For those who hanker for a festival fix but are put off by the thought of having to drag grumpy and bored children through a muddy field, help may be at hand. The Cambridge Club festival offers easy-going disco, pop and soul-themed vibes – with legends from Grace Jones to Lionel Richie taking the stage – and possibly even more impressive range of things to do for the kids.
Last year I took my two young boys, aged four and one-and-a-bit, on their first camping trip to The Cambridge Club. They (and, therefore, my wife and I), loved it so much we decided to return to Childerley Orchard this year to reprise some face painting, fancy dress-filled festival fun over a sun-drenched weekend. Oh and the chance for us adults to wallow in a lot of nostalgic Nineties (and earlier) bangers too.
Set among trees providing welcome shade from the June sun, there was an obstacle course where staff timed the children as they burned off some energy, providing some hilarious commentary as they struggled to climb over barriers and crawl under nets; an arts and craft area and loads of outdoor wooden games like “pairs”, swingball, and tennis.
There was also a small stage where the kids (and adults) were kept thoroughly entertained by the like of Dick and Dom with their riotous “battle of the bangers” DJ act, as well as some amazing circus entertainers, interactive storytelling (which saw my eldest assume the role of a “egg-farting spider” on stage), and a kids rave.
And then there’s the music. A short walk from the orchard takes you to the main stage area, where the crowd of 25,000 over the weekend were treated to the likes of Grace Jones, Lemar, The Real Thing, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and a throwback set of Nineties anthems from Jo Whiley.
Probably the biggest buzz was generated by Lionel Richie, who filled the Saturday headline slot. Blasting out his hits to thousands of adoring fans, it was almost impossible to believe his stellar musical career is now in it’s seventh decade.
The 73-year-old rose to fame in the 1970s with the Commodores and went on to sell more than 100 million records as a solo singer. And here he was – fresh from his Windsor Castle coronation show – strutting his stuff as the sun set at the Cambridge Club, mixing up costume changes and quick-witted crowd banter in a show that felt remarkably fresh and full of vigour. It was also full of crowd-pleasers. So many crowd-pleasers.
One of the biggest cheers came about 20 minutes in when Richie sat at his piano and launched into Three Times a Lady, his broad smile breaking out during pauses in the chorus as couples embraced.
Say You, Say Me attracted similar waves of love from the crowd, while Dancing on the Ceiling from his eponymously titled 1986 album – the first to achieve simultaneous gold, platinum, double platinum, and triple platinum album status – and Hello were lapped up his army of fans who descended on Childerley Orchard, including many – children among them – in fake moustaches.
In an unforgettable moment, Richie had the spotlight stolen by 11-year-old Evie who wowed the singer with her breakdancing moves. Praising her from the stage Richie said: “They say animals and kids will always upstage you, and I’ve just been upstaged. That was sneaky!”
The night ended, of course, with All Night Long (All Night), sending everyone back to their tents with smiles on their faces... even those who had to drag their sleeping beauties up the hill in makeshift mobile beds.
