Disco royalty, pop stars, dance visionaries and rap pioneers graced the stage at one of the south coast’s biggest festivals.
Headlining Victorious in Portsmouth from Friday to Sunday were Richard Ashcroft of The Verve fame, The Black Keys and Kasabian – but there was a plethora of other artists to enjoy.
Here were my picks of the best acts I saw during the weekend.
1) Nile Rodgers and Chic
There are some acts which are such fantastic live performers that they are burnt into your memory – and that’s the case for me with Nile Rodgers and Chic, who I saw several years ago yet stick out among the best live acts I’ve seen.
So it’s an even more impressive feat that they were able to match my already high expectations when I saw them again on the Common Stage.
It was a set packed with hit after hit – some you’d expect, like Good Times, Le Freak and I Want Your Love, and others more left-field from Rodgers’ vast back catalogue as a writer and producer for other artists.
Diana Ross’ I’m Coming Out and Upside Down kept the party mood going, as did David Bowies’ Modern Love and Sister Sledge’s He’s The Greatest Dancer.
When you’re as influential and famous as Rodgers is, you have to indulge him in the odd aside here and there – including telling anecdotes about how he thought Madonna picked the wrong lead single for Like a Virgin, even if it was the one he wrote.
My only tiny gripe was that the medley of hits was not updated with more recent songs Rodgers played a part in, most notably Beyonce’s hit single Cuff It.
Afterward, the guitar supremo took to social media to say it was the windiest gig he’d ever performed at.
But the atmosphere never dulled as the stellar singers’ voices soared above the blustery conditions.
As close as I’ll ever get to visiting Studio 54.
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2) Basement Jaxx
In a similar vein to Nile Rodgers, the UK dance duo put their backing vocalists front and centre during this closing performance on the Castle Stage on Sunday – but took the production values to the next level.
The performers looked like a pantheon of gods and goddesses bedecked in a series of dazzling silver costumes – most notably one outfit which unfurled like huge petals of a flower during 2009 hit Raindrops.
As dancers backflipped and writhed around on the tilted stage, the world-class singers belted out a victory lap of the Grammy winners’ back catalogue, including Good Luck, Do Your Thing and Romeo.
There was also a sense of humour to the set, with Zadok the Priest being played as Basement Jaxx’s founders emerged from the stage later on to perform Where’s Your Head At – but not before an unexpected cover of Spanish singer Rosalia’s operatically-tinged Berghain.
What a way to end the festival.
3) Jessie J
I should begin this by apologising to Jessie J – despite always admiring her vocals I found her a bit irritating at times.
But by the end of her afternoon set on the Common Stage on Saturday I left feeling totally charmed by her.
She set out some ground rules from the get-go, including asking people to film without covering their faces so she could connect with them.
My favourite though was her tongue-and-cheek demand that if people know they cannot sing and decide to film her, don’t sing along – because the ensuing TikTok video with her face and a screeched rendition of Price Tag would be damaging to her brand.
Totally in control of proceedings, Jessie halted one song so a mother and child could move back from the front of the crowd and also conducted the backing musicians during a rousing cover of Purple Rain to focus on the guitar and the crowd's voices.
Luther Vandross’ Never Too Much and Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody also got the Jessie J treatment, showing off her acrobatic vocals to full effect.
Notably absent from her setlist though were any of the hit singles from her second album Wild, nor her mega smash with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, Bang Bang.
Closing her set with Price Tag, she seemed to acknowledge the song had been a mixed blessing.
But this set showed she’s far more than a one-trick pony: not only is she one of this country’s best pop singers, she also seems like a genuinely lovely person.
4) Kelis
Where Jessie J charmed with her personality and made us feel like we were seeing an old friend, Kelis kept the chat to an absolute minimum and instead let her hits do the talking.
Wearing a bedazzled t-shirt and jeans with a mane of crimson hair, she cut an entrancing figure as she got the crowds jumping along on the Castle Stage.
As a particular fan of her foray into electronic music on her fifth album Flesh Tone, I was spoiled when not only did she end on Acapella – the lead single written about the birth of her son – but preceded this with 4th of July (Fireworks), a lesser known track which is my favourite of hers.
I appeared to be the only one in the crowd who did know it, however, singing it at the top of my lungs to my incredibly gracious neighbours.
Bigger early chart hits of hers were cut short however – notably Trick Me, Caught Out There and Millionaire, the latter a bone of contention with my friend who was foaming at the mouth to perform the rap.
But while this did not make an appearance, interesting interpolations of Donna Summer’s I Feel Love and Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit did.
Perhaps a slightly misjudged setlist – but one which I benefited from.
5) Dizzee Rascal
The UK rap legend’s early set on Saturday on the Common Stage certainly blew away the cobwebs, with a mini-mosh pit emerging halfway through and members of the crowd being thrown into the air.
Dizzee was a bombastic presence, whipping up the crowd by pitting the left and right sides against each other in a battle of who could be loudest – and encouraging us to put our middle fingers up against each other.
He did drop a slight clanger when he bigged up Southampton, to the expected boos, but it did not harm his cheeky persona as he launched into hits including Dirtee Cash, Fix Up, Look Sharp and poppier numbers such as Holiday, Calvin Harris collab Dance wiv Me and Bonkers.
Who needs caffeine when you’ve got Dizzee Rascal?
Best of the rest: Massaoke, Barry Barnett and The Streets
Massaoke delivered the crowd pleasers across the weekend, with multiple performances that got the audience belting out the karaoke classics while the lyrics appeared on the big screen and the frontman pranced about in a catsuit. A Victorious staple and totally joyous.
Henry’s House turned Southsea Castle into a club venue to fantastic effect. My favourite stint there was listening to DJ Barry Barnett blast out the nineties bangers including Crystal Waters’ Gypsy Woman and Cece Peniston’s Finally.
The Streets was a tale of two halves, as my friend described it: the first half a bit lacklustre, but the second a triumph. Performing rap opera A Grand Don't Come for Free in full, in which frontman Mike Skinner tells the tale of the protagonists relationship, the bus stop on the album cover was brought to life, with Skinner even writing ‘Play Up Pompey’ on it. But at times it felt a bit too arty for the crowd, which appeared to lose interest. However the energy levels were cranked up to 100 for an encore which got the crowd going as Skinner entered the crowd. A set which rewarded the audience’s patience.
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