For those that do not know, Hard Rock Hell is an annual gathering of rock bands for a three-day 'indoor' festival - so, no tents, no mud, and no rain to contend with. Although this was the seventh time the event has been held, it was my first visit. Costs are brilliant - the more in a chalet the cheaper it is, (five in ours) and then you can deafen yourself from midday all the way through to the early hours of the morning, should you desire.
It was an early start for us on Thursday, and after passing Chester it was required that we stopped off at the OK Diner on the A55 for some brunch. A bunch of rockers were just leaving as I walked up to the door, and caught them all having a good look (I was in my skintight shiny leggings and high-heeled boots). I smiled at them, and asked "Hard Rock Hell?" I got a loud cheer from them, and shouts that they'd hope to see me there. I bet they did.
Shortly we were back on the A55 and heading through North Wales, at what point things went a little wrong. Now, I know I shouldn't judge, but when a couple of friends decided to join me for the weekend away and provide the transport, I should have been a bit worried. The last time we used his car wasn't too successful - this time the fault wasn't mechanical. After two hours of driving we suddenly hit a dead-end at a ferry terminal. "Where are we?" I asked from the back seat. "Holyhead," came the very disgruntled answer from the driver. "Isn't that on Anglesey where the ferries go across to Ireland?" I enquired. "Yes," our chauffeur replied. There was a lengthy silence. "I don't think we should be on Anglesey," I said, helpfully. There was a fair bit of swearing and cursing as we headed all the way back over Anglesey to the mainland, before finding the right road again.
It was 3.00pm when we finally arrived at the Hafan Y Mor Holiday Village, and joined the queue to check-in. Once that was done, we found our chalet, unpacked, (and I administered a couple of whiskies for our stressed driver to calm his nerves) and headed off to see the opening ceremony.
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Dexi Delite - Independent Escort - Hard Rock Hell |
Friday dawned, and after breakfast I headed off back towards the main stages whilst my travelling companions remained in bed. One of the things I noticed about Hard Rock Hell was the great feeling of camaraderie and safety, despite a few thousands boozed up rockers in attendance, I felt perfectly safe wandering on my own - something I probably wouldn't do in some of the city centre bar areas on a weekend night.
A band were setting up on the smaller Jagermeister stage as I walked in. "Oooh, good," I thought, "I may stay and listen for a song or two." It was the end of their set before I left - they were called Wildside Riot, and their brilliant sleazy rock was just the thing to get the day going.
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Dexi Delite - Independent Escort - Hard Rock Hell - Wildside Riot |
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Dexi Delite - Independent Escort - Hard Rock Hell - Mia Klose |
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Dexi Delite - Independent Escort - Hard Rock Hell |
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Dexi Delite - Independent Escort - Hard Rock Hell - Black Star Riders |
I woke up on a very bright and sunny Saturday morning with my ears still ringing a little, and reminded myself that ear-plugs perhaps would have been a good idea. I pulled on my skin-tight leather-look dress and headed off once again to the stage areas.
First off were two ex-Iron Maiden vocalists - Blaze Bailey, followed by Paul D'ianno, on his final ever gig. Both were OK, but couldn't match the energy of Friday's headliners. That all changed, however, when Aussie rockers Airbourne hit the stage.
Heavily influenced by AC/DC, they have somehow managed to update their fellow countrymen's sound. Accordingly, the whole main stage arena became one big party for the next one and a half hours. They even pipped Black Star Riders to the best band of the weekend. Highlights - Joel O'Keeffe, lead vocalist and guitarist, running into the crowd whilst still playing and even cracking beer cans (sorry, tinnies!) open with his head. Infectious good humour and pounding songs - totally brilliant.
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Dexi Delite - Independent Escort - Hard Rock Hell - Airbourne |
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Dexi Delite - Independent Escort - Hard Rock Hell - The Answer |
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