Beached Festival - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Beached Festival was a free festival

Free festival

Free festivals are a combination of music, arts and cultural activities for which, often, no admission is charged, but involvement is preferred. They are identifiable by being multi-day events connected by a camping community without centralised control. The Free festival movement being the...

held annually in Scarborough, North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. After 6 years it had grown to become the biggest free festival in the South Bay of Scarborough. It last took place in 2008.

History

The festival started in 2001

2001 in music

See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....

as a small gig which gained some interest from local bands and DJs. During the second year The Libertines

The Libertines

The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...

played without their front man, and things continued from there. In 2005 there were two more days added to the weekend, one of which was a movie night and the other an orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

l night. In 2006 a Big Band played instead of the Orchestra.

To fund the festival a small grant is obtained from Scarborough Borough Council

Scarborough (borough)

Scarborough is a non-metropolitan district and borough of North Yorkshire, England. In addition to the town of Scarborough, it covers a large stretch of the coast of Yorkshire, including Whitby and Filey....

and the rest should be brought in through corporate sponsorship.

As the festival expanded more popular bands appeared on the beached stage including The Libertines

The Libertines

, The Fratellis

The Fratellis

The Fratellis were an indie rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. The band consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Jon Fratelli , bass guitarist Barry Fratelli , and drummer and backing vocalist Mince Fratelli .The band released 2 albums during their career, Costello Music in 2006 and Here We Stand in...

, Electric Eel Shock

Electric Eel Shock

Electric Eel Shock are a three-piece garage metal band, formed in Tokyo in the late 1990s. They first toured the United States in 1999 and have been touring the world ever since.-Early years of EES:...

(Who appeared in 2003 and then returned in 2005 to play with The West Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra), The Enemy

The Enemy (UK band)

The Enemy are an English rock band formed in Coventry in 2006, signed to Warner Music Group . In June 2007, The Enemy played twice at Glastonbury Festival, first in the 'Guardian Lounge' on Saturday and then the much larger 'Other Stage' on Sunday. They also headlined on the Saturday night of T in...

, Thunder

Thunder (band)

Thunder were an English hard rock band, who originally formed in 1989 when the band Terraplane broke up, leaving lead singer Danny Bowes and guitarist/main songwriter Luke Morley to form a new group, namely Thunder...

, Parva (now the kaiser chiefs), The Bluetones

The Bluetones

The Bluetones were an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members were Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fifth member, Richard Payne, came on board between 1998 and 2002...

and The Quireboys

The Quireboys

The Quireboys are an English hard rock band formed in 1984 in London, England, with strong ties to Newcastle. When the band formed they were originally known as The Queerboys and later as the London Quireboys in the United States....

between the years 2001 and 2006.

2007

2007 saw a major breakthrough for the festival, with big name sponsors, paying for national media adverts in the NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

. The festival yet saw established acts such as Foals

Foals (band)

Foals are an English indie rock band from Oxford. They are currently signed to Transgressive Records in the UK and Sub Pop in the US. They released their debut album Antidotes on 24 March 2008 in the UK, and 8 April 2008 in the US...

, Frank Turner

Frank Turner

Frank Turner is an English folk/punk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Winchester. Initially the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, Turner embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based solo career following the band's split in 2005. To date, Turner has released four solo albums, two rarities...

, One Night Only

One Night Only (band)

One Night Only is a British Indie rock band from Helmsley, North Yorkshire formed in 2003.-History:One Night Only formed in summer 2003, consisting initially of Mark Hayton, Daniel “Pob” Parkin, Sam “Gunner” Ford and Kai "Kai" Smith. The band did not have a vocalist until George Craig, a friend of...

, The Hoosiers

The Hoosiers

The Hoosiers are an English pop/rock band, consisting of members Irwin Sparkes , Martin Skarendahl and Alan Sharland ....

, Amy Macdonald

Amy MacDonald

Amy MacDonald is an American author of children's books. Her works include Little Beaver and the Echo, which has been translated into 28 languages around the world, and Rachel Fister's Blister. Her first book, a satire of Jill Krementz's children's books, was A Very Young Housewife.Amy MacDonald...

, DARTZ!

DARTZ!

Dartz! were a Math rock group from Middlesbrough in North East England who formed at the beginning of 2005...

, Alabama 3

Alabama 3

Alabama 3 are a British band mixing rock, dance, blues, country, and gospel styles, founded in Brixton, London, in 1995. In the United States, they are known as A3, allegedly to avoid any possible legal conflict with the country music band Alabama...

and The Paddingtons

The Paddingtons

The Paddingtons are an English indie rock band from Hull, known for their energetic concerts and loyal fanbase. In various interviews bassist Dobbs has said it is due to their willingness to play almost any venue...

gracing the stage, with Nine Black Alps

Nine Black Alps

Nine Black Alps are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester, named after a line in The Couriers by Sylvia Plath and fronted by Sam Forrest.-Career:...

and Inme

InMe

InMe are an English alternative metal band from Brentwood, Essex, who were formed in 1996. To date they have released four studio albums – Overgrown Eden ; White Butterfly ; Daydream Anonymous and Herald Moth and a greatest hits compilation album, Phoenix: The Very Best of InMe...

headlining the event.

The event was set back slightly, by predicted high tides, which forced the 1500 strong crowd off the beach, onto the road for nearly an hour and a half.

2008

The 2008 festival saw acts such as The Ryes, Flamboyant Bella, Be Quiet. Shout Loud!, Sergeant

Sergeant (band)

Sergeant are a 4-piece indie rock band from Glenrothes in Fife, Scotland. In 2007 they signed a contract with Mercury Records. The band played both 2007 T in the Park and Glastonbury festivals and have attracted a fanbase and media attention extending well outside their Scottish base. Xfm...

, Natty

Natty (artist)

Natty is a songwriter, singer and musician from Finsbury Park, North London.- History :Born Alexander Akiloe Philip Modiano in San Francisco, California. Natty moved to London, England with his family at the age of one. His musical eclecticism of today reflects the differing tastes of his parents...

, The Paddingtons

The Paddingtons

and Ebony Bones performing. One Night Only

One Night Only (band)

and Dodgy

Dodgy

Dodgy are an English power pop rock trio, that rose to prominence during the Britpop era of the 1990s, who are best known for their hits "Staying Out for the Summer", "If You're Thinking of Me", and "Good Enough"...

were the headliners. Over 35,000 people walked through the site, with nearly 3,000 people on site at any time.

An alleged sexual assault occurred at the 2008 festival, the organisers cooperated thoroughly with the North Yorkshire Police investigations, which led to a Crown Court hearing.

At the time of the incident organisers were holding emergency meetings with the concessions and catering firm (who run T in the Park) who were disappointed with the turn out and the over exaggerated nature of the event. The firm packed up on the Saturday night leaving the beach without any catering provisions.

F10, a company who helped raise the funds for the festival to take place, refused to pay the organisers over £30,000 which was gained from sponsorship of the event. This left H20 Beached Ltd, the company who ran the festival heavily in debt. The company was liquidated in May 2009.

The festival had been run by volunteers, many of whom were left out of pocket.

The likelihood of a festival like the beached festival happening on the South Bay in Scarborough again in the near future is remote. In 2009 Scarborough Borough Council and The North Yorkshire Police refused to give permission for the event, partly because of safety & public disorder concerns, and because of financial issues remaining outstanding.

The organiser told the press that the event would not be going ahead because of his new found paternity, although the Scarborough Evening News reported later that H20: Beached Ltd had been liquidated, owing £38,000 to various creditors.

Rumours of a 2010 festival started on facebook when the organiser suggested a date for the festival, however, permission was not given, and the Open Air Theatre, who were also rumoured to play host to the event did not host it. However, the event is set to be revived at the Open Air Theatre in August 2011, albeit on a smaller scale.