ELECTRICITY might be in short supply if warnings issued by Ofgem are to be believed but there was certainly no lack of it at the finale of the Ludlow Arts Festival.
Sixties stars The Searchers and The Hollies wowed the crowds gathered at Ludlow Castle for a night to remember for pop fans keen to catch a glimpse of two iconic bands from a bygone era.
First up were The Searchers featuring founding member and Merseysider John McNally.
Now white of hair and into his seventies the guitarist and vocalist led his band through a succession of hits including Sweets For My Sweet , Needles and Pins, Sugar and Spice, and When You Walk In The Room.
“People were a bit chilly out there,” said John, after the performance. “So we thought we had better go for it.
“We thought we had better get them up and dancing so we swapped a few ballads for some faster ones and it worked.”
Swiftly following The Searchers were The Hollies. The band delivered a set that included such recognisable numbers as Stop, Stop. Stop; Carrie Anne; and reworked On A Carousel.
But it was the anthems He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother and The Air That I Breathe that carried the biggest emotional impact - with the later reducing two grown women to tears near the front of the stage.
The band might be missing heavyweights Graham Nash and Allan Clarke these days, but their performance ensured the spectacular fireworks at the end of the show weren’t the only thing to light up a fantastic finale.
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