THE party at Haydock Park Racecourse continued on Saturday with the second live music event of the summer as Madness came to town.
The balmy weather was in stark contrast to that which fans of Paloma Faith endured only two weeks earlier.
Hundreds of Nutty Boys fans wearing bright red Fez hats and suitably attired in all forms of black and white chequerboard outfits descended on Haydock for an evening of fun and frivolity.
It proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining night, as young and old mingled in their thousands at one of the racecourse’s busiest and best attended meetings for many a year.
They flocked to the stage following an evening of racing, where Suggs and the band emerged to a rapturous reception.
The crowd erupted to the opening numbers of One Step Beyond and Embarrassment, with racegoers holding inflatable saxophones showing off their best dance moves.
Suggs said he hoped everyone had backed a winner and dedicated My Girl to Johnny Depp following his recent troubles.
The band rolled back the years with a succession of hits including Wings of a Dove, House of Fun, Our House and the infamous Baggy Trousers, along with some new material written in lockdown.
Suggs asked the crowd, a selection of which were sat on shoulders and dancing away, if they were all feeling the love, and he dedicated It Must Be Love to a couple who had married at the racecourse that day.
He wished the crowd ‘Merry Christmas, see you next year’, and the band left the stage to chants of ‘more, more’.
They re-emerged however to the iconic Madness and finale song Night Boat to Cairo.
Thousands of fans streamed to the exits singing to the strains of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.
Haydock Park will host its final music night for 2022 in less than three weeks time, when BRIT Award-winning band Rudimental will be in attendance for a headline DJ set on Friday, August 5.
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