a fantastic highlight of the whole weekend. An incredible and wonderful start to our second day.  BY REBEL CROW  Fashionable rock star in the making........... BETTER VIDEO VERSION TO COME...... GRIM REAPER - SEE YOU IN HELL ORIGINAL 1983    There we were, all having a pre gig curry on Friday night, it was kind of busy, the place was packed you could hardly hear the person next to you speak. There were many local Asians enjoying a catch up, Polish, and Eastern Europeans. It was very multicultural in every sense. Then suddenly the noise level went stratiferic, noise alarms set off. The restaurant was full of a strange and unfathomable language. WHAY HA KIDDA! Roars of Laughter, Hugs, Hands clasped in friendship. Lager flowed, the owners face lit up as the takings doubled in ten minutes. MANDORA from the North East had arrived in Style, to their first ever gig south of Manchester, they had hit the big time playing SLOUGH! BOOM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You cannot miss these guys, they are no shrinking violets that's for sure They hit the ground running and everyone around is caught up with their infectious laughter, friendship and the sheer joy of enjoying life Paul Binyon, Duncan Binnie, Sean Wilkinson, Darren Parnaby along with John Lambton who was their roadie and Mearfest photographer for the whole day, they brought the metal, infused with a hearty punch of Punk, their excitement is palpable. When they got to 'Take my hand' a song they sung for us personally last year in South Shields, singing from the heart before our Molly's handprint backdrop, well, the audience went wild, chanting take my hand, with horns and fists in the air. Paul Binyon commented later he had goosebumps throughout that song. Another favorite was the title track of their new album, 'Life goes on' again mearfesters went bananas. Followed by 'Reborn' which from our point of view, WOW, isn't this what we are all about? You guys nailed it! They reminded me of bonfire night, they are the one big rocket in the box, the one you can't wait to see get lit when your a kid. Brightly lit, with sparkling colourful wrappings But when it's lit, Ohhhhh !! when it's airborne and heading to the stars. When amps are turned to eleven..... BOOM !!!! The Explosion of love and Joy is tremendous Incredible, Startling The legend that is MANDORA They lit up our weekend with a light that is still burning now And will forever shine brightly for us both, true Mearfest family. All other photos by JOHN LAMBTON  Sadly, Traitors Gate who were originally booked to end the day were unable to play due to illness in the band. ( We plan to host them and SYZ in the future when all is well) So, Saturday finished with the French Metal Giants........ GANG !! Bilk Gang and his band of merry men jumped at the chance, scampering through the channel tunnel in a 10 seater minibus to come play for us. They have all been great friends of Mearfest for a few years now. Our links are strong. Forged with compassion and understanding for our cause, fused with our combined love of Metal music and the deep respect for one another and our stories. Gang have worn Molly to nearly every gig they play, and on most promotional photographes and record covers, we like to believe that she had a hand in guiding them to success, in everything they do. Back to Saturday night.....time was tight.......my fingernails were to the bone. Nine bands in one day pushed us all to the limits, I was missing Alison Metcalf who normally manages our stages, but could not do it this year, people were beginning to leave after QUARTZ.....MERDE! Within the final hours of a full and exhausting day, mearfesters were really flagging, they had drank the bar almost dry of booze and tea, and had eaten most of the home baked cakes, wanting nothing more than a hard earned sit down to watch the finale. When Gang finally made it to the stage, they hit it running and they hit it hard ! Having travelled all the way from Fismes in France, which was 340 miles away, they honoured us all with the most powerful, dynamic and supercharged set I have ever seen from them, they woke up the whole of Berkshire! Sylvain Steve Cotté, Malo Gang David Gang and the rest of the band were on fire, everyone got up from our well thought out seating areas and joined in, as Bills incredible stage performance, he gave everything he had within his kind, strong, robust, heart. They did a couple of blinding cover songs, UFO's Doctor Doctor, and an explosive version of Saxons 747 Strangers in the night, even my wife Claire who blatantly HATES rock music was seen dancing around the hall, with a big smile on her face. The band have a deep love of the NWOBHM To the extent that they host their own very successful 'British Steel' festival IN FRANCE. What a brilliant end to day one............. ALL FOR ONE and one for all is also in part the name of their amazing new CD, which features none other than our daughter Amélie Mear, precious sound bites were donated from when she was still in the womb, and when she was six months old and first babbling. See below. GanG were as always, MAGNIFIQUE ! A day of wonder A day of Glory A day of Remembrance  LISTEN TO OUR BABY AMÉLIE MEAR AROUND 4.41 MINUTES IN..... Her actual heart beats inside the womb and her first babbles as a six month old. She was GanGs chosen one, but hopefully NOT going to the darkside any time soon.    I want into your blood let me in! Quartz black tour bus had driven all the way from the birthplace of heavy metal, Birmingham. A space had been sectioned off for them by our dedicated security team. They arrived at the village hall car park just in time for some English tea and an eclectic selection of home baked cakes, donated by most of the mearfesters inside. This tea and cake thing all started at last years Mearfest within the same village hall. Claire really fancied a cup of strong tea in a mug and just so happen to be sitting with Tim Perry Quartz manager, who also said, oh yeeer, go on! There were no cakes around, so she rounded up all the boxes of Belgian chocolates, which had been donated by Patrick from Belgium and handed them out 'FREE' to everyone in the hall. David Garner was Vocals, Mick Hopkins on Guitar, Derek Arnold on Bass, Malcolm Cope playing Drums. In true retro spirit their flux capacitor had been set for 1979, which by then they had already had success with their first album QUARTZ by Quartz which had been out for two years, produced by Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi. Their opening track 'Mainline Riders' reverberated to perfection around Farnham Royals village hall, thanks to the crystal clear sound management of John Bell and his delightful assistant Abi. Although David Garner is not the original vocalist, he certainly gave it forty years of retro effort, with his long black fringe glam rock shirt sleeves, swishing that stage with moves akin to Jagger, sending the audience back to the late 1970's. I am transported back in time to the very early eighties, where not far from here I sat in my good friend Chris Hall 's bedroom listening to this amazing band for the first time. Every teenage cell in my body opened up to this new sound of British heavy metal in particular, I have a lot to thank Chris and his brother Tim (R.I.P). It's hard to explain just how much it meant for me to have Quartz play for Mearfest a band I hold very dear to my heart. For one, my established friendship with their manager Tim Perry, who has over the years donated so many incredible priceless rare collectors items to auction or raffle, not only that he has attended many of our events in the last three years, staying to the end, for which we both are very grateful to anyone who stays to the end. The music of Quartz, brings back many treasured memories of my youth. Seeing these legends perform under Molly's hand, was incredibly emotional for me, in fact it was the defining moment of the whole day, if not the whole weekend. Against all the odds my wife and I had out of such sadness and loss, now truly created something exciting and abundant, creative and memorable. In memory of Tim Hall. 'You gotta stick together, don't let them walk all over you, you gotta stand up and fight'    SPECIAL ALE BY NICK GRIMLEY   Next up on the Saturday were the NWOBHM legends that are BLACKMAYNE I've been friends with Phil McDermott for quite a while and this gig has been a long time coming. Having released their wonderful album 'Spat from Hell' just the day before on Flicknife records, it was always going to be one hell of a show. Jay Duke is a superb frontman and Phil and the boys played their hearts out for us all. The Quality of all the bands playing for us this year was superb and Blackmayne drew a lot of attention and afterwards a lot of praise for their set. Like everyone else involved this year they rolled up their sleeves and got on with the job in hand A brilliantly addition to what was a fantastic weekend. Their musicianship, friendship, generosity and warmth were second to none.   The Clan came all the way from Merseyside Craig Mac and Stephen Farquhar have been great supporters of Mearfest over the last few years, what we do means alot to the band. Craig was in the NWOBHM band 'Sinner' who were first around in 1979, thats 40 years ago, and he still looks good! The Clan always deliver, powerful energetic classic rock with those awesome moves. We almost forgave Stephen Farquhar for setting off the fire alarm. From now on he will be known as the vaped crusader. The Clan ladies and gentlemen Brilliant as always........   PHOTO John Lambton Around 13.00 on the Saturday we got a call from Heathrow asking us for direct clearance and security to be at code red Status. Ian Warner Chief of mearfest security south and master of the keys and phone chargers, spring into action Airforce's caravan came in for a steady landing. Ian armed with two table tennis bats, a traffic cone and a fading pen torch guided the craft to a secure docking point. After several years wait and high expectation Airforce had landed! We were not to be disappointed....... Formed back in the eighties the band features Doug Sampson on drums (The ex Iron Maiden Drummer who features on the famous Soundhouse tape release that made Maiden go stratospheric at the birth of the NWOBHM) Airforce really were MAGNIFICENT in every sense of the word Tony Hatton and Chop Pitman were in full flight mode and took us all up to the highest of altitude's with their excellent classic Heavy Metal. I chose to dedicate the whole set to my lovely drummer and fine ambulance man, Jeff Fuller, who we sadly lost in May just gone. Half way through the set I read my poem 'A drummers lament', with a firm hand on my shoulder for support from Chop, I read my words. It was a tough one, as members of Jeff's family were there in the audience, including his lovely Wife and daughter Heather Fuller and Debbie Fuller. There wasn't a dry eye in the house as lead vocalist Ivan sang his heart out to there big hit 'Heroes' Wow and what a powerful vocalist! An incredible performance from an Amazing band. They also seemed very pleased with the home made arts and crafted THANK YOU card Claire and Amélie made for each and every band. It is now proudly displayed upon the wall of Airforce's basement pub! Moments like this make you realise just how far we have come in such a short time, just three years ago was our first Mearfest at the Boarderline London, and how the last act of love is always remembrance.   Third up on the bill were local lads The Dead Can Wait. I have been waiting a very, very long time to meet Mick Hare. Mick had been in two bands in the Reading area, the legendary After Dark and later Iron Heart. To me as a very young man, Mick was an icon and I remember reading reviews of both bands at the time, going to listen records in Reading to get tickets for gigs. Also witnessing both amazing bands in concert I could never of dreamed I would be standing on the stage with him. I have to admit there were tears as fatigue and the sheer emotion of the moment hit me as I introduced them. Well they blew all of us away The most incredible set unfolded and the voice of Ashley Stone was totally unbelievable ! Myself and many others, were stunned and I'm not saying this lightly Combined with the rest of the band including guitarist Steve McLoughlin, I have not enjoyed a set like that for many years and I go to all sorts of gigs at all levels. The Saxon track 'Wheels of Steel' was pure fun and really sealed what was a tremendous achievement. I knew then and there that Mearfest had come of age. The Dead can Wait were amazing Eleven out of Ten just like their amps GLORIOUS ! MORE PHOTOS TO COME, ALSO CHECK OUT OUR 1979 REVISITED PAGE MEMORIES  
Around 1982, I was working as an apprentice electrician. I was meant to go into work on a Saturday to complete some big installation. There was however Slough Record Fair on at St Mary's Hall, Herschel street starting at ten am.
A quick phone call with cotton wool up both nostrils and a few words being 'economical with the truth' and I set off. With a wallet containing a few pound notes (remember them) I practically ran to Slough I bought three items that day after searching the entire hall. Aragorns 'Black Ice' single, Praying Mantis's captured city double fold out ep Tino Troy and also.....Witchfynde's masterpiece 'Give em hell'. Andro Coulton formed Malleus with his wife Shaz Coulton just after leaving Witchynde in the early eighties. We were very honoured to have this new line up play Mearfest this year and they really did us proud. All their classic songs were played including tracks from their new album 'your nightmare calls', Gram Swan hit all the right notes in all the right places and for me the magic was there. Suddenly the clouds darkened, cars in the village hall car park changed into MK 1 Escorts and Ford Corrina's. For a wonderful moment I felt I could maybe go get a pint of Double Diamond for 23p from Marie Edwards and Karen Barker as the epic 'Give em Hell' was performed to perfection. Andro and Shaz had that week previous suffered a devastating bereavement, Shaz had lost her beloved father, but like true professionals they said the show must go on, so not only did they play, they both stayed the whole weekend, signing records and having photos taken with new up and coming rock talent and rock royalty legend buddies. They set the spirit free ! AS MORE PHOTOS EMERGE I WILL ADD HERE AND TO 1979 REVISITED MEMORIES PAGE This was a total surprise to us both by NWOBHM band Rampant, Jimmy had worked so hard in preparing this for us, he learnt it on the drive down in his car!!! But you can just see and feel the passion and love as he performed it with every morsel of his soul. Below are the original words from Brian's poem for Molly. Our Unique Angel of Dreams Born Sleeping Today 2013 Oh how we longed for you Our Unique Angel of Dreams Within your Earth Mother you grew Floating in the depths of her love And yet, your brief encapsulated life Drew such a myriad of purpose Our world blossomed into joy and light Grew rich in strength and expectation Now transcended into heaven Held in a shawl of shining stars Your cord of love unbroken Your loving Presence, forever ours 12th August 2016 By Brian Mear When I was introducing the song I welled up and didn't think I was gonna through it. I was so touched to see the response and bring more than a few tears to peoples' eyes. Thanks so much for capturing this moment so wonderfully. This was improvised and unrehearsed vocally, other than the original 1st verse of mine, and I had learned Brian's words in the car on the way there so for me personally it was a nerve stretching moment that could go either way and I'm so pleased it worked out cos I so wanted it to be a dedication to Molly and the rest of the lovely Mearfolk. Love to all and long live Mearfest and rock and roll !!!  To say the opening thirty minutes of mearfest's 1979 Revisited was a bit brutal, would be an understatement, I was fighting Amélie for her baby pink kids ear defenders. With less than two weeks to go till kick off, I had to source equipment local to the venue urgently We needed Guitar cabs and larger than average drums for the mighty Thunderstick. Way back not so long ago, I used to rehearse at SAFFRON STUDIOS in High Wycombe with my band Trinity so I gave my old mate Dave a call. Turns out he could source the drums, but needed to ask resident band D.O.H for two of the cabs. They willing supplied them but with only one gig under their belt, could I squeeze them on first? I've always been wary of band logos I can't read, what with guttural vocals and metalcore this is not my thing by a long way, however I took a risk as I sometimes do. Enter Denial of Humanity (D.O.H) a local High Wycombe band, with an international line up from Portugal, Poland and England. Before their slot, Daniel the lead singer was so very polite and asked Claire if she had any problems with him using the odd swear word in his set? He was at the time in the childrens nursery GREEN room where Amélie was happily playing with aunty Carol Lyon and a million toys, that did not belong to her. Claire said that even though she was only two, and she won't be in the main room because of the noise, but there are other kids around...... MY GOD!!!!! They were ferocious to the point of complete madness...... Daniel Soares tore the roof off the bunting clad village hall, as he emitted noises that I've never heard a human make in 33 years of being a Paramedic or within music, we did not have to worry about swear words as I could not understand a word of it, but what an unusual and talented front man he is. Darrel and Adam were brilliant guitarists, as was Patrick on base and the brilliant Toby on the skins. It was louder than hell and John Thomas Bell twiddled his knobs faster than Billy whizz on speed. There were looks of amazement and in some cases fear on the audience, all searching in vain for any ear plugs. Well we do things a little differently here at Mearfest and one things for sure it was very different, but so worth having them open the show! Afterwards the lads metamorphisised into the nicest bunch you could ever meet. They brought their families and children down to share the entire day with us all They couldn't have shown greater respect or humility and the speeches off stage by Danny were fantastic I really loved them and they did exactly what I expect bands to do at Mearfest Honour our stillborn daughter Molly and bring something to the table Denial of Humanity we salute you all ! AS MORE PHOTOS EMERGE I WILL ADD TO THIS BLOG AND 1979 REVISITED IN MEMORIES CLICK !   OUR LOYAL AND LOVELY PATRON DIBS HAWKWINDER |
MEARFESTBrian & Claire Mear pride themselves on putting on a good show. Photography is Claires passion, only the finest collection of images will be added here by the best photographers. We both hope you enjoy the show. Archives
July 2019
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