MUSIC
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WEST END FESTIVAL FIESTA Three days of funk, soul, hip hop and disco to close the 2016 event
This year’s West End Festival is going out with a bang, taking over the Kelvingrove Bandstand for a three-day musical fiesta. The opening night features soul star Billy Ocean (pictured), the man behind R&B hits ‘When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going’, ‘Caribbean Queen’ and ‘Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car’.
The Wee Chill takes charge on day two with DJ Format, Stanley Odd and headliners De La Soul, whose album 3 Feet High And Rising (1989) was a socially conscious record calling for peace and unity in direct contrast to the prevailing trend for gangsta rap. It changed people’s perspective of hip hop and is regularly cited as being among the greatest albums of all time. However, the band weren’t daunted by their massive success: calling their second album De La Soul Is Dead was a bold statement. ‘We were willing and ready to depart from that sound,’ explains Posdnuos, one third of the hip hop trio alongside childhood friends Dave and Maseo. ‘We made Feet from having fun and not taking into consideration what the outside world expected from us so we approached De La Soul Is Dead the same way.’
More recently De La Soul collaborated with Damon Albarn’s
Gorillaz (including huge hit ‘Feel Good Inc’) and have a new album on the horizon. ‘And The Anonymous Nobody is an album of thought, fun, boundless soul and quality,’ Posdnuos adds. ‘The meaning of the title is we are not above anyone. We are all the same and we are here to do our part and not do it just for recognition.’ The final fiesta is hosted by the Sub Club. Disco legends Sister Sledge headline with support from Disco’s Revenge (Harri & Domenic back-to-back with The Revenge), The Marco Cafolla Band and Melting Pot. Three days of good times, the perfect fit for a summer weekend. (Henry Northmore) ■ The West End Festival Fiesta, Kelvingrove Bandstand, Glasgow, Fri 24–Sun 26 Jun.
2 Jun–1 Sep 2016 THE LIST 79