Kent folk once again had the chance to mingle with the stars when Jools Holland's New Year's Eve Hootenanny was filmed at Maidstone studios for tonight's show.

Strictly speaking, mingling isn't usually on the agenda during filming of Jools' Hootenanny or Later shows, but that didn't stop Maidstone's Kelly Duke from getting involved when she and husband Matthew scooped tickets back in September 2013.

It was the first year Jools had taken his "Later..." show to Maidstone, and September brought a special 300th edition of the programme, starring Sting, Kanye West, Kings of Leon, then newcomer Lorde, rockers Drenge and legendary singer-songwriter Bill Medley.
Kelly recalled a phenomenal show with strong performances all round, but almost got in on the act herself – at one point having to be moved out of shot and later almost literally bumping into Kanye West.

"We just went through the ballot," she recalled.

"You had to put your name and address in and you got preference if you had a Maidstone postcode. As soon as I knew it was Kings of Leon I was like 'yes!'.

"We saw Kanye West, King of Leon, Sting, Lorde and Drenge – I think Drenge were really heavy rock, they were good but I haven't heard much about them since.

"We got sat behind Sting and I think I got in the shot – they said 'can you move?' I think my head was right next to his in the shot."

And she added: "I didn't talk to anyone but I did nearly bump into Kanye West. He was talking to someone and I accidentally walked into the middle of the conversation. I said 'I'm so sorry!'"

Whether or not those near-misses were down to the wine on offer, we wouldn't dare to guess, but Kelly wasn't the worst behaved on set – by the sounds of it that title went to Kings of Leon's Nathan Followill.

"Someone told the drummer from the Kings of Leon to stop smoking and he just looked at them and shrugged, and carried on," said Kelly. "He didn't take a blind bit of notice."

Then again, that's what rock stars are supposed to do, and fortunately Nathan's performance – along with the rest of his band – was also smoking.

Kelly had gone there principally for the Tennessee rockers, but was just as impressed by some of the others, and came away a big fan of Kanye West, although she admitted she wasn't as much of a fan these days.

She added: "Lorde had only just come out and she did Royals, which was brilliant.

"Sting was really good – I think he had an assistant who was making sure he was well fed and watered.

"The best thing was when Kanye West performed. The seats we had were right near where he was performing, and he was amazing. I wasn't going for him but when I left I thought he was really good – 10 years ago he was good!

"My friend saw us on TV and messaged saying 'is that right, I've just seen you on Jools Holland!?'
She also gave some interesting behind the scenes insight into filming.

"It's quite a long experience – they do a dummy-run and then they do it for real. You're there for three to four hours, but as you walk in they've got a small bar so you can have a few glasses of wine too.

"What's really nice is there's a real cross-section of people. We were in our early 30s but there was an elderly couple there too. It's nice that it's open to everyone – it's really good.

"I think they also had a performing arts school come in on a coach; I think because they were quite young and they were performers they got the best seats!"

Best seats or not, it didn't stop Kelly getting close to the stars. And she wasn't the only one – as then KM editor Denise Eaton proved in grabbing a selfie with Sting outside the venue.

Denise recalled: "I happened to be sitting in reception on my own when Sting appeared. You’re always warned about meeting your idols, and he’d been one of mine since The Police days, but he was absolutely charming and chatty. There was no hint of celebrity status; no guarded reaction, no security, no quick getaway!

"We talked about music, The Police reunion gig in 2007 at Twickenham, and family. He even took the selfie. Jimmy Nail then emerged, who was later doing backing vocals, though I was still too busy swooning over Sting.

"I also got to briefly chat to Lorde, who was early into her career and seemed incredibly cautious about saying anything, but gave an amazing performance, as did everyone actually.

"It was a great line-up and so intimate, and being so close to home the journey back didn’t involve a late train or hours to get out of a car park, so an added bonus."

Nikki Rayfield, who lives in West Malling, went to two recordings of Later.

She said: "I filled in the application form never dreaming we'd get to go, but after a few attempts we struck lucky. The first recording we went to included Sinead O'Connor, Rumer, Labrinth and Holly Johnson.

"Holly did a sit-down interview and if you look carefully, I'm right behind him nodding away pretending I'm a cool music expert, when in reality I'm gleefully shouting inside 'look mum, I'm on the tele!'

"The second recording we went to we saw Royal Blood, The xx, Haim and Trombone Shorty, a band I'd never come across before and I absolutely loved them.

"That's what I like about the show, discovering something new, but to see it live and how it all worked behind the scenes was really interesting. I really miss the chance of being able to be a part of something like that, especially as the tickets were free, but travelling to London when entry isn't guaranteed just isn't worth it.

"I did apply for Hootenanny tickets this year, but missed out."

The return of the Hootenanny to Maidstone is a massive coup for the studios – which hosted the New Year's Eve show and Later with Jools Holland from 2013 to 2019 – and a great chance for Maidstone music fans to watch up-and-coming talent and music legends at close quarters.

Previous Hootenanny's have been jam-packed full of famous names, from Tom Jones to Chaka Khan, Ed Sheeran, KT Tunstall, Mavis Staples and Jeff Beck. The list goes on and on, while the Later show has brought even more top names to the County Town, from Paul McCartney to the late, great Christine McVie from Fleetwood Mac, who was at the studios to film Later in 2017.

Christine's appearance saw her recount her early days as keyboard player with blues band Chicken Shack, and explained how she evolved as a songwriter and hit stardom with Fleetwood Mac.

Asked by Jools is she had any advice for Ed Sheeran, who was looking on, she blurted "stay on your own, mate!", drawing laughter from the Maidstone audience.

It hasn't always been laughter and friendly back-slapping though.

According to obituaries for Mark E Smith, the Fall’s contract to appear on Later... included a clause stipulating that under no circumstances was Holland to play “boogie-woogie piano anywhere near the Fall.”

And you'll have google what Mr Smith allegedly called Robert Plant during filming.

Nevertheless, what's wrong with a bit of needle, and touch of friendly foul-mouthed banter?

Perhaps Robert Plant would be the best person to answer that, but whatever your opinion it's all part of the cocktail that makes Jools' shows a more exciting prospect than other bland musical offerings found elsewhere on TV.

And equally importantly, they've also provided a route for genuine artists to a reach the spotlight.

Josephine Clark, commercial director at Maidstone Studios, said it was great to welcome the Hootenanny back, but said there had been no discussion on whether the Later shows would be returning too.

She added: "Here at Maidstone Studios we value each and every one of our clients from film through to sport, entertainment and music, so it’s great that Jools and the team are soon to be back here filming Hootenanny.

"The New Year’s Eve shows as well as the main series are hugely iconic, given musicians a huge platform over the years, many of which have gone on to achieve meteoric stardom and in facilitating this here at the studios, is just fantastic. The Jools' team are also brilliant to work with.

"Like any of our many clients it was just wonderful to have them choose Maidstone Studios. Jools and the BBC Music team are incredibly good at what they do and 30 years of shows just proves their longevity and continued success. It’s a joy to work with them."

Asked which performances had stood out over the years, she added: "Where do we start, there have been so many.

"Elton John, Paul McCartney, Kings of Leon, Blondie, all performing live are definitely up there.

"It’s always a wonderful once-in-a-life-time moment to see such distinguished artists performing live.

"Christine and the Queens put on a fantastic performance with the most incredible choreographed dance for release of "Tilted" back in 2018, Electronic band Caravan Palace were a huge hit when they performed their latest electro swing album and not forgetting legendary Iggy Pop who provided some fantastic dance moves across the entire studio floor."