Common People

Bestival’s Common People Line-up Announced

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Set to bring you electrifying music, entertainment and arts in the heart of two cities this spring bank holiday, Common People is back for 2018 with headliners Lily Allen andJames on Saturday and The Jacksons on Sunday in Southampton and The Jacksons on Saturday and James and Ride on Sunday in Oxford.

For just £57.50 for an Adult weekend ticket or £30 for an Adult day ticket, you can enjoy an amazing festival brimful of singalong favourites, deep-down disco delights, and all manner of amusements. Don’t miss out on two joyful days of bank holiday merrymaking brought to you with love by the makers of Bestival, this 26 & 27 May onSouthampton Common, and in South Park, Oxford. 

Rob da Bank says: “It’s been quite some ride putting together the Common People line ups for 2018. We love Southampton Common and South Park in Oxford, they’ve become two of our favourite places to throw a party… this year will be super special with none other than Lily Allen in Southampton and legendary Oxford band Ride coming back to South Park. Co-headliners James are the cherry on the cake. Our Disco Day also promises to be super funky with The Jacksons bringing their disco and soul classics, but my personal highlight has to be Prince’s unbeatable backing band The New Power Generation coming over from the States for a one-off weekend with us. We couldn’t get Prince but we will have all the hits. Add in all the local bands and DJs and a real focus on family fun and entertainment and I promise you a magical May weekend awaits”.

Back with a bunch of bangers that prove she’s still at the top of the game, Lily Allen headlines Southampton’s Common Stage, along with Manchester legends James for a singalong Saturday special, with sets through the day special guests All Saints, The Sherlocks, Jaguar Skills, The Cuban Brothers, Elvana: Elvis Fronted Nirvana andPlastic Mermaids.

Fancy dress is the order of the day on Saturday in South Park, Oxford as we unleash disco kings, The Jacksons, basking in the dazzling reflection of the World’s Largest Disco Ball. Plus, you can fill your dancing boots with delights from The New Power Generation, Sparks, Boney M, The Cuban Brothers, Aswad, Jungle Brothers, Hak Baker, Cut Capers and Dancin Oxford.

Sunday is fancy dress in Southampton with The Jacksons, World’s Largest Disco Ball. And boogie down beats from The New Power Generation, Sparks, Boney M, Snap!, FooR, Jungle Brothers and Hak Baker. 

While in Oxford, Sunday sees headline sets from indie legends James, and hometown heroes Ride, plus Maximo Park, London African Gospel Choir presents Paul Simon’s Graceland, Honeyblood, Elvana: Elvis Fronted Nirvana, Low Island, Chainska Brassika and Dancin Oxford. 

Our new Carnival Stage will jump to the sounds of DJ Yoda, a $hit Disco takeover with HAAi & more, Fred V & Grafix, Holy Goof, Barely Legal and more in Southampton. With laser guided love on the Oxford-based twin stage from General Levy, Fred V & Grafix, Craig Charles, and a Simple takeover with Willow, Em Williams, James Weston, Rodney P & Skitz and more.

As ever underground players and nascent rock action can be found on the Uncommon Stage hosted by The Joiners in Southampton with sets from Dream Wife, Demob Happy, Pale Seas, The Rising, Ben Goddard and many more. While Oxford’s Uncommon Stage hosted by Nightshift will see appearances from Deadbeat Apostles, Inner Peace Records, Tiger Mendoza, The August List, and many more

We’ll also have throbbing beats at Sugar Skulls in Southampton and the Disco Shed with a roster of soon-to-be-announced DJs and there will be family antics and festivities galore across our Common People wonderlands including the Kids Garden, BigTopMania, and a whole host of local family entertainment.

Tickets are on sale now at Ticketline

Head to http://commonpeople.net/ for more info.

 

FULL SOUTHAMPTON LINE UP:

SATURDAY COMMON STAGE LILY ALLEN / JAMES / ALL SAINTS (SPECIAL GUEST) / THE SHERLOCKS / JAGUAR SKILLS / THE CUBAN BROTHERS / ELVANA: ELVIS FRONTED NIRVANA / PLASTIC MERMAIDS

SUNDAY COMMON STAGE DISCO DAY WITH THE WORLD’S LARGEST DISCO BALL: THE JACKSONS / NEW POWER GENERATION / SPARKS / BONEY M / SNAP! / FOOR / JUNGLE BROTHERS / HAK BAKER

CARNIVAL STAGE SATURDAY: DJ YODA / $HIT DISCO TAKEOVER: / HAAI / KIWI / ARTFUL DODGER / $HIT DISCO DJS / PETE CALLARD / GOAT SHED DJs / NATHAN DAWE – SUNDAY: FRED V & GRAFIX / HOLY GOOF / BARELY LEGAL / HADDA / AARON BLYTH / SOUL45

UNCOMMON STAGE (HOSTED BY THE JOINERS): DREAM WIFE / DEMOB HAPPY / PALE SEAS / THE RISING / BEN GODDARD / SAINTS OF SIN / THE COLLISION / DEFERENCE / TOREADOR / LAURAN HIBBERD / PIONEERS / MISS VINCENT / STARTERS

PLUS, ANTICS & FAMILY FUN: SUGAR SKULLS DJs / KIDS GARDEN / INFLATABLE CHURCH / WALL OF DEATH BIG FISH LITTLE FISH / HAMPSHIRE CRICKET / KIDS BUSHCRAFT / BIGTOPMANIA: CIRCUS PERFORMANCES, FACE PAINTING, HAVE-A-GO EQUIPMENT & MORE / ALPACAS / CARDBOARD CASTLE / HAVEN FALCONRY / PUNCH & JUDY / GIANT SANDPIT / BOUNCY CASTLE & INFLATABLE SLIDES / VINTAGE FUN FAIR: SWING BOATS / HELTER SKELTER / CHAIR O’ PLANES / BIG WHEEL

FULL OXFORD LINE-UP:

SATURDAY COMMON STAGE DISCO DAY WITH THE WORLD’S LARGEST DISCO BALL: THE JACKSONS / THE NEW POWER GENERATION / SPARKS / BONEY M / THE CUBAN BROTHERS / ASWAD / JUNGLE BROTHERS / HAK BAKER / CUT CAPERS / DANCIN OXFORD

SUNDAY COMMON STAGE: JAMES / RIDE / MAXIMO PARK / LONDON AFRICAN GOSPEL CHOIR PRESENTS PAUL SIMON’S GRACELAND / ELVANA: ELVIS FRONTED NIRVANA / LOW ISLAND / CHAINSKA BRASSIKA / DANCIN OXFORD 

CARNIVAL STAGE: SATURDAY: GENERAL LEVY / FRED V & GRAFIX / FINEART / BURT COPE / SIR S*MBO SOUNDS / DROP BOMB ENTERTAINMENT / NATTY MARK / LIGHT ROOTS SOUND / SUNDAY: CRAIG CHARLES / SIMPLE TAKEOVER:  WILLOW / EM WILLIAMS / JAMES WESTON / RODNEY P & SKITZ / COUNT SKYLARKIN’ / DANNY DREAD MSD / WHITE MAGIC / MR CLIVE WHITE 

UNCOMMON STAGE (HOSTED BY NIGHTSHIFT): DEADBEAT APOSTLES / INNER PEACE RECORDS / TIGER MENDOZA / THE AUGUST LIST / CANDY SAYS / DEATH OF THE MAIDEN / EARINADE / LAIMA BITE / PREMIUM LEISURE / CHRIS BARKER / KONE / BRICKWORK LIZARDS / THE GREAT WESTERN TEARS / DRORE / MSRY / LUCY LEAVE / YOUNG WOMEN'S MUSIC PROJECT HAZE / 31HOURS / GHOSTS IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS / SELF HELP

PLUS, ANTICS & FAMILY FUN: DISCO SHED / KIDS GARDEN / GORILLA CIRCUS / THE WORLD’S BIGGEST BOUNCY CASTLE / OXFORD PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS ‘ONE SMALL STEP’ / THE STORY MUSEUM PRESENTS ‘THE PUMPKIN’ / PEGASUS PLAY PLACE / BIGTOPMANIA: CIRCUS PERFORMANCES, FACE PAINTING, HAVE-A-GO EQUIPMENT & MORE / TREE CLIMBING WITH BIGTREE CLIMBING CO. / COWLEY ROAD CARNIVAL DANCE WORKSHOPS / SUPERSAURS DINOSAUR / GIANT SANDPIT / SWING BOATS / JINGO GLITTER

Common People Announces Sean Paul and Pete Tong Plus Many More

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But that’s not all, The Common Stage will see sublime dancefloor duo Groove Armada hitting the decks to provide their own inimitable brand of booty shaking brilliance with appearances from Wild Beasts, Foals (DJ set), The Selecter + The Beat, Saint Etienne, Amy MacDonald, House Gospel Choir and Lucy Leave On Saturday in Oxford, while South Park’s Sunday mainstage action will see BRITs Critics’ Choice winner 2017 Rag’n’Bone Man’s staggering vocals and gospel-powered grooves, plus music from Becky Hill, The Cuban Brothers, Elvana: Elvis Fronted Nirvana and Coldredlight.

And in Southampton, The Common Stage will see BRITs Critics’ Choice winner 2013 Tom Odell’s charismatic swagger and rave legends Faithless on the ones & twos, plus there will be appearances from Loyle Carner, Becky Hill, Stefflon Don, Seán McGowan, Kassassin Street, Elvana: Elvis Fronted Nirvana and Black Kat Boppers on Saturday. And Groove Armada, Wild Beasts, British Sea Power, Amy MacDonald, Nadia Rose, Novelist, House Gospel Choir, Signals and The Novatones will appear on Sunday.

Filling your dancing boots throughout the weekend, the Uncontained Stage will be jumping with My Nu Leng & M8s and very special guest Goldie, Novelist, Redlight, GotSome and Klose One, all stepping up to the plates to drop bombs on Saturday in Oxford and Sunday in Southampton, while hands in the air behaviour will come courtesy of Moxie presents On Loop featuring sets from Joy Orbison, Midland, Kornél Kovács, Felix Dickinson and Or:la on Saturday in Southampton and Sunday in Oxford.

Discovering new music is what gets the man like da Bank out of bed in the morning, it’s the very the lifeblood of the Bestival team! So, we’ve teamed up with fellow new music evangelist and Oxford institution Nightshift once again to showcase the best new local bands alongside some of the most exciting acts around on the Uncommon Stage, including ShaoDow, Zaia, The Balkan Wanderers, Jess Hall & Barney Morse Brown, Kanadia, Vienna Ditto, Death of Hi-Fi, Leader, Young Women's Music Project, Rhymeskeemz, The Shapes, Low Island, Desert Storm, The Epstein, Little Red, The Pink Diamond Revue, Catgod and Slate Hearts.

And continuing our long and illustrious partnership with The Joiners in Southampton we are delighted to present Beans on Toast, Black Honey, Natives, Happy Accidents, Cassava, Fever, XOCKHA, Feeble Grandpa, Scarecrow Boat, Nakamarra, Gun Shy and Deltorers.

Oxford will see universal dance adventures at The Pig’s Big Record Club Stage, hosted by the Shellac Collective 78s DJs and ensuring the party always swings, there will be a host of local DJs from Southampton and Oxford across the weekend.

With amazing music keeping your feet moving throughout the bank holiday weekend, we’ll be bringing a little taste of our legendary madness and mayhem ramping up the Bestival antics to transform Common People into an amazing festival wonderland, with plenty of our off-the-wall shenanigans including boss boogying at the Disco Shed in Oxford, and the World’s Biggest Bouncy Castle in Southampton, plus both shows will have the old-time pleasures of Vintage Funfair Rides, surprising Pop-Up Performances, brass-powered Horns of Plenty in Oxford, and Saints Brass in Southampton with the savoury delights of Scrumptious Street Food, decadent drinkies from Cocktail Bars, a fantastic Kids Area with the gymnastic pageantry of Circus, Face Painting, Crazy Inflatables, and much more!

Bestival and Common People present: The World’s Biggest Bouncy-Castle!

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The Bestival family has a long and august history of going that extra mile, making the world of festivals bigger, better and brighter. And this year is no exception, pushing the boundaries of bobbing up and down to the very limit, we’ve teamed up with our old muckers, Cardiff-based Something Creatives to make what we think is the world’s biggest bouncy castle! Aiming to add to our accolades for the world’s largest fancy dress party, the biggest busk ever and our colossal disco ball, this could well be the greatest inflatable on Earth, and it’s making its debut at Common People in Southampton this coming bank holiday weekend!

Rob da Bank says: “We do love breaking a record and this is one of our funnest builds so far. Me and my mate Matt from the infamous Inflatable Church had a pipe dream about five years ago of building the world’s biggest bouncy castle, and this summer we’re making that a reality. So polish your socks and step up for what will be one of the most innocent of pleasures – bouncing up and down with gay abandon with your mates, family or friendly strangers. See you on the castle!”

Something Creatives’ Matt the Hat commented: “I’ve always been the first kid in the sandpit and consider play a fundamental part of everyday life. Everyone should find the time to play. The playful spirit of creating joy and fun is shared by Rob da Bank and all of the Bestival family and has made this brilliantly bonkers idea a reality. Whether you’re young or old, what could be more fun than jumping around inside the biggest bouncy castle in the world?  Just watch out for the ‘bouncers’, and remember if you’re wearing shoes then you can’t come in!”

Everyone loves a bouncy castle. That’s a fact. And we’ve got even more facts about our blow up bastion that could see us heading for the record books once again. Smashing an almost 20-year-old record and measuring a frankly epic23.8 metres long and 20.7 metres wide our bouncy castle stands 12.8 metres tall at its highest point; the side turrets are equal in height to the walls of Cardiff Castle, making it taller than the Great Wall of China and roughly three times the size of the Berlin Wall! Filled with 1143 cubic metres of air it can comfortablyaccommodate 100 pleasure-seeking festivalgoers at one time.

Quite simply massive, it’s an inflatable legend in the making, don’t miss the chance to have a jump around on our historic bouncy castle at Common People, Southampton this 28th & 29th May, and then at Camp Bestival 28th-31stJuly and Bestival from 8th – 11th September.

Bouncy Castle Comparison:

                                                            Length          Width           Height         

 

Word’s Biggest Bouncy Castle:          23.8m          20.7m          12.8m                 

 

Previous Record Holder:                    19m             19m             12m            

The clock is ticking and Common People tickets are flying so grab yours now at www.commonpeople.net

Common People announce Uncommon Stage line-ups

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Continuing our mission to connect like-minded party people on common land, the Common People team are very pleased to announce the line-ups for our Uncommon Stage. Flexing his all-encompassing musical muscles Rob da Bank has joined forces with legendary, longstanding music publication Nightshift in Oxford and acclaimed venue The Joiners in Southampton, to bring you the cream of the up-and-coming music scene, featuring some of the most exciting new and underground bands, this coming May Bank Holiday at South Park and Southampton Common. 

Common People curator Rob da Bank says: “The beating heart of all our festival adventures is getting people to discover new music and uncover new bands. Our curators, Ricky from The Joiners in Southampton and Ronan from the seminal Nightshift magazine, are experts in these matters, so please be upstanding and make much noise for The Uncommon Stage.”

 

Nightshift’s Ronan Munro says: “It’s fantastic that so many local acts are getting the opportunity to play at Common People, with the opportunity to play to a whole new audience, and it’s great that we get the chance to show the variety of music that comes out of Oxfordshire – from hot jazz, reggae, hip hop and blues to doom metal, electronica, punk and even pirate pop. I’ve always tried to make musicians proud to come from Oxfordshire, and Oxfordshire be proud of its musicians and this weekend is proof that Oxfordshire is home to a wealth of music talent”.

The Joiners’ Ricky Bates says: “We at the Joiners are utterly thrilled to be directly presenting the Uncommon Stage this year with some of our favourite touring acts of old and new in one space! Plus, we have some amazing home grown local talent throughout the day covering everything from ska to metalcore to indie rock n’ roll across the weekend, it’s going to be the most righteous fun weekend, don’t stay in! See you down the front”.  

Saturday in South Park, Oxford will see the Uncommon Stage shake to the sounds of local seven-piece vintage r ‘n’ b and hot jazz outfit Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band, east Oxford’s roots-inspired Zaia, the glistening pop hooks of Neverlnd, Chipping Norton’s Esther Joy Lane, the doomladen Undersmile, and Cowley’s Cameron A.G. who recently scored a Hottest Record in the World Right Now on Annie Mac’s Radio 1 show. There will also be rum-soaked fun from Peerless Pirates, gothic blues pop sounds from Death of the Maiden and looped vibes from mind-blowing cellist Duotone. 

Sunday’s super-fresh action will see Oxford-based, pan-European gypsy-ska-punks The Balkan Wanderers heading up a coruscating line-up that will include local electronic types Maiians, electro rockabilly blues from Vienna Ditto, Witney’s Little Brother Eli, Oxford-based beats cooperative Inner Peace Collective, Chipping Norton sibling duo Cassels, purveyors of porch folk with attitude The August List, Cowley’s Young Women’s Music Project and the experimental, ethereal sounds of Oxford via Stockholm’s Julia Meijer.

On Southampton Common, Saturday’s dazzling new sounds will come courtesy of much admired Cambridge five-piece Lonely the Brave and experimental Brightonians Tall Ships, with sets from singer-songwriter Sean Mcgowan, stadium-ready post rockers New Desert Blues and BBC 6 Music-supported Bel Esprit, all of whom hail from Southampton. There will also be live music from the Isle of Wight’s math-pop four-piece Signals and the home turf triumvirate of Our Hollow, Our Home, Elixir and Vicki Musselwhite, with the first of our soon to be announced I Want to Play at Common People winners also making an appearance. 

Sunday will see NME-championed Palma Violets topping a bill that will include garage rockers Pretty Vicious, Portsmouth’s Kassassin Street, and a cavalcade of local heroes including Science of Eight Limbs, The Rising, Bigtopp, These Septic Stars and Cassava, with two more I Want to Play at Common People winners completing the line-up.

Showcasing the very best in ambitious new music, don’t miss discovering your new favourite band at Common People’s temple of innovative sound, The Uncommon Stage.

Common People Announce Big Top Line-ups

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Revealing a gargantuan cavalcade of delicious music for your dancing feet coming to Common People, we’re extremely excited to announce our Big Top line-up and lots more dance-based beatniks, who will be joining Duran Duran, Primal Scream, Craig David, Gaz Coombes, Public Enemy and many more at Oxford’s South Park and Southampton Common on Saturday 28th May and Sunday 29th May.

Common People curator Rob da Bank says: “Well, what can I say? Some of my favourite DJs, new and old, are coming to our joint Common People shebangs in Southampton and Oxford. Rodigan is a legendary party starter and reggae god, Kurupt FM are the funniest, funkiest garage crew ever and Hospitality promise to bring the jungliest ruckus… See you down the front”.

Hitting the Big Top in Southampton on Saturday and heading on to Oxford on Sunday we will have pure murkage and bare reloads from Brentford’s finest pirate radio crew Kurupt FM, plus there will be a sublime Hospitality Takeover featuring Camo & Krooked, London Elektricity, Fred V & Grafix, Etherwood and Dynamite MC, Wrec, with 130bpm bomb selection by Amy Becker.

Making good in South Park’s Big Top on Saturday and bound for Southampton Common on Sunday is reggae big gun David Rodigan MBE who will present his legendary Ram Jam with My Nu Leng, David Rodigan MBE, DJ Zinc, Prince Fatty and Venum Sound, plus there will be bassline business from recent chart stars 99 Souls, plus soulful and classy club business from local boys made good Housewurk in Oxford.

In Southampton our iconic Bollywood Cocktail Bus will play host to Junk: “Not Your Thing” on Saturday with rising Glaswegian star Denis Sulta ramping up the energy, and speaker smashers from Jordan McKinlay, Luca Pilato, Ronnie Spiteri, Caruana & Daniel O’Rourke, while Sunday’s sounds come courtesy of Deaf By Disco, Pete Callard, Foor and Little Chief.

There will be plenty of beats and bass in Oxford at the kaleidoscopic Sugar Skulls Cocktail Bar with Ben Gomori, Cornerstone Soundsystem, Ghettospheric, Mims & Thirsty, DJ Giles, Joel Kane and DJ Hecktick providing the flavour on Saturday, while on Sunday Simple Presents club wunderkind and Glaswegian house maverick Jasper James, with soundsystem fire from Em Williams, James Weston, Xavier, Time Gore, Tom Baker, Stav, Dan Gascoyne and Burt Cope.

Oxford’s South Park will also have the exalted Disco Shed on hand to keep you dancing long into the evening with Count Skylarkin (Trojan Records), Kerry & Casio, DJ FU (Freerange), Harvey K-Tel, Greg’s Greats (The Shellac Collective), Alex 19 from Wigan and Jason ‘The Cat’ King on Saturday and Peepshow Paddy, Del Gazeebo, Em Williams (Simple), Dapper Dan, Trol23, JJMaurage’s Reggae Bingo and Miss Splinters on Sunday.

Duran Duran set to headline Common People 2016

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Set to take our two-day metropolitan jamboree by storm, the Common People crew are delighted to announce that Duran Duran will headline Common People 2016, topping the bill at Oxford’s South Park on Saturday 28th May and then providing a fitting finale for our Southampton Common shindig on Sunday 29th May.

Common People head honcho Rob da Bank says: “So, we were already off to a flyer with Common People selling out last year, announcing a second site this year, with our beautiful South Park location in Oxford, overlooking the dreaming spires, and now we’re putting the cherry on top with the news that Duran Duran will be headlining a day in each city! Icons of the last four decades the boys are still churning out hits and absolutely smashed it at our mothership show Bestival last year. I’m also delighted to announce Katy B will be joining the party. See you in the fields”.

Commenting on their headline performance, Duran Duran’s John Taylor said: “We are very honoured to be a part of this year’s Common People festival, we had such an incredible time at Bestival last year. It’s going to be a fantastic weekend! See you all there”.

A universal highlight of Bestival’s Summer of Love, Duran Duran took it to the next level on the Isle of Wight last year, so team CP just couldn’t resist bringing them to South Park to headline the first day of Oxford’s inaugural Common People and to wrap up our sophomore Southampton outing. One of UK pop music’s most successful and enduring bands, Duran Duran have provided the soundtrack to the lives several generations, from their early days in Birmingham’s Rum Runner formulating the sound that would give us Planet Earth and Girls on Film to their latest acclaimed album, Paper Gods, that returned them to the top ten winning them a whole new audience in the process.

Also joining Common People’s line-up on Saturday in Oxford and Sunday in Southampton is dance music trailblazer Katy B. Firmly at the forefront of the most recent wave of chart invading beat fanatics, Katy’s armoury of pop-rave bangers saw her last album taking the top spot, and with follow up Honey poised to be the soundtrack of this summer, you can guarantee she’ll hit the mark.

Both acts will be joining previously announced performers Primal Scream, Craig David, Public Enemy, Gaz Coombes, Ghost Poet, Kurupt FM, Hospitality, Ram Jam, and many more, plus there’s still a whole raft of bands, DJs and outlandish action to announce. For more information and ticket details head to http://commonpeople.net/.

Bestival’s Common People comes to Oxford in 2016

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COMMON PEOPLE COMES TO OXFORD!

BESTIVAL’S OFF THE WALL WARM UP DEBUTS IN THE CITY OF DREAMING SPIRES

28 & 29 MAY 2016, SOUTH PARK OXFORD

 

We are absolutely delighted to announce that Common People, a grand day out from the makers of Bestival in conjunction with Oxford City Council, will be coming to Oxford on 28th & 29th May 2016, so don’t miss out – save the date! Taking place in the stunning surrounds of South Park, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful parks in the UK, and famously the venue for a home-coming concert by Radiohead and Supergrass over 15 years ago, Common People Oxford, will be a feast of the finest that the live music and DJ scenes have to offer. A twin for our already established Southampton event held on the same spring bank holiday weekend, both festivals will share some line-up, with a few key regional differences to give each show an unmistakably homespun feel.

Common People Curator Rob da Bank says: “Common People HQ is buzzing with excitement today to announce that we’re bringing our show to Oxford next May. South Park is a stunning setting and we have an amazing line up to share with you very soon – from pop stars to underground legends, theatre and spoken word to our ace Kids Area and some special Oxford touches. Thanks for having us Oxford.”

Grace Jones to headline Southamptons Common People

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Bringing untold sophistication to Common People’s debut outing, our Sunday night headliner will be the incomparable Grace Jones. A true force of nature, and the consummate pop star, Grace Jones is nothing short of a dazzling live spectacle! The perfect bill-topper for a grand day out from the Bestival team, Grace mixes high art and a deep sense of theatricality with balls-out, booty shaking grooves. Her most recent album, 2008s Hurricane was a timely reminder that she’s still a player, and with last year’s Nightclubbing reissue and a new album imminent, Grace Jones’ effortless panache will be totally unmissbale.

Also adding their own inimitable charms to Common People’s Sunday line-up will be Years & Years. Winners of the BBC Sound of 2015, and firmly fixed at the top of countless tastemakers’ tip lists, the London trio are just about the hottest band on the planet right now, so it’s an honour to have them playing the main stage at our inaugural show.

Answering our all-inclusive clarion call, Common People will also have DJ sets from Secondcity, whose I Wanna Feel topped the charts last year, on Sunday, Serge Santiago and Firas Waez in their chart bothering Waze & Odyssey guise on Saturday in the Big Top, and My Love is Underground founder Jeremy Underground, also on Saturday. We’ll also have a host of delicious street foods, incredible cocktails, craft beers, and out of this world attractions throughout the weekend, so make sure you grab your tickets now and join us for bank holiday treats this23rd & 24th May.

Fatboy Slim and Clean Bandit lead lineup for new festival Common People

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A man that can effortlessly start a party and get it bouncing before he’s even dropped the second tune, Fatboy Slim is the master, a true king amongst men, and one of our favourite DJs ever. From the likes of Everybody Needs a 303 and Gangster Trippin’ to recent top ten smash Eat Sleep Rave Repeat, Norman Cook has soundtracked some of the greatest moments of our lives, we’re massively proud to have him onboard for the launch of our brand new show, and we can’t wait to welcome him to Southampton Common on Saturday 23rd May as Common People’s first ever headliner!

Commenting on his headline slot, and quoting a classic tune in an exclusive video just for us,Fatboy Slim said: “Living in the love of the common people, smiles from the heart of a family man. Momma’s gonna buy you a dream to cling to, Fatboy’s gonna love you just as much as he can. And he can. Join me on Southampton Common with the Bestival family, 23rd May.”

Warming the cockles for the big event on the Isle of Wight this September, Common People will also have live sets on Saturday 23rd May from daisy age hip-hop legends De La Soul, sick beatmeister Jaguar Skills, and Sound of 2015 hot tip George the Poet, plus Plastic Mermaids, our Battle of the Bands winner, Funky Little Choir, and Lycra-clad enigma Mr Motivator.

Sunday 24th May capers will feature a very special guest indeed who will be announced very soon, plus live action from pop behemoth Clean Bandit, who will be showcasing their inimitable brand of classical riffs with a healthy dose of baroque pop nous for all the Common People. With their chart topping smash Rather Be racking up over a million sales, making it the third biggest selling tune of 2014, and their debut album New Eyes reaching the top three, Clean Bandit are a proper big deal and we couldn’t be happier that they’re joining us.

We’ll also have hometown riffers Band of Skulls, who said of their Common People appearance “We are extremely happy and proud to be playing Common People festival. We grew up here in Southampton and the common has played a big part in our lives. Hometown shows are always great, this will be extra special. See you in May”.

And there will be even more Sunday joy with authentic rock n rollers Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, incendiary two-piece Slaves, cut & paste master DJ Yoda, funky breakdance geniuses The Cuban Brothers, 6 Music funk aficionado Craig Charles and West End Kids.

Bestival’s creative team will be flexing visionary moves, taking the spirit of Bestival to the heart of Southampton, transforming the common into a world of wonder. Amongst the hysteria you will find plenty of mind-boggling Common People antics including the woven magic of Yarn Bombing, legendary Mr Motivator Workouts, and psychedelic 19th century salon, The People's Front Room.

There will also be plenty of opportunities to have a small libation with an array of stunning bars, including the vintage vibes of the Day of the Dead Margarita Lounge Bar featuring cabaret, rock n roll, alternative, world and gypsy music, fantastically exotic concoctions from Josie da Bank’s super chic Jam Jar Bar and lavish behaviour at the VIP Hospitality Bar. A huge selection of delicious treats from cocktails and craft beers to lip-smacking afternoon teas and a tantalising selection of the finest Streetfood vendors around will delight the most adventurous of souls and keep you all coming back for more.

A whole host of fantastical fun, daytime diversions, amusements and good times will entertain one and all including, Bigtopmania Circus, Lost & Found, Tree House Theatre, Big Foot the Clown Show, The Fez Heads, Big Bears Big Balloon Disco, Big Bubble Bash, Trapeze lessons, Circus Skills, Crazy Inflatable bundle madness, Face Painting, Toddlers Play Area, Craft tents, Welly Wanging, Morris Dancing, Hoedowns, and Brass Bands.

Much like at sister festivals Bestival and Camp Bestival, The Big Top at Common People will play host to some of the most exciting underground electronic music the world has to offer. Saturday will see Junk at the controls with sets from Dusky, Huxley, Dense & Pika, Leon Vynehall, Luca Pilato and Jordan McKinlay. Switch takes over on Sunday with Chicago house legend Derrick Carter taking pride of place, with sets from Rob da Bank, Friend Within, Toyboy & Robin, and Muddywellies. We’ll also have Southampton’s illustriousJoiners adding to the mix in our new bands tent, and plenty more to boot.