Pop goes the park!

People packed into the park for Radio 1's Manchester Live concert and were rewarded with hours of top entertainment in a party that went on until 10.30pm.

But while some stole the show it turned out to be a nightmare for others. Mel C, fresh from her humiliation at V99, must have wished she was anywhere but Prestwich, dodging missiles and trying to drown out the boos of the vocal crowd who made their feelings very clear.

But the party in the park proved to be a plethora of pop and for most the tented gig was an event not to be missed.

The Bury Times was there in time to catch the top acts take to the stage, and Manchester band Doves did an admirable job of getting the crowd in the mood.

There is also a little-known local connection here - Bury musician Stuart Warburton played harmonica on one of their records. It took Travis to pull in the serious punters and they went down a storm as befits a Top Ten album-selling band. The crowd really started to build up as they cranked out mini-anthems such as Why Does it Always Rain On Me? and the closing Driftwood.

For lots of snazzy co-ordinated dance routines it had to be All Saints, who burst on to stage with the Aerosmith/Run DMC hit Walk This Way. If that's your thing, there was lots of soulful R&B and a huge sing-song with Never Ever.

Band top-dog Shaznay even managed to coax two people down from one of the tent support poles with a bit of gentle persuasion amid much shouting and throwing of missiles by the crowd.

Perhaps they were getting in some practice for Mel C who, it's fair to say, did not go down well by a long way. Not only did the Spice girl keep the crowd waiting, but when the seasoned professional got on stage she was greeted with a hail of boos and missiles.

In retrospect it was a wise move by organisers to make people drink out of plastic mugs. Her band were not great and the Scouse girl probably didn't help her cause in Manchester by mentioning the previous day's football.

But - to some extent- some of the bad reaction could be put down to the rent-a-crowd element who had read accounts of her previous appearance at another festival. For those expecting a rock chick transformation there was absolutely no shred of evidence, apart from a relatively rousing performance of her new single Going Down; but you just can't take away the girl's stage presence even when she is dodging missiles.

In contrast, Supergrass came on and got right down to bricks and mortar with Richard III and powered their way through their most popular singles Alright, Pumping On Your Stereo, the new tune Moving and Caught by the Fuzz which attracted thunderous applause.

James were the justified headliners and the crowd got going even before they started playing. They went down an absolute storm as befits a long-established band on home territory with 15 years of hits to choose from.

They moved into what was mostly a greatest hits set with two singles from their latest album, I Know What I'm Here For and Feel Like Fred Astaire, rounding off with the epic Sound and some epileptic dancing from Tim Booth.

In between, there was the usual padding from assorted DJs, minor celebrities and high-priced hamburgers. The assorted hangers-on, which included your correspondents, also managed to drink their way through the "guest" bar by 7pm - still, that's what they get for not allowing our snapper into the photographer's pit.

The GM Police helicopter did make an appearance but this only added to the atmosphere which proved to be mainly good humoured - as long as you were not Mel C. And if you missed it all, don't worry: Radio 1 seem determined to get their money's worth and are playing endless repeats of the whole shebang!

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.