Jack Up The Summer Festival

The tradition & historical record

Jack Up The Summer is a music festival that takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. The festival was first held in August 2013 and helps fundraise for a range of local charities and good causes. Originally called "Jack Up The 80s", the festival showcases bands and solo artists that had success in the 1980s. In 2019 the name was changed to allow for a greater variety of acts, with household name artists from the 1990s and occasionally 2000s added to the expanded line-up. As well as music, the site features a vintage funfair, kids workshops and attractions, local caterers and trade stalls. In keeping with Now That's What I Call Music!, a series of compilation albums launched in the 1980s featuring a range of popular recording artists, each festival year is awarded a consecutive volume number. ¹

The first Jack Up festival was held on 10 and 11 August 2013 on the same site as the Isle of Wight Garlic Festival in Newchurch. The event was held to celebrate 25 years of Wight Crystal water, an Isle of Wight charity selling spring water products, flavours and water coolers, to raise money to fund care services, employment and life-enhancing opportunities for people with a range of disabilities. The festival featured 12 acts, with Bad Manners and Heaven 17 headlining Saturday and Sunday evening respectively. Other acts on the bill were Toyah, Katrina & The Waves, Junior Giscombe, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Doctor and The Medics, Matchbox, The Lambrettas, Bootleg Blondie (a tribute to the American rock band Blondie), ska band Orange Street, and The Hoosiers. Although the latter are not synonymous with the music of the 80s, they were said to help widen the appeal of the festival for younger attendees. ¹

The second Jack Up festival was held on 9 and 10 August 2014. The headline acts were Imagination (feat. Leee John) and Bad Manners. Other acts on the bill were The Blow Monkeys, former Kajagoogoo lead singer Limahl, Hazel O’Connor, Hazell Dean, Tight Fit, Jona Lewie, Janet Kay, Tenpole Tudor, Doctor and The Medics, Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers and Bucks Fizz (The Fizz). DJ, radio and television presenter Pat Sharp hosted the main stage. Actor John Altman, best known for playing Nick Cotton in the BBC soap opera Eastenders, made a guest appearance on the Sunday and sang the 1985 hit “Summer of '69”, made famous by Bryan Adams. ¹

The third Jack Up festival was held on 8 and 9 August 2015. The headline acts were ABC and Go West. Other acts on the bill were The Christians, From The Jam, Jaki Graham, Sonia, Nathan Moore of Brother Beyond, Phil Fearon, Bucks Fizz (The Fizz), Complete Madness a tribute to ska/pop group Madness and Abba Chique (a tribute to Swedish pop group ABBA). TV presenter Timmy Mallett carried out a live rendition of the word-association game Mallett's Mallet made famous in the 1980s and early 90s by the children's television series Wacaday. Pat Sharp played a DJ set on the Sunday. David Van Day formally of 1980s pop vocal duo Dollar, made a guest appearance on the Saturday. The event was sponsored by Barratt Homes and continued to support Island charity Wight Crystal. ¹

The fourth Jack Up festival was held on 13 and 14 August 2016. The headline acts were Five Star and Leo Sayer. Other acts on the bill were Paul Young, Johnny Hates Jazz, London Beat, Bad Manners, Owen Paul, Angie Brown, Phil Fearon, Nathan Moore of Brother Beyond and Abba Chique (a tribute to Swedish pop group ABBA). Isle of Wight bands Ska’d For Life and High School Never Ends opened the show on both days. Funk jazz outfit Light Of The World provided a previously un-billed bonus set on the Saturday. ¹

The fifth Jack Up festival was held on 11, 12 and 13 August 2017. The event moved site 5 miles down the road from Newchurch, to Smallbrook Stadium in Ryde. In doing so it provided sponsorship to the Wightlink Warriors speedway team and was located in closer proximity to cross Solent ferry services which bought benefits to mainland visitors. The move allowed for the edition of a third night and a later licence as well as enabling provision for a second stage for young Island talent. Programmed by students from Platform One College of Music, the stage featured a range of music from acoustic acts, tribute acts and original bands. The headline acts were Jason Donovan and Alexander O’Neal. Other acts on the bill were Nik Kershaw, The Real Thing, Bucks Fizz (The Fizz), From The Jam and Bootleg Blondie. Paving the way for a gradual move into the 1990s, S Club and Right Said Fred also appeared as part of the line-up. Pat Sharp played a DJ set on the Sunday. Island bands Ska’d For Life and Derek Sandy were first to perform. The Friday night offered an optional “Opening Party” featuring Romanian singing duo The Cheeky Girls and Abba Chique. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Jack Up The Summer Festival”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Jack Up The Summer Festival is British music festival, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²