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Boy George, Dannii Minogue, the Bay City Rollers and Sinitta performed at The May bank holiday music festival at Broome Park near Canterbury 30 years ago today

By: Phil Hayes phayes@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 06:00, 25 May 2021

Updated: 16:24, 01 November 2022

Excitement was building among Kent music fans ahead of the May bank holiday in 1991.

Some iconic acts were coming to Broome Park, near Canterbury, to perform at an open-air concert.

Revellers clapping along to the music at “Jailbreak 91”, which was hosted by Invicta Radio DJ Neil Francis
Dancing away in shorts and summer hat on the sunny Saturday in May 1991
Dannii Minogue, who had a hit in 1991 with Jump to the Beat, on stage
Crowds in front of the stage at Broome Park

Headlining the event on May 25 - 30 years ago today - were Aswad, the band behind 1988 hit Don't Turn Around.

They took to the stage after Squeeze, who reached number two in the charts in the late 1970s with both Cool for Cats and Up The Junction.

Among the other acts performing earlier in the day were Dannii Minogue, Suzi Quatro, the Bay City Rollers and Sinitta - the latter perhaps best-known these days for assisting Simon Cowell in the "judges' houses" stage of the X Factor.

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Another sign of the times was that the £11 tickets could be purchased at Our Price record stores.

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The former Canterbury branch in Longmarket was more recently turned into Cafe Rouge, which sadly closed last year, leaving the building empty.

The event, called "Jailbreak 91", was promoted as being "the biggest all-day open-air concert on the south coast", with parking for 10,000 cars and coaches. But turnout was lower than some expected.

Sinitta had a spring in her step on stage during the May bank holiday of 1991
Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers entertaining the crowd
Desmond Dekker getting the crowd going. In 1969, his song The Israelites became the first UK reggae number one
Lounging in front of the stage at Broome Park

KentOnline reader Karen Isaac recalls taking her daughters along to the festival. She said: "It was a great day - though not that busy as it wasn't advertised that well."

Another star name who took to the stage was Boy George - but Karen wasn't impressed with the Karma Chameleon singer's manners.

"He was extremely rude on stage to his lead guitarist," she said. "Put me off him."

Others recall he was annoyed because the guitar amp wasn't working properly.

While pictures show the field was indeed a bit sparse in front of the stage, that doesn't seem to have stopped revellers having a good time.

A flyer for “the biggest open-air concert on the south coast”. Picture: Karen Isaac
The barrier in front of the stage at "Jailbreak 91"
The event was advertised as having parking space for 10,000 cars and coaches, but did not quite attract those numbers

What's more, they can be seen dancing away in shorts, t-shirts and wearing summer hats.

Let's hope that 30 years on we'll be able to enjoy similar sunny weather this bank holiday weekend.

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Read more: All the latest news from Canterbury

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