Loopallu sells out before acts are revealed
ULLAPOOL’S Loopallu Music Festival has sold out even before organisers revealed which acts have been booked for "the little fest in the west".
"They said it couldn’t be done, a festival in the North West of Scotland, in late September — and here we are 10 years later," festival founder and organiser Robert Hicks commented.
"It never ceases to amaze me how people have taken Loopallu to their hearts. Whether they’ve walked a few hundred yards to get here or flown around the globe. That goes for the bands too.
"Looking back we’ve managed to attract everyone from Paolo Nutini to Mumford & Sons, Jake Bugg to Franz Ferdinand. It can’t help but make you smile. To have sold out this year before announcing a single act is testament to fact people know they’ll have a great time whoever’s playing. Roll on our 20th birthday."
Loopallu returns to the Ross-shire on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th September with a line-up now revealed to be headed by Britpop veterans Shed Seven, who scored 16 consecutive Top 40 UK hits with songs such as Chasing Rainbows, Going for Gold and Disco Down).
Returning to Ullapool is the band which headlined the very first Loopallu 10 years ago, one of the most influential punk bands of the 1970s, The Undertones, who can also claim to have written DJ John Peel’s favourite song of all time, the punk anthem Teenage Kicks.
Also making a comeback is Loopallu’s most requested act Alabama 3, stripping back their outlaw music to its country/gospel/delta blues roots on their Acoustic & Unplugged tour.
Definitely plugged in will be Public Service Broadcasting with their mix of samples from old public information films, archive footage and propaganda material and live drums, guitar, banjo and electronics.
Other acts confirmed to appear over the weekend include:
NME endorsed future stars Neon Waltz;
award winning Australian singer-songwriter Kim Churchill who is fresh from supporting Billy Bragg in his Tooth & Nail tour;
rising Scottish indie band Vigo Thieves;
BBC Radio 2’s Ones to Watch for 2014 and local heroes Hunter & The Bear, who have home ties to Ardnamurchan;
Dundee’s Model Aeroplanes;
and Barra's Vatersay Boys.
One of Loopallu’s biggest supporters, 6Music/Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe, also returns with his new band The Foes in the duel role of band and local ale aficionados.
"Everything a little festival should be," Radcliffe said of Loopallu.
"Friendly, well organised, great music, good beer and a magnificent location.
"Every time I go, and there have been quite a few, I am torn between telling people how great it is, and wanting to keep it a secret because it’s so special. Here’s to the next ten years!"
New for this year, Loopallu has teamed up with Ullapool Book Festival to present Literally Literary, a celebration of writing which includes bestselling author Christopher Brookmyre; Katie Morag creator Mairi Hedderwick; writer, musician and journalist Doug Johnstone (who can be seen at Inverness Book Festival on Tuesday 18th August); Loopallu regular and BBC presenter Vic Galloway, chatting about his debut novel; and Aidan Moffat, better known as the frontman for Arab Strap, now turned children’s author.
