When Soft Cell frontman Marc Almond quipped that he was only a “little bit” anti-establishment upon receiving an OBE, he wasn’t wrong. The countercultural genesis of the New Pop movement, famed for chic bad-breakup anthem “Tainted Love”, now find themselves performing in the grounds of a Jacobean stately manor, but somehow make it seem like the most natural thing in the world. No one in the crowd seemed to mind. In fact, it’s rather nice.
Sheffield’s synth-pop stars Heaven 17 open proceedings before the headline act, joking that they would have bought tickets to see Soft Cell, even if they hadn’t been booked to perform. They kicked off emphatically with “(We Don’t Need This) Facist Groove Thang”, a skeletal rendition of their debut single. Less good is a cover of Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”, which strays into wedding band territory.
