It’s always a bit of a mission getting over to the Isle Of Wight from Manchester but we weren’t going to miss Bestival’s Summer of Love for anything.

After seven hours of travelling, we entered the psychedelic wonderland late on Friday night and, among a passionate crowd of hippies, ravers and lovers, ventured down to the main stage just in time for Friday’s headliners, Duran Duran. Pulling out the classics such as ‘Girls On Film,’ ‘Ordinary World,’ ‘Hungry Like The Wolf’ and with new material including ‘Pressure Off’ (featuring Jangle Monae and Nile Rodgers) the performance of lead singer Simon Le Bon and his band was outstanding!

Saturday and we were up early to support local DJs VIVA Ems and Neil Ramsbottom smashing out their Twisted Twins house set in Sugar Skulls. Straight from the heart of Mexico’s fiesta to the Isle of Wight, we sipped on hand-mixed margaritas from the converted school bus in this brand new hangout area.

On Saturday evening the Chemical Brothers wowed the main stage with their incredible lighting show. Manchester local boy, Adio Marchant, packed out the JagerHaus with his band Bipolar Sunshine and met with fans afterwards for pictures in the beer garden. At the The Port, Annie Mac and Rob da Bank got thousands of Bestival ravers bouncing in the landlocked harbour into the early hours of the morning with a state-of-the-art sound system, hi-tech lasers and a boatload of pyro exploding from HMS Bestival funnels.

On Sunday morning the Dub Pistols kicked off our last day in this magical land with their energetic, electronic alternative, hip hop, dub sounds on the main stage. We caught up with Barry Ashworth backstage and he was having a-whale of a time. Barry said, “We play at Bestival nearly every year. We love it here, it’s one of our favourite festivals.”

Dub Pistols by Will Wilkinson

We then found ourselves walking aimlessly through the festival on Sunday and came across the trippy Forest Trail leading round to the Bollywood tent which was exploding out with festival goers wanting to catch a glimpse of Uptown Funk man, Mark Ronson. We couldn’t even get one foot in the tent but he would be DJing at The Port that night so we weren’t too disappointed.

Highlight of Sunday had to be The Jacksons. Possibly the most recognisable family in music history, The Jacksons celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Jackson Five by heading out for a 2015 tour and stepping straight onto the Bestival main stage for a set that left all of us feeling the love in the fields that night.

Missy Elliott followed as the headliner, making us lose control and worked it for the finale of the main stage. Bestival were quoted as saying they were ridiculously overjoyed that she had come to Bestival and so were we.

Rob da Bank said, “Thanks a million for making our Summer of Love so spectacular. It was a crazy, colourful, explosive ball of fun and love and music and mad things happening. With truly memorable moments and amazing new things like Slow Motion, Missy, the Carnival Parade, the Port, the Blind Tiger, the Chemical Brothers, Revolution Ride, the Love-Bot and a thousand other things I could list. I think we’ve taken it up another level this year and having such a lovely crowd was no small part of that. I’ve already got some amazing things lined up for next year, so watch this space!”

Thank you Rob for another epic, outrageously fun and full of love, Bestival 2015!

VIVA’s Bestival Top Tip: Monday morning there are fifty thousand festival goers trying to get off the Isle of Wight and back to the mainland. Make sure you book the right time for the ferry back, i.e half past one in the afternoon not half past one in the morning – because you won’t be able to get another ferry until midnight, trust us!

Early bird tickets are already on sale HERE for Bestival 2016.

Beat the Bestival Blues! Catch Bestivals channel 4 special this Thursday (24th Sept) at 12:05am. Jam-packed with Besti-goodness, there are firing performances from Missy Elliott, Duran Duran, Underworld, The Jacksons, Boy Better Know, Jungle, Slaves and FKA twigs, plus interviews with Rob da Bank, The Cuban Brothers, the Chuckle Brothers, Lost & Found’s Bobby Lost in the Commune, Kate Tempest and Skrillex, all mixed up with some stunning shots, plus Bestivals awe-inspiring wonderland from the Ambient Forest to the Wishing Tree and beyond, and lots and lots of you lovely lot, too!

So set up camp in your front room, grab your drinks and popcorn, and tune in to Channel 4 to see if you can spot yourself as Bestival relive their most epic Summer of Love!

Watch Mr Deansgate Bestival video footage HERE

FULL GALLERY PICTURES:

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