Hundreds of revellers enjoyed a magical mystery tour celebrating music, culture and memories which saw the town centre swing to the sounds of the sixties.
The 60s Celebration event saw one of the UK’s leading Beatles tribute acts headline the main stage in the Market Square while businesses around the town centre made the most of a bumper day of trading thanks to the huge crowds.
The Counterfeit Beatles – who have previously supported the likes of Coldplay at Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival – performed the iconic band’s biggest hits from the decade, while BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Keith treated crowds to an hour-long DJ set.
A host of local bands and solo artists, including The Denotones, Brighton Riot, the Northampton ukulele band, Millie Gough, Ollie Hayes, Lula Nightingale and Dan Hughes also performed classic tracks throughout the day.
The free-to-attend event, held on Saturday, September 24, was hailed a hit by businesses and visitors alike, with many retailers reporting a significant increase in sales throughout the day.
Mark Mullen, operations manager for Northampton Town Centre BID, said: “The town centre was transported back to the 1960s, with vintage street circus acts performing throughout the main shopping streets and an incredible line-up of live music.
“It was brilliant to see large crowds enjoying themselves all-day and there hundreds of people having a great time with friends and family in the town centre.”
A vinyl trail staged by The Black Prince saw music lovers able to snap up treasured records from the 1960s at various outlets across the town while Northampton Museum & Art Gallery put on an immersive display of vintage images of the town centre.
The Grosvenor Centre staged a collection of 60s memorabilia from the town’s sporting clubs as well as a display of film posters from the decade.
After-parties were held in pubs and clubs across the town centre, with support from Wig & Pen, Shipman’s and The Edge of Town.
West Northamptonshire Council provided all-day free parking in the council owned town centre multi-storey car parks.
The event proved popular with shoppers, many of whom stayed in the town all day to see the bands and enjoy a meal out.
James Hall, aged 56 from Wootton Fields, said: “The 1960s was such an iconic decade in British history and this was a brilliant event that celebrated everything about that era that people look back upon so fondly.
“The town centre was buzzing all day. The bands were awesome and it was so nice to see so many here supporting it. We had a brilliant day.”
Barbara Smith, aged 68 from Creaton, said: “Having grown up with the sounds of the sixties it was lovely to be able to have a singalong and dance to the songs we love. The whole event was brilliant from start to finish and really showed what can be achieved in the town with a bit of vision and ambition.”
The event received funding from Northamptonshire Community Foundation and Northampton Town Council.
