Birmingham April 2017 by The University Paper

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April 2017

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CHARLIE SLOTH Tells us UK music is best

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FESTIVAL ROUND UP This summer's big parties

'We always find ourselves in sticky situations'

I’ve spent my whole life here...

LEE DENNY Lets us into Neverland

ROB DA BANK Gets the party started

... so why do you consider me unBritish?  AMY DENMAN

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A Birmingham student who has lived in the UK since she was six is ‘devastated’ after her bid to be recognised as British was rejected – despite her mother being English. Estelle Dragan, who studies at the University of Birmingham had her application for a permanent residency permit ‘unexpectedly’ denied by the Home Ofﬁce, leaving her fearful for her uncertain future. The 19-year-old said: ‘I was devastated. I gave all the evidence I

thought I needed and they came back with a stubborn rejection because I didn’t have comprehensive health insurance during the ﬁve-year period I proved living here, despite being a child during that time.’ She has now been forced to pay for comprehensive health insurance and will have to wait ﬁve years until she can apply for permanent residency again. She added: ‘I just hope it won’t be too late seeing as Brexit will have been implemented.’ The 19-year-old was born in France, to a French father and British

I am now under the threat of losing my rights in this country

Estelle Dragan, University of Birmingham

mother. She moved to the UK when she was six and has been living here as an EU national ever since. The English literature and French student said: ‘Before the Brexit vote, this wasn’t a major issue. ‘However, as a current EU national, I am now under the threat of losing my rights in this country, despite having built my life here.’ Estelle, who now feels she is considered unBritish, has set up a Change.org petition to raise awareness of her case and to speak Continued on page 3

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HART OF GOLD Rugby champs crowned

8-11 JUNE 4 HEADLINERS OVER 3 NIGHTS friday 9TH JUNE - c0-headliners

DAVID GUETTA · RUN DMC

KAISER CHIEFS · RAG ‘N’ BONE MAN · THE PRETENDERS

JONAS BLUE DJ SET · NOTHING BUT THIEVES · ALISON MOYET · WARD THOMAS LUCY SPRAGGAN · PARADISIA SATURDAY 10TH JUNE

ARCADE FIRE

CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN · EXAMPLE+DJ WIRE · THE KOOKS

ZARA LARSSON · TEXAS · JACK SAVORETTI · MELANIE C · TOM CHAPLIN THE SLOW READERS CLUB · SPACE · THE SHOWHAWK DUO · ELLE EXXE BANG BANG ROMEO · ALEX FRANCIS · THE GERMEIN SISTERS · VICTORIA THE NOVATONES · THE SECOND SONS

SUNDAY 11TH JUNE

ROD STEWART

BASTILLE · GEORGE EZRA · CLEAN BANDIT · IMELDA MAY THE SHIRES · THE VAMPS · SCOUTING FOR GIRLS

THE STRYPES · THE UNDERTONES · THE SHERLOCKS · THE AMAZONS JUDAS · JON STEVENS · WILD FRONT + thursday NIGHT performances from

RAZORLIGHT STARSAILOR · THE ALARM · THE SEX PISSED DOLLS

Plus Many More to be Announced, GET TICKETS NOW! www.isleofwightfestival.com

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April 2017

Empowered by education

NEWS

 Deepa Patel While many of us worry about deadlines, others have bigger concerns. In sub-Saharan Africa, young women are deprived of the right to be educated. Which is where Camfed steps in. Since 1993, Camfed has provided secondary school bursaries to more than 210,000 girls from poor communities in Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. With over 2,000 miles between Birmingham and Africa, you may think there is not much you can do to help. But you can. Maggie Wefel, a donor engagement officer for the charity, said: ‘Telling others about the issue is incredibly powerful and sows the seeds for change. Sending girls to school changes the trajectory of their lives, the lives of their family and has a positive impact on their community.’

Trek feeds the poorest Adventurers to scale mountain for charity

This is the challenge of a lifetime – let’s be the generation to end child hunger, for good

 John Bennett

Bold adventurers are going the extra mile to raise thousands of pounds for Action Against Hunger, a charity dedicated to ending world hunger. The University of Birmingham students will trek across the Machu Picchu mountain in Peru to collect cash for the charity. Helena Checkley is one of those hoping to make the journey across the 2,400metre high mountain. The economics student said: ‘This is the challenge of a lifetime – let’s be the generation to end child hunger, for good.’ Since October, Helena and her fellow Birmingham students have been working together to raise money for the trip. They must raise £3,000 each,

Helena Checkley, University of Birmingham

Race ready: Helena

before their journey to the South American country in August. Since October Helena has hosted a pub quiz, sung carols at King’s Cross station in London and collected money on the streets. Helena, who has raised more than £950 so far, admitted fundraising

can be tough, but added: ‘The sense of unity keeps us on track.’ Although the trek is still a few months away, Helena has already began to train. Plus at the end of April, she will take part in the Great Birmingham 10k, and all the donations she is

collecting for the run will go to her pot for Action Against Hunger. She said: ‘This year I’m hoping to beat my time from last year of 52minutes and 39 seconds and in preparation I have been training a lot over the past month.’ It all seems like an exhausting thing to do, especially while studying, but Helena was motivated by the dedication of the Action Against Hunger workers when they gave a talk. ‘I was inspired by the passion they had for saving lives and ending world hunger,’ she said. AAH has been helping people from nearly 50 countries across the globe including, Ethiopia, Nepal, Jordan and Haiti for 40 years and in 2015, helped 14.9million people around the world. The charity helps to improve nutrition in developing countries and provides access to water, sanitation and hygiene. Most recently their larger scale

operations have involved helping those affected by disasters. The group volunteered in Nepal after the 2015 earthquake and have been to Lebanon to relocate and care for refugees. The charity also involves itself in politics. Most recently, they have campaigned for the UK government to provide foreign aid to the countries that need it most. Around two billion people from across the globe suffer from a form of malnutrition, according to gainhealth.org. Without individuals such as Helena and charities such as Action Against Hunger, it is likely the statistic would be far bigger. To donate to Helena’s cause, visit: https://birminghammachu17. everydayhero.com/uk/helenacheckley. For more information on Action Against Hunger, visit: www. actionagainsthunger.org.uk.

President faces backlash for criticising UKIP event at Guild  Amy Denman A students’ union president is facing a backlash after calling for people to ‘question’ a UKIP mayoral candidate over his politics. Ellie Keiller, president of the University of Birmingham’s guild of students, shared a Q&A session she will chair with UKIP metro mayor candidate Pete Durnell on her Facebook page. On the post she

said: ‘UKIP are coming and they’re coming because we have to let them. I would recommend coming to question their politics because I can’t as an impartial chair.’ However, some have questioned the president’s neutrality after the comments. Sam Dargue said on Ellie’s post: ‘There is clearly a conﬂict of interest when you’re overtly expressing unfavourable views with regards to a candidate, in the

same capacity as being an ‘impartial chair’ for a Q&A session with that candidate.’ A guild spokesperson said: ‘The guild of students is aware that members of our student body may feel that UKIP positions – and the views of many of its candidate – have the potential to breach our equal opportunities or zero tolerance policies. ‘We are also aware that other members of the student body

may welcome the opportunity to challenge those UKIP policies that they oppose, in the spirit of open debate and freedom of expression, which is itself protected by law.’ The guild also pointed out that UKIP is not banned under their no platform policy, which prohibits groups who pose a threat to the guild of students being a safe space. James Laurenon, a Birmingham graduate, said: ‘I remember being at the guild council where the no

platform policy was being renewed for the ﬁrst time and being promised that it would only ever be applied to actual fascists or hate preachers and that nobody would ever think of banning a speaker just because a majority disagreed with their views.’ Talks at the guild have already been held for Liberal Democrat, Green Party, Labour and Conservative candidates ahead of the metro mayoral vote.

Fest is pints of wisdom

If the questions at your local’s quiz night are no longer stimulating your brain, a festival may have the answer. Pint of Science is making its way to waterholes in Birmingham, including Millennium Point and The Woodman. The three-dayer hosts lectures so you can get educated and drunk at the same time. Topics of the talks include interpreting minds, units of the universe and deceiving minds. It takes place from May 15 to 17 and tickets cost £4.

Estelle wants to raise UK’s awareness « From page 1 out against the Home Office ‘and their paradoxical, ambiguous criteria’. The petition has collected more than 2,500 signatures since it was created in March. Mary Hegarty, who signed the petition, said: ‘This seems like an incredible injustice. It should be looked at rationally given the facts and as one with generations of UK citizenship behind me, I believe she should be allowed citizenship.’ Estelle (pictured) said: ‘I’m overwhelmed, I didn’t expect for it to get so many signatures. ‘I realise that the petition won’t attract the attention of the Home Office and of course won’t change any laws, however I believe that raising awareness is important. ‘I want people to realise how unfair the Home Office are being in many cases, and also that it isn’t as simple as labelling people as EU nationals or immigrants.’ The Home Office has been contacted for comment but is yet to reply.

News

How class divides the classroom Wealth and social status still affect young people’s chances of going to university and doing well there

Head of organisation set up to make things fairer says it’s getting better but some top unis still not mixed enough

 Henry Edwards We’ve all heard the chants – ‘Your dad works for my dad’ or ‘I’d rather be a poly than a t***’. If you’ve seen university rivals go head to head on the sports ﬁeld, chances are you’ll have come across similar sentiments. Class-based banter is often part of varsities and other big clashes, especially if a former poly and a redbrick are involved, and it is usually meant in good humour. But away from sport, the divide between the haves and have-nots is real – the kind of area you’re from, what your parents do and how much your family earns affects your chances of getting into and doing well at university. Just one in ﬁve 18-year-olds from the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in England go to university, according to UCAS. Even fewer – 3.6 per cent in 2016 – go to the universities that require the highest entry grades and are usually the most prestigious. This is compared with the 22 per cent of young people from the richest

We have some universities that are very socially exclusive

Prof Les Ebdon, Director of fair access

Breaking barriers: Prof Les Ebdon, whose job is to make access to university fairer

ﬁfth of the population who get a place at one of the UK’s top 40 universities. We asked the man in charge of an organisation set up to tackle this imbalance what he’s doing about it. Prof Les Ebdon is director of the Ofﬁce For Fair Access, a public body that lays down conditions for universities wishing to charge £9,000 a year for tuition. To charge the top fee, universities must prove they are working to remove barriers to entry for under-represented groups. They also have to support students from less wealthy backgrounds and help them with their career progression. Each university must come to an individual agreement

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per cent is how much this has increased by over the past ten years

‘I FIND MYSELF HIDING WHICH SCHOOL I WENT TO’ – EXPERIENCES OF CLASS AT UNIVERSITY When it comes to talking about money and class at university, many people feel uncomfortable, whatever their background. While many of the students we spoke to said cash and family background were not big issues, they were reluctant to speak fully on the record about subjects they saw as taboo. Imogen White asked people studying at Newcastle University if wealth or class divides had an impact on life there...

PICTURE: DESIGNED BY ASIERROMERO / FREEPIK

with OFFA on how it will do this, which includes publishing targets for recruiting more students from all under-represented backgrounds. ‘We have a bit of to-ing and fro-ing,’ Prof Ebdon said. ‘We may tell them to try a bit harder [at first] and then we agree the plan. ‘I like to think the plans reflect the context of that university and how far they’ve got to go in creating diversity in their student body and that it addresses what the statistics tell me are their major problems. ‘We have some universities that are very socially diverse and we have others that are very socially exclusive.’ He said universities with less diverse student bodies often struggled to attract applicants from a wide range of communities. ‘I encourage them to do outreach activity,’ he said. ‘Those who don’t have very diverse student communities often put much greater effort in than those who have more diverse student communities.’ He said the more exclusive universities must put up to a third of the money they get from charging the full level of tuition fees into outreach schemes. For example, the University of Birmingham runs Access To Birmingham, which offers lower entry grades to applicants from local postcodes where few go to uni – and whose parents were not in higher education – once they have passed an access course module. This scheme is part of the university’s access agreement, showing its investment in recruiting students from less well-off areas. Prof Ebdon praised decisions by universities such as Bristol to offer lower entry grades to promising pupils from local schools who might not otherwise have applied or got on to a course there. ‘In many cases, universities like Bristol, Leeds, Sheffield or Birmingham were established by the citizens of those cities,’ he added. ‘Over the years those relationships have decayed somewhat so I think they’re now putting a lot of effort into relating more strongly to their cities and recognising they have a responsibility in those areas to work with the schools to raise aspiration and achievement.’ The scrapping of caps on student numbers has also led to more students from less well-off backgrounds getting a place at uni. A report by Universities UK said since 2014, when institutions were first told they could accept as many students as they wished, courses have been more competitive. ‘Greater competition has acted as a driver for institutions to focus on recruiting students from lower participation backgrounds, including students from disadvantaged backgrounds,’ the report said. But it also mentioned fears that only a few universities were recruiting students from poorer backgrounds, narrowing the social mix at those institutions. The report, released in October, found other factors such as ethnicity, gender and whether students lived in rural or coastal areas, make it even less likely young people from

April 2017

Phoebe, second year, sociology: There are a lot of private school kids who collect in certain areas. It was particularly apparent in halls, especially Castle Leazes, which was catered and therefore more expensive. Everyone seems to know each other, which makes things slightly difficult as halls become quite cliquey. Evie, second year, business: It is quite a taboo subject. I do sometimes feel embarrassed that I went to boarding school.

poorer backgrounds will go to uni. But Prof Ebdon insisted things were getting better. ‘The numbers of disadvantaged students are at the highest level ever,’ he said. ‘There’s been a 72 per cent increase since the

There are a lot of private school kids in certain areas

Phoebe, sociology student

I avoid saying it because it sets you out from the crowd and there is a huge stereotype. It is such an uncomfortable topic and I often find myself trying to hide which school I went to because I know that I will be automatically judged. Adam, second year, English: It’s not really an issue – there’s normally loads of banter surrounding it but it never really causes a problem. People can usually tell when someone is ‘posh’ or wealthy due to what they wear – there are indicators for it, for example signet rings. But in general I find it doesn’t really matter, in my experience anyway. Marina, second year, geography: I wouldn’t say it’s an issue, especially at English universities. I have definitely heard that at American universities it is more prevalent because there are rich families who donate endless amounts of money and get certain benefits, but at English university I don’t particularly see it as an issue.

OFFA was established.’ However, he said his organisation was ﬁghting social barriers beyond university. ‘It’s about the whole student life cycle,’ he said. ‘We know kids from

Obviously when you meet people you have an idea of class, but it doesn’t really matter and people aren’t discriminatory. It is easy for people to fall into a clique but people are friends with each other based on whether they like them or not. I guess some people do fall into a group where they have mutual friends or perhaps their families know each other, which is certainly obvious within my own friendship group. My parents didn’t go to university and so I don’t have those links, but it hasn’t affected who I am friends with. George, third year, history: I don’t think it’s a huge issue because university lecturers and faculty members don’t care; it’s more about your interests. I would say Newcastle is a really equal place. It’s non-discriminatory in terms of class and wealth. Also Newcastle as a city is really cheap so it’s accessible to everyone – perhaps it’s different in somewhere like London.

disadvantaged areas start to fall behind in school. Even when you get into university, that’s not the end of the story – we know you’re less likely to get a ﬁrst or a 2:1. What this is all about is creating

There’s loads of banter but it never causes a problem

Adam, English student

million pounds – what universities spent on recruiting underrepresented groups in 2014-15

Is there a class divide at university? Email your thoughts to editor@unipaper. co.uk

a society where [the place] you’re born, the colour of your skin, what your parents do shouldn’t limit your life chances. People should be able to go as far as their talents, abilities and desires take them.’

unis and colleges have plans in place to improve access in 2016-17

6|Research

April 2017

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Jobless? Voluntary work could make you feel worse Unpaid work no use if other support low  Amy Denman Giving a helping hand to those who need it often results in a feelgood vibe. However, research from the University of Salford shows for the unemployed, taking part in voluntary work can be bad for mental health. Researchers looked at the wellbeing of 2,500 unemployed people from 29 European cities who said they were taking part in unpaid work. They found volunteer work was beneficial to those receiving generous unemployment benefits. However, in countries where financial support for the

unemployed was low, such as Italy and Croatia, volunteering work had a negative impact on the participants’ mental health. Dr Daiga Kamerade, a senior lecturer at Salford, said: ‘Ever since the ﬁnancial crisis, countries across Europe have seen higher levels of unemployment, or non-standard employment such as zero-hours contracts, and the response in many areas has been to counter this by encouraging unemployed people to take part in voluntary work. ‘We found that voluntary work during unemployment can have positive effects on wellbeing and mental health, which increase with higher rates of unemployment beneﬁt, but volunteering regularly and getting little welfare support can damage one’s mental health.’

The study, which was published in the Work, Employment and Society journal, revealed for people living in countries with an average level of financial support, volunteering made no difference to mental health. Dr Daiga Kamerade added: ‘Unemployed people should be given opportunities to engage in volunteering to enhance their wellbeing, but financial support for the unemployed is far more important. ‘These findings do not suggest unemployment benefit claimants should be pressurised to do voluntary work. The wellbeing and mental health benefits that are generated through voluntary work may not exist at all if unemployed people are forced to carry out Mixed impact: Volunteering is not for everyone compulsory community work or

Fake limbs will use solar power

An extra layer of fat may keep you warm in the winter but it will not cushion the blow of pain, according to new research from Leeds Beckett University. The study looked at the differences in pain response between different groups of people. A group of scientists looked at 74 volunteers who were categorised as obese, overweight, or ‘normal’ according to their body mass index. The participants had pressure, cold and heat applied to their thumbs and waists. They were then asked to report at what point the pressure, cold and heat began to feel painful. The tests found the obese group felt pain from the pressure at a lower point than the ‘normal’ group. There was no signiﬁcant difference in the point at which the different groups felt pain from the cold or heat tests. Dr Osama Tashani, a senior research fellow at the Centre for Pain Research at Leeds Beckett University, said: ‘Obese people are more likely to experience pain

‘Skin capable of touch sensitivity also opens the possibility of creating robots capable of making better decisions about human safety. ‘A robot working on a construction line, for example, is much less likely to accidentally injure a human if it can feel that a person has unexpectedly entered its area of movement.’

More gain more pain: Higher BMI subjects had low pain threshold

from factors such as the mechanical impact of increased weight on joints than people with a normal BMI. ‘But our study suggests that even in areas of the body which are not bearing weight, obese people are more susceptible to pressure pain.’ ‘The overweight group had the highest pressure pain threshold, which might be because there were more people in this group taking part in physical activities, which could also affect how a person feels pain.’

 Amy Denman While most of us have merely skin and bones in our hands, Marvel character Wolverine boasts retractable metal claws. But non-superhumans have more in common with the X-Men character than we may think, as mamals’ skeletons use metal to form. Scientists from the University of Manchester discovered trace

metals the bones of mamals, including copper, calcium, zinc and strontium. Researchers analysed the tiny bones from mouse limbs using intense x-ray beams ten billion times more intense than the sun. This took place at a specialist centre, the Diamond Light Source in Oxfordshire, which is shaped like a massive doughnut and acts like a giant microscope. Using the facility, the Manchester research team found each step the skeleton goes through as it develops

from softer cartilage into harder bone needs a different trace metal. There are three stages to bone development helped by metal traces, which leave ‘ﬁngerprints’, identifyable by the strong x-ray. Lead author Dr Jennifer Anné said: ‘The reason bone needs to be able to store these metals is that many biological processes rely on the tiniest traces of chemical elements like zinc and strontium. ‘A good example of that is what we are seeing in the developing skeleton of our mouse. You get to

PICTURE: SYASYA_AKEMI

Super x-ray reveals bones’ link to X-Men superhuman Process captured for the first time ever

Spending cuts to sexual health services and help to quit smoking will cost billions in the long run, a review has shown. Government plans to save money on these clinics could backfire, according to Prof Simon Capewell at the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Psychology, Health and Society. Prof Capewell and his team looked at 52 studies into public health measures and found they saved money overall. ‘The recent UK increases in avoidable teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, homelessness and suicides are thus predictable and deeply worrying,’ Prof Capewell said.

off’ brain part

 Amy Denman

Handy work: Dr Dahiya with a prototype

already made signiﬁcant steps in creating prosthetic prototypes which integrate synthetic skin and are capable of making very sensitive pressure measurements. ‘Those measurements mean the prosthetic hand is capable of performing challenging tasks such as properly gripping soft materials, which others can struggle with.

Health cuts could cost us dearly

Obese people ‘have a lower pain threshold’ GPS ‘turns

 Amy Denman

You can get sun-powered versions of pretty much everything these days, from street lights to phone chargers. But fake skin with solar cells implanted in it sounds like something out of science ﬁction. That’s what scientists at the University of Glasgow have developed, however. The solar cells will be used to power a thin layer of ‘skin’, made from a substance called graphene, which can help the limb’s wearer detect pressure. The graphene layer conducts electricity, so it can be connected to electronic pressure sensors in parts of the prosthetic and it uses little energy, so can be powered by tiny solar cells implanted under it. Dr Ravinder Dahiya, from Glasgow’s School of Engineering, said: ‘My colleagues and I have

IN BRIEF

see a snapshot of these processes occurring throughout the limb; something that hasn’t been imaged before.’ Although it is well known that certain metals such as calcium can aid bone health, this is the ﬁrst time a detailed image has been produced of the use of trace metals in bone development. Natural history professor Phillip Manning said: ‘Our work is slowly teasing new information from life on Earth that can be mapped from Claws of steel: Wolverine their mortal remains.’

Using a Sat Nav to get from A to B causes part of the brain to ‘switch off’, according to researchers. The team at University College London found using GPS systems stops part of the brain usually used to think of the correct route from working. The study looked at 24 volunteers who used a sat nav through London’s Soho while undergoing brain scans. Researchers studied activity in the hippocampus – part of the brain that helps memory and navigation – and the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in decision making. The study revealed the hippocampus decreased in activity when the satnavs were in use.

New wheat helps bones Specially bred wheat could help humans fight anaemia and give chickens stronger bones. The crop can be bred to produce high levels of an enzyme needed to help poultry break down a nutrient needed for bone growth, reducing the need for expensive supplements. The Nottingham Trent University researchers who carried out the work said the wheat could also help more than 700million people globally with anaemia caused partly by a diet high in grains and certain types of beans. Dr Emily Burton, head of the Poultry Research Unit at Trent, said: ‘It has been exciting to explore a completely different way of providing meat chickens with the phosphorous needed for healthy bones.’

The Interview  Patrick Hollis

E ALL have a friend in our group who is the liability – despite their best intentions, things just seem to happen to them. As I speak to Two Door Cinema Club frontman Alex Trimble, I start to get the impression the incident-prone member of his band is bass player Kevin Baird. Trimble is telling me about the time Baird caused a scare at the Isle Of Wight – the first festival the band played at – when they were 17 and 18. ‘We had no clue what we were doing,’ he says. ‘We just wanted to have a good time. We were drinking a lot and doing other things. ‘Kev passed out in one of the toilets and locked himself inside. He caused a festival-wide security alert – they thought someone had died.’ Trimble turned up with guitarist and backing singer Sam Halliday to find the portable toilet surrounded by security guards and police, all trying to get in. ‘They just found Kev

asleep inside,’ Trimble says. He next reels off a list of mishaps at their first Glastonbury in 2010, the year they released their debut album Tourist History. It’s a memory Trimble ‘always goes back to’. ‘We were basically kids,’ he says. ‘It was mad – it rained all the time and we just lost our f*****g minds. ‘I remember Kev woke up in someone else’s tent because he couldn’t find his way back to the camp. Also, this guy who was travelling with us and was meant to look after all of our stuff left a bag in another campsite. We lost our car keys and passports.’ Trimble also ended up face-down in the mud. ‘I woke up an hour before we had to go and play the Queen’s Head Stage, which was our biggest show

Trapped door: (l-r) bassist Kevin Baird, who locked himself in a toilet at the Isle Of Wight festival, singer Alex Trimble and lead guitarist and backing vocalist Sam Halliday

of the weekend,’ he adds. ‘Our managers went AWOL – it was a true Glastonbury experience.’ The band can also add ‘nearly getting arrested in a foreign country’ to their list of festival experiences. ‘Time and time again we’ve ended up in sticky situations,’ Trimble says. ‘There was another time when we were doing Splendour In The Grass in Australia.’ The 27-year-old tells me the band

‘One boat arrived with a policeman in it – we all expected to be handcuffed and everything. ‘The guy said “I’m here to get you guys out of here”. So we jumped in the boat. He raced over to the other end of the lake and dropped us off. ‘We ended up running through the forest and managed to escape. It was a lucky ending to what could have been a terrible disaster.’ His band’s misdemeanours sound pretty rock ‘n’ roll, but the Northern Irish singer says festivals are not as VIP-focussed behind the scenes as

I like to come early and watch a few bands, it helps me to get into the vibe of the venue for when you go and perform on stage were invited to watch a DJ set on a boat in the middle of a lake. ‘Everyone was on the shore dancing,’ he says. ‘We were on the boat having a good time and were doing some things we maybe shouldn’t have and we didn’t realise everyone could see us. ‘We looked up and the whole shore of the lake was surrounded by security. These two boats started pulling out towards our boat – by this point we were sh****g ourselves. We thought “this is it, we’re going to jail”.

fans might believe. ‘Backstage is not always the most glamorous,’ he says. ‘If we can, we’ll try to get to a hotel for a bit of R&R.’

When I ask what makes backstage so unsavoury, he says: ‘There’s a lot of stuff, but it is difficult to complain when you’re in that position and living the dream. ‘The thing which can get me is when backstage becomes a bit of an afterthought. It’s getting better – I think people understand more. ‘But some organisers don’t understand some bands are doing 30 or 40 festivals every summer. ‘When you get to a festival and there are no showers and no real place to be comfortable, it can get a bit tiring.’ But the indie threesome have not been put off revisiting familiar stages

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Opinion

25 9 April 2017

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My nation is proud

 Emily Swales I ask for Trimble’s personal favourite and he’s torn. ‘Glastonbury is always the one we try to spend as much time as possible at,’ he says. ‘I try to always make sure we aren’t at any other festival on that weekend.’ But there’s a challenger for his top spot across the Atlantic. ‘We did Bonnaroo festival in

Backstage is not always the most glamorous place

Alex Trimble

Tennessee last year and that was amazing,’ he says. ‘There’s not many festivals that maintain that vibe – it hasn’t been over-commercialised. ‘I would love to do it again.’ And though the band have now been together for ten years, Trimble is getting no less excited about their performances than when they started out. ‘It keeps getting better as we

move up the bills over the years,’ the 27-year-old says. ‘Their first album changed my life ‘For example, we’re playing on the when I was a teenager,’ he says. ‘I capability no-one listens to us. Lollapalooza tour in Yung America so there learned to play every song but on guitar Lin are six or seven dates across South and learned everyTaiwan word. comes with all kinds am Taiwanese. I acknowledge it hasofplayed quirkysuch names America with theIsame bands. ‘That band a bigin different as my nationality international events. Chinese Taipei ‘Every night we’re on before The and have part innever my life and the fact that it. mind.’ at thethem Olympic games Strokes, which isdoubted blowing my we’re on right before is hard to and AsiaLast I went onbelieve. a studyIt’s totally Pacifi c Economic Cooperation, and He says he still has tomonth, pinch himself surreal.’ tour to the United NationsTrimble Office says heThe Separate Customs Territory every time he performs ahead of the likes to watch as in Geneva. At a dinner, we allbands had as possible. of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen four-time NME Award winners. many to wear a name badge with ourto come and Matsu the World Trade ‘I like down early at and country’s flag printed on. Some Organisation. like wearing a watch a few bands,’ he says. ‘It It’s helps mask a party while the others students had two, even three agsinto the me toflget vibeto ofjoin the venue their faces. on their badges. However, for mine when was you goshow on stage. away my flag is like empty. ‘Festivals are theTaking best opportunity shutting mouth. It tore me apart Taiwan is not recognised as ato see other we get bandsmy – when nation by the United Nations you’reand, on tour it’s not viable. Takingisaway my flag is like as such, I was standing in‘You the UN get to see whoever shutting my mouth. It tore me Office without a nationality. supporting you or who you’re I felt a mixture of feelings – apart one night supporting, but you getin the chance to confused, upset, disappointed, check out so many new Yung Linbands or the angry, frustrated and sorrowful. ones youIalready love.’



OK to care: Politics may not always be cheery but it is important

Having a view is the in thing Respect us: A campaigner speaks at an anti-cuts demo

PICTURE: MAYA JUNDI

Apathy, ignorance, narcissism and frustration. and performing on new ones. These sometour of the Theirare festival thismany summer, factors to explain millennials’ whichsaid follows the release of latest apparent lack of interest in politics album Gameshow in October, and currenta headline affairs. slot at includes Yet, as someone placed Boardmasters plus showsinatthis Reading, demographic, I feeland suchCoachella. statements Leeds, Wilderness cannot account for every young person who demonstrates little interest in the political climate. Perhaps we need to consider whether not caring is actually a way of conforming to the conventional notions of adolescence. Social media is indispensable and inﬂuential for many millennials. I’ve seen countless articles online which give rules on what not to do on a ﬁrst date, all of which advise people to avoid talking about politics and religion. I can’t help but feel sweeping statements such as this are going to shape an incorrect set of social norms and expectations. Although I enjoy talking about what colour I’ve painted my nails, I sometimes feel people avoid politically fuelled conversations for fear of being labelled uncool. However, it should be deemed cool to care and have an informed opinion about social and political issues. It seems impossible to expect teens to engage in conversations on current events when we’re portrayed as separate entities from the rest of the adult population. Jenni Herd, a 16-year-old from Ayrshire, wrote a letter to The Times replying to an article which looked at how parents and carers can handle their teens. Jenni described these perceptions of teenagers as incorrect and disrespectful and asked the newspaper to ‘stop teaching adults

how to behave around us and instead teach them to respect us’. There are a host of prevalent issues affecting the young people of today – rising house prices, tuition fees, climate change and cybercrime to name a few. The consequences of some will not reveal themselves for years

to come. Therefore, it’s important that we speak up about such issues, not just with the political elite but among ourselves also. This generation should not be discouraged from sharing our opinions with each other and the rest of the world. It is OK to have an opinion. It is OK to care.

Women should not fear subjects

In response to How do we rebalance the scales in our labs? on p4-5 of TUP’s March edition

 Deepa Patel After all these years, you’d think stereotypes and gender roles in society would be pretty much non-existent. However, after reading TUP’s article on women in STEM, it deeply upsets me to realise these ‘traditional’ stigmas still exist and are impacting course choices for prospective students today. A university course should be open and welcoming for anyone, so why are courses such as civil engineering still dominated by men? Abbey Frasi, who studied civil engineering at the University of Brighton said in the article there were about ten girls out of a total 85 Female wonders: Last month, students on her course. TUP spoke to women in STEM Statistics from the Women’s Engineering Society show the UK’s about erasing the stigma workforce contains the lowest percentage of female engineering

professionals in Europe, at less than ten per cent. Some may say these statistics show that females simply aren’t interested in this subject. However, as electronic engineering student Kristina Grigorjeva said, many women don’t have the conﬁdence or willingness to challenge themselves by studying

It shocks me to think females haven’t got the confidence or don’t want to be a minority on a STEM course

Deepa Patel

STEM subjects at university. It’s not because women aren’t interested, it is because expectations of what female and male students should study still exist. It shocks me to think females haven’t got the conﬁdence or don’t want to be a minority on a STEM course, so they choose a course more suited to others’ expectations of what suits them. Why are female students still restricted by their gender, which

in one night. I don’t know how wasn’t sure who I was. Those with much a flag matters but I know that flags seemed united, I was alone. mine represents my nationality. A flag is a symbol of a nation. To I thought everyone was equal, not remove the symbol is to violently to mention Two DoorICinema Club headlinewe were all standing in erase one’s identity. Ever since the United Boardmasters on Friday, AugustNations. 11. Get was born, I was aware that I’m Article 15 of the Universal your tickets at www.boardmasters.co.uk Taiwanese. Declaration of Human Rights from I know Taiwan has not been the United Nations says: ‘Everyone recognised yet, but we make a lot has the right to a nationality.’ of effort to join the international I guess a nationality shouldn’t community. We haven’t been matter much, but it matters enough allowed to speak out but we do to be included within their charter. listen. We have the technology, the

then determines their educational path, and consequently their career paths? I strongly believe gender stereotypes are conﬁning individuals in both life and education. Surely traditional stereotypes should have begun to loosen by now? Both the STEM and WISE campaigns are constantly encouraging female students to pick subjects which were previously male dominated. We live in the 21st century – full of possibilities – and we all deserve the right to make our own educational choices and not feel afraid of being the only woman in the class. Students should not be limited by their gender. Stereotypes must begin to disappear. For more views on issues from food to feminism, visit unipaper.co.uk

Celebs do not ruin books  Emma Mazey At this point everyone has heard of Zoella and PewDiePie — if you haven’t then you’ve been living under a social media rock. YouTubers are taking over the internet with a new kind of fame. These internet stars can make thousands, even millions of pounds on the videos they upload. However, with popularity comes criticism, mostly from traditional media and those who don’t get it. I’ll admit I ﬁnd it somewhat infuriating that these normal people have hit the jackpot and can make more than I probably will ever earn, regardless of my degree, just by making a video in their bedroom. But I understand the appeal. While these stars have taken over the internet, the big business minds behind them have tried to break other forms of media as well, such as literature. Publishers are queuing up to offer thousands of pounds in book deals to internet stars. Zoe Sugg, known online as Zoella, has broken records with her trio of books called Girl Online. She caused controversy over the

fact she received help writing the book, but she got young people excited about reading. This is something which, as much as it pains me to say, we haven’t seen since Harry Potter. The Guardian recently published an article which called Zoella the ‘vlogger blamed for declining teenage literacy’ because her books are seen as an easy read. However, by releasing books they are encouraging reading, regardless of the content or who wrote it. We must also not ignore the fact Zoella has been the ﬁgurehead of WHSmith book clubs targeted towards a young adult audience. Regardless of if she has actually read them, isn’t the mere fact she is promoting books enough proof that these stars aren’t ruining the industry, but are making reading cool again. Naturally, I will always have arguments in my mind about the ethos of having a video star write a book just because the publisher knows it will sell. However it is business, after all, and if it protects the literature industry, then I’m all for it.

Promotional Feature

April 2017

TELL ME MORE... The Transfiguration follows troubled teen Milo (Eric Ruffin) who hides behind his fascination with vampire lore. When he meets the equally alienated Sophie (Chloe Levine), the two form a bond that begins to challenge Milo’s dark obsession, blurring his fantasy into reality. A chilling portrait of violence, The Transfiguration is an atmospheric thriller set against the grit of New York City. It’s perfect for fans of Let The Right One In, Martin, Near Dark, The Lost Boys, and Moonlight.

The horror buried in undead history The Transfiguration director Michael O’Shea pays homage to some of the best movies of all time in his killer new vampire flick. Check out thetransfiguration.co.uk for more info

 Susie Joseph N NEW vampire ﬁlm The Transﬁguration, master of the macabre and director Michael O’Shea demonstrates his love for movie magic with plenty of nods to silver screen classics, past and current. While there’s an extensive catalogue to choose from, we take a look at some of the most important homages made in this muted thriller.

Nosferatu (1922) Widely regarded as ‘the one that started it all’, Nosferatu is a classic vampire film and one of the most referenced pictures in horror’s cinematic history. And, like many before it, The Transfiguration shows its respect to the daddy of the genre. Lead character Milo (Eric Ruffin) has a video cassette copy on a

A love letter to the horror genre it may be, but The Transfiguration is far more contemplative than the average fan boy offering Make sure to read our full review of The Transfiguration at www.unipaper.co.uk – it’s got a lot of bite

shelf in his bedroom and the film gets a brief mention when he dismisses one of the tropes it established – that vampires burn up in sunlight. It’s quite hard to even make a movie of this genre without alluding to Nosferatu in some way, it was so groundbreaking. It did shamelessly plagiarise Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula, but it is still viewed as one of the scariest films of all time.

Let The Right One In (2008) Right off the bat, there are some stark comparisons to be made between this Swedish romantic horror film and The Transfiguration. Both make use of the interplay between two young, otherwise isolated, people and the connection that forms between them – overshadowed by one’s dark secret. Director Tomas Alfredson also favours a subtler approach in a genre that is regularly overhammed and heavily concentrated with clichés. Let The Right One In, like The Transfiguration, is a film for those who prefer a more implicit take on bloodsucking, utilising grungy urban scenery over cape swishing.

it’s hard not to draw comparisons to Moonlight, the film that won the Academy Award for Best Picture this year, as it also makes use of loose storytelling and heavy atmosphere. Aside from the cannibalism, The Transfiguration is quite similar to director Barry Jenkin’s awardwinning flick in many ways. They both focus on the struggles of a troubled protagonist, battling with isolation and self-acceptance. Any fans of the sensitive, moody charisma that made Moonlight a critics’ favourite will appreciate the subtlety of The Transfiguration, intermittently broken by a light stabbing.

Moonlight (2016) Although not directly referenced

LOGO of estate agent

Your Life

Students reveal their unique experiences at university.

ROWING up I wasn’t fat, just a little bit on the chubby side. At around 16, I decided I wanted to lose the weight and stick to it, so I did. I ate healthily and exercised regularly and over a couple of years I did manage to slim down. Even though I lost the weight, I didn’t lose my appetite – I still wanted to eat all the time. I’d been watching Adam Richman’s Man V. Food, thinking ‘I’m so hungry, I reckon I could do that’. I found the Gutbuster Challenge up in Newcastle during my second year of uni there. It was a 24oz burger with wedges and a milkshake and you had to finish it in 20 minutes. At the time it was a bit of a laugh and I called up a couple of my friends to do it with me. I was quietly confident beforehand, but I wasn’t sure how it would be because I’d never done an eating challenge before. Twenty minutes later, I’d literally just swallowed my last bite and the bell went. At the end, I was full, but not in pain or feeling ill – it was absolutely fine. I put a before and after photo up on my Facebook, where it got picked up by LAD Bible. They wrote an article on me and that was where it all started. Eventually, my friends convinced

me to start a Facebook page. Towards the end of third year and the start of fourth year I carried on doing eating challenges and videoing them. The more I was doing challenges, the more attention they were getting – it was a snowball effect, which is just so ﬂattering. I did business marketing and management and for my dissertation, I thought it would be interesting to see whether a viral video had a tangible marketing effect – so whether a video of mine would actually bring people to the restaurants. I put discount codes for three restaurants at the end of my videos. They all went viral, with one going stupidly viral, and the pattern of how many people went to the restaurants matched with the views on my challenges. I don’t know how I managed to wing my dissertation on something so fun – it didn’t seem real. After I graduated from uni last June, LAD Bible and I agreed a permanent position was a good idea, so my role is now as a presenter and kind of a producer for them. If there’s a good idea involving London and (usually) food we’ll go out and ﬁlm it. I do have to do all the boring dieting and exercise stuff which sucks, because I’m naturally a very lazy human being – I’m not one of

April 2017

I don’t know how I managed to wing my dissertation on something so fun

Kate Ovens

these people who are like ‘I love the gym!’ I go because I know I need to do it. I exercise a lot and I try my best to stay in shape. When I do go to the gym I go pretty hard and I love my cardio. During the last session I did a 22km run, so when I say I go hard, I mean I go hard. People only really see that one side of me in the challenges, but if they saw me day in and day out they’d realise I’m not like that at all. I used to work part-time as a children’s entertainer, dressing up as Elsa from Frozen, and after one party the girl who’d booked me came up to me and said ‘Do you have a Facebook page where I can leave a review?’ And I said ‘I have a Facebook page, it’s just not for this…’ I Woman vs food: Kate Ovens takes showed her my eating page and on an enormous eating challenge she just said ‘What?! I would never have expected that!’ That’s what I quite like about it: because people see me eating loads for the challenges they think they’ve got me completely sussed out, but I’m like ‘Nope, you haven’t at all’. I still keep up doing a challenge every two or three weeks, and I’m just trying not to jinx the life I have now because it’s so good.

How I became a competitive eater Newcastle University graduate Kate Ovens tells TUP how she shocks the internet by devouring a massive amount of food

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Do you have an unusual story to tell? Email editor@ unipaper.co.uk

Promotional Feature

April 2017

Could you be the ultimate baller? Players with deadly accuracy, nerves of steel and great team spirit could net £5k at the Bar Pong UK Championship  The University Paper

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Standing between you and eternal glory is ten cups, a litre of water and, of course, a whole load of ping pong balls. The Bar Pong UK Championship kicks off this May, and there’s an incredible £5,000 cash pot for the winning team, £2,500 for the runners up and £1,250 for the second runners up. On top of that there will be a nerve-jangling six-cup shoot out with an extra £250 to be won. If you’re brave enough to enter you will need to sign up for the qualifiers which are taking place across 40 venues in the UK, from Edinburgh to Cardiff, Northampton to Newcastle. The victorious team in each qualifier wins £250 and free entry to the grand final, which takes place at Walkabout Bar in Temple, London on Sunday, May 14 from 6pm. And if you live outside the capital, don’t worry, the Bar Pong team will contribute £200 towards your travel and accommodation. Participating teams will only be playing with water directly from sponsor Willow Water, with snacks from Tayto Group, so they have a clear head and straight aim. It will keep them hydrated throughout the night, so they’ve got no chance of running out of steam. But the final is not just going to showcase some cracking pong, there will also be special guest DJ appearances including Capital Xtra presenter Emma Conybeare and a celebrity championship before the winner is announced. So you’re convinced, but what is Bar Pong? The original game is generally played by teams of two in which

Team spirit: The Bar Pong UK team, are gearing up for a gripping championship this May

players take it in turns throwing a ping pong ball into the opposing team’s cup. Usually it’s played with beer but Bar Pong focuses on the game and social aspects, and plays with various liquids, not necessarily

alcohol. Their philosophy? It doesn’t matter what’s in the cup, as long as you get the ball in. They want everyone to have fun and #PongResponsibly. Bar Pong is a super-thrilling game (and competitive sport) if you are

It doesn’t matter what’s in the cup, as long as you get the ball in

looking for something to do with friends, but not worried about, or wanting to get drunk – it provides enough energy and adrenaline as it is. And when £5,000 is up for grabs, you won’t want to take your eye off the ball. The Bar Pong UK Championship is £30 to enter per person, and you will need a team of two – so grab a mate (you will need to choose carefully). To find your nearest qualifier venue, and to sign up, visit www. barponguk.com. You will find full details about the game, the rules and what you’ll need to take part. Any questions? Drop them an email on hello@barponguk.com Keep track of the championship and new venues on Twitter @BarPongUK, and get involved using #BarPong and #PongResponsibly. They can’t wait to see you there – and you’ll have to trust us, it’ll be bouncing.

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What’s On

The Lowdown

April 2017

 Amy Denman

T TAKES a certain type of person to start a festival – someone who is creative, well versed in music and organised, which is why I was surprised when DJ Rob da Bank tells me Bestival was born from ‘some ideas on the back of a fag packet’. Now a successful annual event about to embark on its 13th year, it’s hard to think of the four-dayer as a splurge of thoughts written on rubbish. Robert Gorham, AKA Rob da Bank, thought up the idea with his wife, known as Josie da Bank in the industry, and a couple of friends. ‘It sounds a bit lame but it was me, my wife and our two partners and we just sat and threw some ideas around,’ he tells me. ‘There weren’t that many festivals around that time – 14 years ago – there was Reading, Glastonbury and a few others. There was nothing to base it on, so we made up our own.’ The exact details for the festival, which was held on the Isle of Wight but moves to Dorset this year, weren’t figured out straight away, but Rob and the team had a vision.

P16-17

MEGA ROUND-UP Who’s playing where at all the UK’s big festivals

P18-19

STARTING THE PARTY LeeFest founder on his garden gathering roots

‘We knew we wanted it to be a magical escape from society so that was the driving force,’ he says. ‘We didn’t want it to be a boring tent and a bar in a field, we wanted it to be a bit more exciting than that.’ After their not-so-official meeting and finding someone to invest, the 43-year-old says there were a lot of ‘boring hoops to jump through’, from meeting the police and fire services to getting a licence and land deal. ‘The Isle of Wight were a little bit suspicious of what we were going to do. I was quite well known as a BBC Radio 1 DJ and probably known for dance music so they probably thought it was going to be some insane rave with drug addled teenagers,’ he says. However, once they got through the admin stages, the Goldsmiths alumnus tells me they didn’t have a problem selling tickets. ‘We sold 4,000 in our first year which was more than we needed to,’ he says. After six months of organising, Rob was ready to show his brainchild to music fans.

I can still remember that feeling of being like ‘wow all these have turned up for our festival – this is incredible’

Rob da Bank

Party starter: Rob da Bank created Bestival 13 years ago with his wife

‘That was one of the most exciting bits, opening the gates on the first one and seeing all these great looking – not great looking – but interesting, cool people turning up to our own festival,’ he says. ‘It was a real proud moment. ‘To stand there on the stage later that day and look out and see – I thought it was a massive sea of people but it was only 4,000 – it felt huge. ‘I can still remember that feeling of being like “wow all these have turned up for our festival – this is incredible”.’ Since the first Bestival in 2004, its popularity has ballooned and it has won a number of awards. It’s safe to say the festival has found its own place on the circuit, with its imaginative fancy dress themes and ambitious structures making it stand out. The event even holds a Guinness World Record for the largest disco ball. I ask Rob which fancy dress

It started on a fag packet

CHARLIE SLOTH The Radio 1Xtra DJ on awkward interviews

P23

Rob da Bank looks back on the first Bestival

P24-25 PICTURE: JAY MCLAUGHLIN

*Discount only redeemable in size? stores until 31st May 2017 when purchasing full priced TWO DOOR product and accompanied with a valid student ID. Full Terms & conditions apply. CINEMA CLUB Lead singer Alex shares band’s festival loo fiascos

theme has been his favourite. ‘The underwater theme was pretty good, but unfortunately it poured with rain for three days so I got it in the neck for that,’ he laughs. ‘But yeah, there were some great underwater creatures.’ Although turning up at Bestival is already much like stepping into a magical realm, Rob tells me the budget restricts him from creating his dream event. ‘I wish we had an unlimited budget, then we could create the world’s best festival, no doubt about it. ‘I think we’ve got all the brains and imagination for it, but things are very expensive so it’s halfway there but we need a lot more money to make it really special.’ Despite enjoying his enviable career, Rob admits: ‘[Festivals are] a real double-edged sword – they’re an amazing thing to run but they also never get any easier.’

R OB D A BANK

The Lowdown

15 April 2017

Hello

FOUR OF THE BEST

from The University Paper

The smell of summer is beginning to tease our nostrils, which means it’s almost time to bring out the disposable barbecues, sunglasses and – of course – hayfever tablets. It’s also time to splurge the last installment of your student loan on festival tickets. Who needs books and heating when you’ve got good memories and the chance to see your favourite acts – are we right? If you are an avid reader of TUP (which we’re sure many of you are) you will know festival season is our favourite time of year. With this in mind, we have made this month extra special for you, to ensure you will get the most out of the UK summer sun this year. Whether you are a welly

wearing, mosh pit pro or a newbie when it comes to roughing it in the middle of nowhere for the love of music, we’ve got you covered. We have a roundup of every major UK event, with highlights of the lineup and a bit of information to help you decide between Latitude and Leeds, Glastonbury and Gottwood or Boardmasters and Bestival. We’ve also got the dirt on Radio 1Xtra DJ Charlie Sloth’s craziest festival story and his most awkward interview, as well as his tips on which new grime acts to look out for. No one does crazy like Two Door Cinema Club though. We have not one but three stories of the Northern Irish trio’s festival madness in our double-page interview with frontman Alex Trimble. This month we also introduce

ARTISTS TO CATCH THIS SUMMER

Sunny times: TUP writer Alexandra Bullen enjoying V Fest last year

you to Paper Tiger, a freshly formed band from the University of Bristol who have some pretty obscure answers to our questions. With all that and more we would be very surprised if you were not tempted to get online and start shopping for a tent

straight away. However, before you hasten to the nearest camping supplier, take a cheeky peek at the ultimate glamping experience, which will set you back £6,000 for the weekend – small change for the rich and famous who want to be seen at the

world’s best fests but would rather head straight to the VIP bar than spend hours arguing with their mates as they pitch their own canvas. We can all dream. Much love

Stefflon Don’s inventive rhymes and wordplay have caught the attention of rap and grime fans alike. Her rich patois voice has led to comparisons with Nicki Minaj. She will play Wireless Festival.

The TUP team

Mura Masa’s unique musical production and powerful song lyrics have helped to build his fan base and get him a lot of attention from fans and the industry. Catch him when he plays Parklife in Manchester.

100 Oxford Street London W1D 1LL 020 7580 6419 www.unipaper.co.uk @TheUniPaper

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Raye has a stage presence and voice that defies her tender age – she’s only 19. Her distinctive, sultry vocals have quickly attracted high-profile fans, including Charli XCX. She will perform at V Festival.

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Ray BLK’s songs are unapologetically English r‘n’b with a sparse, edgy backdrop. The 23-year-old claimed the BBC’s Sound Of 2017. You can see her at Lovebox Festival. jessjenkins.co.uk

Osazeme Osaghae

Festivals round up

2000trees

Boardmasters

Upcote Farm, Cheltenham, July 6 to 8, Slaves, Nothing But Thieves, Mallory Knox – If you’re sick of getting lost among the mobs, 2000trees offers a more intimate atmosphere with just 5,000 attending. There’s some excellent up-and-comers on show plus local ciders, ales and lagers. John Shaw

Watergate Bay and Fistral Beach, Cornwall, August 9 to 13, Two Door Cinema Club, Jamiroquai, alt-J – You know you’re in for a treat when packing a pair of flip flops is just as important as remembering the wellies. Not only is there an amazing line-up this year but Boardmasters, set on the stunning Cornish coast, boasts a pro surfing competition with some of the best athletes on the globe taking part. John Shaw

Beat-Herder Ribble Valley, Lancashire, July 14 to 16, Sleaford Mods, Trentemøller, Toots And The Maytals – Get your thinking caps on because this year’s fancy dress theme is the letter D. Whether you’re a duck, dinosaur or even Donald Trump there’s loads to do including a prosecco bar and a shack dedicated to Absinthe. John Shaw

Bestival Lulworth Estate, Dorset, September 7 to 10, The xx, A Tribe Called Quest, Dizzee Rascal – New venue and a new start for Bestival. No longer on the Isle of Wight, the four-dayer was moved to the Lulworth Estate – a wooded country plot on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. It’s a big year for the decade old festival. History will be made. John Shaw

Blissfields Vicarage Farm, Woodmancott, July 6 to 8, Metronomy, The Cinematic Orchestra, Lady Leshurr – In the heart of Winchester’s beautiful countryside lays the wonderfully weird Blissfields. A fusion of creativity and madness awaits all those willing to lose themselves in the blissfulness. From big beats to creative workshops, it’ll be a weekend full of natural frivolity, hardcore skanking and wooden-spoonmaking. Louisa Kendal

Boomtown Fair Matterley Estate, Hampshire, August 10 to 13, Cypress Hill, Dusky, Frank Turner – Now in it’s ninth chapter, Boomtown Fair has been praised as the most immersive and theatrical festival going. Transforming the fields into a surreal city built on revolt and chaos, it offers revellers a weekend of escapism so contrary to ordinary existence. Louisa Kendal

Camden Rocks Camden, London, June 3, The Coral, The Damned, The Rifles – What better place to celebrate great music than the home of London’s rock’n’roll scene? Historic venues such as Electric Ballroom, KOKO and Proud will play host to more than 250 bands and artists (plus a horde of trendy music lovers). Leather jackets are optional but advised. John Shaw

Citadel Victoria Park, London, July 16, Foals, Bonobo, Wild Beasts – A unique oneday festival celebrating the creativity and artistry of London. Centred in the

heart of London’s Victoria Park the event first opened its doors in 2015 and has since gone from strength to strength, boasting past headline acts as Bombay Bicycle Club, Ben Howard and Sigur Rós. Will Green

Cocoon In The Park Temple Newsam, Leeds, July 8, Sven Väth, Adam Beyer, Joseph Capriati – All the best ideas are thought of by friends and that is exactly what happened with Cocoon In The Park. Sven Väth and the team behind Mint Club and Mint Warehouse got together in 2009 and came up with the open air event with one stage which would present music lovers with the greatest DJs, visual effects and technology in the middle of the Yorkshire countryside. Bliss. Amy Denman

Common People Southampton and Oxford, May 27 to 28, Pete Tong, Sean Paul, Tom Odell – What better way to spend a bank holiday than listening to your favourite acts? If that sounds like a dream come true for you, Common People have you sorted. With two days taking place in two separate parts of England, you’ve got every chance to grab yourself a ticket. Amy Denman

Creamfields Daresbury, Cheshire, August 24 to 27, Andy C, deadmau5, Stormzy - The legendary dance festival returns to the fields of Cheshire, for yet another incarnation of its electronic trailblazing. With its bombastic mix of fireworks and incredible light shows,

dance fans will be in heaven as Creamfields brings the biggest names in the biz together for a boogie over four days. Tom Gellatly

Dot To Dot Bristol, Nottingham and Manchester, May 26 to 28, Sundara Karma, Amber Run, The Growlers – Dot To Dot sees the best new bands from far and wide bounce from Manchester to Bristol to Nottingham across a single weekend. Previous performers include Wolf Alice, The 1975, Florence And The Machine and even Ed Sheeran. So if you want to catch the next best thing, Dot To Dot is the festival to do just that. Joe Cadman

Download Donington Park, Derby, June 9 to 11, System Of A Down, Biffy Clyro, Aerosmith - Taking place at what it calls ‘the spiritual home of rock’ – Donington Park – Download is all about bringing together classic acts and the hard-rocking up-and-comers of today. With an excellent mix of headliners this year there will be something for everyone to air guitar along to. Tom Gellatly

Electric Fields Drumlanrig Castle, Thornhill, September 1 to 2, Frightened Rabbit, Dizzee Rascal, The Jesus And Mary Chain – Secreted deep within a forest in Scotland, Electric Fields combines a plethora of circus-like attractions with some truly unique music. With a diverse line-up, these are woods you’ll want to get lost in. Tom Gellatly

Farr Festival Bygrave Wood, Hertfordshire, July 13 to 15, Todd Terje, Booka Shade, Craig

Richards – You wouldn’t think an uninhabited forest in Hertfordshire would be the place to go to see some of the best electronic music acts doing their thing, but you’d be wrong. Farr Festival features a huge array of the biggest names in the genre, combined with some truly awesome daytime experiences to keep you entertained. Tom Gellatly

FestEvol Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool, April 30, Wild Beasts, Pulled Apart By Horses, The Parrots – Taking place in the enormous Invisible Wind Factory, this year’s FestEvol sees Wild Beasts gracing the Evol stages for the eighth time. New names to the festival include Madrid-based The Parrots and Ulrika Spacek, who are sure to electrify the crowd with their insane live show. Tom Gellatly

Field Day Victoria Park, London, June 3, Aphex Twin, Lady Leshurr, Mura Masa – Going into its 11th year, Field Day looks set to deliver an even better day of raving than ever with headliners as huge as Aphex Twin and Mura Masa sure to delight the assembled masses in London’s Victoria Park – just in time for Lovebox two weeks later. Tom Gellatly

Glastonbury Worthy Farm, Shepton Mallet, June 21 to 25, Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Ed Sheeran – The big one, the Holy Grail of festivals, the shining light of hippie culture. To be at Glastonbury is to experience the unparalleled energy of happiness that exerts itself from every last person, infant to festival veteran, all around the fantasy farm on which you party. Jack Hobson

Gottwood Carreglwyd, Anglesey, June 8 to 11, Crazy P Soundsystem, Craig Richards,

Famous faces: Jess Glynne, left, will play at Wildlife, while The 1975, right, will appear at Latitude and Parklife

House warming party: The xx, right, will help welcome Bestival to its new venue in Dorset

Erol Alkan – You’ll be hard-pressed not to have your breath taken away the second you step into this magical gathering in the Welsh countryside. Retaining its boutique size despite its booming popularity in recent years, Gottwood features laser domes, live painting, giant owls and all the stages you could want. Tom Gellatly

Isle of Wight Seaclose Park, Newport, June 8 to 11, Arcade Fire, Clean Bandit, Run DMC – This historic shindig is said to have been even bigger than Woodstock in its early days and has seen Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and Coldplay make the journey over to the tiny island in the English Channel. This year, David Guetta, Run DMC, Zara Larsson, Bastille and Clean Bandit will ferry on down to the island to play on its legendary stages. Amy Denman

Kendal Calling Lowther Deer Park, Cumbria, July 27 to 30, Stereophonics, Manic Street Preachers, Franz Ferdinand – Set against a backdrop of beautiful woodland, Kendal Calling has rocketed in size and popularity over the past few years. More than 10,000 people now descend on the Lake District to experience an eclectic line up of well-established acts and exciting newcomers. Who said it was grim up north? Lucy Milburn

LeeFest John Darlings Farm, Kent, August 10 to 12, Annie Mac, Jake Bugg, Wild Beasts – Many of us are familiar with LeeFest’s humble beginnings, as the story featured on an advert for Android two years ago. However, its history is not the only interesting thing about it. Visitors will choose between three tribes, the lostboys, the mermaids and the pirates, with each tribe comes a realm where you embrace fancy dress to the fullest. On top of the childlike fun is a cracking line-up to match any other fest. Amy Denman

17 April 2016

The clock is ticking. If you are still umming and ahhing about which festival to go to, there’s not a lot of time left. Check out our comprehensive guide and let us help you make up your mind... Latitude Henham Park, Beccles, July 13 to 16, The 1975, Mumford & Sons, Fleet Foxes – Latitude’s thick forests and glistening natural lake are entwined with performance spaces for everyone from New Order to the National Ballet, leading Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker to label the site as a utopia – and he’s not wrong. Want to go wild in the woods? Latitude. Want to sip Sauvignon in the Suffolk sun? Latitude. Harry Tidswell

Live at Leeds Leeds, April 29, Slaves, Wild Beasts, White Lies – Live At Leeds is an explosive one day music festival taking place in the heart of the city centre. If you’re wanting to see the next big thing then you won’t want to miss this with bands such as Catfish And The Bottlemen and Royal Blood having played in the past. Live At Leeds is certainly one you won’t want to miss. Laurence Mulligan

outside spa to indulge in. And that is all before the abundance of acts on offer. Amy Denman

Lovebox Victoria Park, London, July 14 to 15, Frank Ocean, Chase & Status, Jamie XX – This inner-city gem originated as a London club night but today, it is an acclaimed weekend festival that attracts some of the biggest names in dance and pop. Appealing to the cool kids of the East End and beyond, Lovebox is one of the highlights of summer in the capital. Lucy Milburn

Love Saves The Day Eastville Park, Bristol, May 27 to 28, Little Dragon, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Kate Tempest – An underrated treasure of a weekend festival, located in the edgiest city of the moment. If you’re into grime, house, drum ‘n’ bass or jungle, this festival is well worth checking out. Ruby Holliday

Liverpool Sound City

MADE

Clarence Dock, Liverpool, May 25 to 28, Metronomy, The Kooks, White Lies – It’s party time in Liverpool. Sound City festival celebrates its tenth anniversary this year with a line-up that boasts the perfect mix of big names and the best of the thriving local scene. So you can expect one hell of a shindig down on the docks. Joe Cadman

The Digbeth Triangle, Birmingham, July 29, Chase & Status, Giggs, Gorgon City – Billed as Birmingham’s biggest music event, MADE showcases live and electronic music, massive, psychedelic murals and street food stalls, all within the outdoor and indoor spaces of the Rainbow Venues. Henry Edwards

Lost Village Lincolnshire, August 24 to 27, Moderat, De La Soul, Dixon – If improv is your thing, this is the ideal weekend for you. Set in a secluded woodland, the event immerses you in a narrative about a Lost Village with a cast of actors hired to make the experience truly convincing. This not the only thing that makes Lost Village stand out from the rest, as the event puts a luxurious twist to the average festival, with some glamorous camping options, fancy food and even an

NASS Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet, July 6 to 9, Method Man and Redman, Pendulum, Kano – This action sports festival is definitely one for the thrill-seeker. You can decide whether to catch huge headliners or witness breathtaking skateboarding and BMX displays, or just sit back and enjoy a combination of both. Tom Gellatly

Parklife

Standon Calling

Heaton Park, Manchester, June 10 to 11, The 1975, Frank Ocean, Boy Better Know – Parklife’s eclectic musical lineups and consistent party atmosphere marks this event as a staple on the calendar of any festival lover. The mix of affordability and prominent music from across the world makes it the perfect end of year celebration for any student. Will Green

Standon Lordship, Hertfordshire, July 27 to 30, Orbital, Clean Bandit, Slaves – This intimate event began as a birthday barbecue, making this the coolest birthday ever. Standon Calling was launched in 2001 by birthday boy Alex Trenchard, and is well known for its surprises – in 2005 after the final act, Alex shouted ‘don’t go to bed’ and a number of fairies, who were disguised with cloaks in the crowd, threw off their disguises and led visitors to a surprise all-night party. This year the aristocratic festival organiser brings you Clean Bandit, Slaves and Idris Elba. Also, on another fun note, dogs are allowed in. Amy Denman

Reading and Leeds Little John’s Farm, Reading and Bramham Park, Leeds, August 25 to 27, Kasabian, Eminem, Muse – Despite being best known as a rite of passage for young, curious teenagers, the festival can carry those through their young, angsty years to their twenties. R+L never fails to disappoint the generations of rock fans that flock to its muddy fields every year. Danielle Ursell

Secret Garden Party Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, July 20 to 22, Crystal Fighters, Metronomy, Ray BLK – Launched as a healthy alternative to mainstream music festivals, Secret Garden Party prides itself on its stylised, boutique atmosphere and offers an immersive experience of art, music and selfdiscovery. 2017 will be the final year for SGP as we know it, so the utopian festival is not one to be missed. Lucy Milburn

Slam Dunk Birmingham, Leeds and Hatfield, May 27 to 29, Enter Shikari, Don Broco, Bowling For Soup – The three day party jumps from Birmingham to Leeds and finishes with a cracking shindig at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield. There’s also a new mega ticket deal that will give you entry to every day. Is there a better way to see the country? John Shaw

Cap it off: Catch Rag‘n’Bone Man, right, at The Great Escape

SW4 Clapham Common, London, August 26 to 27, Pendulum, Eric Prydz, Sigma – The long-running festival bringing underground house and tech to Clapham Common looks set to feature its biggest headliners yet. Pendulum, Deadmau5 and Eric Prydz are all among the stars poised to entertain the crowds in the capital during the August Bank Holiday. Tom Gellatly

The Great Escape Brighton, May 18 to 20, Cabbage, Rag’n’Bone Man, Ray BLK – It’s said that Brighton’s Great Escape festival is possibly the most diverse festival on the UK circuit and it’s easy to see why. Offering more than 400 of the best up and coming artists in 35 venues every May, it’s the perfect way to kick off your festival season. Joe Cadman

Tramlines Sheffield, July 21 to 23, The Libertines, Metronomy, Cabbage – The jewel in

Sheffield’s crown returns for its eighth year with possibly the best line-up so far. Transforming the Steel City into a bubbling musical melting pot for a weekend, this is easily one of the best inner city festivals around. You’d be a fool to miss out. Joe Cadman

Truck Hill Farm, Steventon, July 21 to 23, The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, The Vaccines – It may be marketed as a small festival, but Truck certainly does not bring in small acts. Indie bands such as The Libertines and The Vaccines rule the roost this year but there is a diverse mix of dance, rock and reggae too. So, for value for money, and assurance that you won’t lose your friends or have to walk 30 minutes to your tent, choose Truck. Ruby Holliday

V Festival Hylands Park, Chelmsford and Weston Park, Staffordshire, August 19 to 20, P!nk, Jay Z, Rudimental – V Festival is all about the variety. Although the party has recently become renowned for its pop music, last year hosted a line-up for festival goers of all types. If you consider your music taste as a mixed bag then V Festival suits you perfectly. Alexandra Bullen

We Are FSTVL Damyns Hall Aerodrome, Upminster, May 26 to 28, Craig David, Dizzee Rascal, Carl Cox – Just 20 minutes from central London, We Are FSTVL is an award winner and prides itself in combining the biggest names in electronic dance music with some of the world’s leading club brands and labels. This year, Craig David, Basement Jaxx, Dizzee Rascal and Giggs will take to the stage. Amy Denman

Wildlife Festival Brighton City Airport, Shoreham-bySea, June 9 to 10, Fatboy Slim, Jess Glynne, Dizzee Rascal – Taking place at Brighton City Airport, Wildlife Festival brings a tropical twist to the south east with its forest-themed decorations and floral vibe, ensuring you truly feel like you’re partying in the middle of a safari. With genrespanning headliners like Fatboy Slim, Stormzy and Jess Glynne, there’s something for everyone at this year’s iteration. Tom Gellatly

Wireless Finsbury Park, July 7 to 9, Chance The Rapper, Skepta, The Weeknd – Not only because of the variety of acts you’ll see there but also because of the all-round good vibes. Listen to local, upcoming artists as well as the old school ones. Who wants to be stuck in mud while camping when you can enjoy your favourite music all in a day in London town? Osazeme Osaghae

Y Not Festival Pikehall, Derbyshire July 27 to 30, Stereophonics, Two Door Cinema Club, The Vaccines – In the heart of the panoramic Peak District, Y Not continues to flourish with its small, community ethos. It has won the hearts of festival veterans and first timers alike with its cheap ticket prices, huge headliners and diverse selection of emerging talent. Lucy Milburn

Redemption: Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters will have a second shot at headlining Glastonbury after they pulled out in 2015 when the frontman broke his leg

Festivals

How to start a MeFest

 Tom Gellatly S TEENAGERS, most of us will probably have thrown a house party we then tried to hide from our parents. For the majority, this ended with us being grounded for several weeks and our allowances being docked. But Lee Denny found a genius way to get around his parents’ ‘no house parties’ rule by founding his own garden festival, imaginatively called LeeFest. See? Technically not a house party. Although many of us have

We’re 11 years into LeeFest and we’re still getting everything wrong all the time

Sick of the same old summer events? The founder of LeeFest tells us how you can craft you own

Brainy businessman: Lee Denny founded LeeFest in 2006

escaped our parents’ strict rules, it’s not too late to do the same – if you’ve yet to ﬁnd a festival that ticks all your boxes, why not create one that does? We caught up with Denny to get some tips on running your own successful event. ‘The number one most important thing – the mantra we always had – is just to make things happen,’ he said. ‘It’s too easy for ideas to just exist in people’s heads and never make it into reality, because they are anxious about that ﬁrst step, or they feel like it needs to be perfectly planned. While planning and

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learning is important, it’s nowhere near as important as just doing it and seeing what happens.’ Denny said wannabe party planners should not let the fear of making a mistake hold them back. ‘Once you actually just get down to making your idea a reality, you will learn a s**tload, because you will inevitably get it 100 per cent wrong,’ he added. ‘We’re 11 years in and we are still getting everything wrong all the time, because we’re always trying something new and pushing boundaries for ourselves and the festival market. ‘Those things can only really be done by taking risks and stepping into the unknown.’ Although the successful twodayer has grown in a number of ways over the years, Denny claims not much has changed about the creative process. ‘We still have that same mindset of “right, here’s an idea, let’s go, let’s do it, let’s not hang around too much in the planning phase”,’ he says. ‘The team is now really huge and everybody’s creating their own little worlds within the big universe of the festival. ‘It’s nice, because what the festival was about was giving people opportunities to play music and create things they wanted to create, or experience new things, and that shouldn’t all come from one or two people’s heads. ‘It works best when it comes from everybody involved.’ Although the creative freedom has remained the same since the festival began, it is almost unrecognisable from its humble yet rebellious beginnings. In 2006 Denny’s parents went away for the weekend and left their 16-year-old son home alone in their house in Beckenham, London, banning him from having any parties in the house. He and his friends saw an opportunity to get around his parents’ warning on a technicality, and instead of a house party, invited friends round to Denny’s garden for the very ﬁrst LeeFest. ‘I was really scared at the ﬁrst one, thinking “oh my god, what are we doing, this could all go horribly wrong”,’ he said. ‘It’s exactly the same now – but you just get used to

NOW

THEN FROM A BACK YARD BEGINNING, HOW HAS LEE FEST CHANGED? LeeFest founder Lee Denny reveals how he has seen his event grow. Then: The inaugural LeeFest pulled a crowd of 150 Now: This year, the festival will host 5,000 party people Then: It all started in the ‘tiny suburban back garden’ of Denny’s parents’ house

those higher stakes.’ More than a decade down the line and LeeFest has grown into one of the best loved festivals in the country, with crowds continuing to grow year on year. So is there a moment as a festival organiser when you realise you’ve stumbled on something special?

elation, and then relief,’ he laughed. ‘Afterwards there’s this partly adrenaline-fuelled, partly tired session where we sit down and say, “so guys, next year, bigger and better, yeah?”.’ He said many of his creative ideas and inspiration over the years had come from these post-festival

We’re always trying something new and pushing the boundaries – that can only be done by taking risks ‘It’s normally after every festival,’ Denny said. ‘After you’ve gone through all these crazy and stressful bits beforehand and people actually start to come and the festival begins, you start to think “oh my god, wow, it’s working – people are here, they’re smiling and they’re having an incredible time”. ‘That turns into a feeling of

debrieﬁngs. ‘The ideas just start ﬂowing out and it’s our most productive time,’ he added. ‘I guess that’s the moment where I think “we could be on to something here” – just after we’ve spent time with those people having an amazing party and experiencing the festival for ourselves.’

Spellbinding stages: Lianne La Havas during her gig at last year’s LeeFest in Edenbridge, Kent, below

For more on music, go to www. unipaper.co.uk

Now: The festival now has its own site with camping in Kent Then: The original lineup was made up of 11 bands and two comedians Now: LeeFest 2017 has 11 stages and more than 140 bands and DJs Then: The first budget was £500 Now: ‘We’ll spend £750,000 this year,’ Denny says

Pep talk over: How do I set myself up? If you’re feeling inspired by Lee Denny’s story, he has even more great advice to share. The LeeFest founder has given TUP a few practical steps for anyone who fancies setting up their own festival – in a back garden or beyond.

1» Recruit some help Your team are everything. You have to build and run a small town that will only exist for three days, and you need that town to have the most amazing atmosphere ever, but you can only do that if you have some brilliant people to work with. The LeeFest team inspire me every day with their energy and effort – I love them dearly.

now – they are not even stages anymore, it’s a whole immersive world. You don’t have to start that big, but you can start with the same creative approach and make something out of what you’ve got available instead of just going for a traditional idea. Our first stage was made from an old trampoline. My favourite one is the Goldmine – a 1,000 capacity rave in the woods, which is in the entrance to an old mine.

5» Get bands and other acts on board Try to work with artists you are really passionate about – promoting their work is a lot easier when you are in love with it yourself.

2» Think of a name

6» Food, drink and toilets

Naming it after yourself might seem funny when you are 16, but it gets embarrassing when someone asks you what your job is – you look like a narcissistic, crazy fool.

Choosing the food is my favourite part – although staring at pictures of amazing street food while you are stuck in an office can make you feel quite hangry.

3» Get permits and licenses from the authorities

7» Health and safety

We didn’t do this for the first few years, but we got in a fair bit of trouble for it. It’s fun to break the rules, but it does catch up with you. I guess everyone will have to make their own call here.

4» Stages We really go to town on our stages

Don’t skimp on this stuff. When we invite 5,000 people to our parties we feel very responsible for their welfare and work extremely hard to ensure they are completely safe and cared for on site. We are one big family.

8» Tickets and marketing We’re very lucky that word about LeeFest has spread organically to a

group of really awesome people, but communicating with everyone still takes a lot of time and resources. Don’t underestimate the volume of the marketing work to be done – this is where festivals live and die.

9» Security This is always a tricky balance to achieve. Their job is to protect the special atmosphere for the majority by ensuring that a minority can’t ruin it. They need to be firm but fair. We attend any key security briefings and incidents ourselves to ensure that everything is being handled within our guidelines.

10» Keep the artists happy Their job is to make people feel a sense of wonder and awe and the reason we have booked them is because they can do this so well. Our job is to support them in doing that by making sure they have exactly what they need, be it a bottle of whiskey or the world’s biggest confetti cannon.

11» Cleaning up after

everyone's gone home

It’s way too easy to ignore this. Many, many times the clean-up has completely broken the team. It’s easy to think ‘we'll sort that after the event’ when you are in the heat of the stress beforehand. But you will regret it when there are only five shattered mates staring at 20 acres of mess.

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Music

RITISH music is the best it’s ever been. And if you don’t believe that coming from me, take it from DJ Charlie Sloth, who has hosted stars from Kano to AJ Tracey on his Radio 1Xtra show. ‘In terms of home grown music we’re in the best place we’ve ever been,’ Sloth says. ‘There’s so much talent over here that has been slept on for years. Musically, creatively, artistically – I think were on top of the world right now.’ The presenter has championed UK grime acts including Stormzy and Giggs, whose track Of Course he produced. And he says there’s plenty more talent on the rise, tipping Not3s, who’s already had more than three million views on the YouTube video for his song Addison Lee, and Yxng Bane for big things this year. And he is the right person to ask. The Radio 1Xtra DJ has been involved in the music scene for nearly 15 years. He started off working on pirate radio in ‘lift shafts in a tower block in the middle of east London’ and pulling himself up the career ladder. ‘It’s been non stop,’ he says. ‘On the come-up I was working seven days a week – 18 hour days with no holiday.

W e’

n Jo aD Xtr se io 1 en e ad at os eR nd Th rR ea be im gr Am UK th wi at ch

 Amy Denman

April 2017

re to p of the wo rld

asking questions I was told I wasn’t allowed to ask and she was like “stop the interview”. ‘I was like “why?” and she was like “stop the interview”, so we stopped. ‘Her management came in and the interview got cut short, then they told us what could and couldn’t go out. ‘It was really, really awkward.’ It’s not the first time his big personality has given interviews a bit of an edge. ‘I’m quite an awkward guy anyway,’ he explains. ‘Some people don’t know how to take me, especially if they don’t know who I am. ‘They come into the studio and there’s this loud, larger than life person shouting in their face and they’re like “OK, who is that?”’ But his extroverted nature – he calls himself ‘the best looking fat guy in the universe’ – is what attracts so many listeners to his shows on Radio

Ayia Napa to Leeds Festival to Creamfields and then onto Ibiza. After a hectic couple of days, Sloth had just finished playing a set at Ushuaia in Ibiza with Tinie Tempah, when his manager told him to get ready to leave as they were planning to catch a flight back to the UK in the next five minutes, before going on to Zante in Greece. ‘The next thing I know, I wake up and it’s 9.30am,’ he says. ‘I wake up on this beach and I’m like “where am I?” I can’t call anyone, my phone’s dead and I’m just like “whoa” and I’m proper burnt from the sun. ‘I go and charge my phone and turn it on and hundreds of messages start coming through.

I asked Amber Rose questions I was told not to and she stopped the interview – it was awkward I thought that once I got to where I wanted to be it would change, but if anything it’s just got more intense.’ The 29-year-old is far from work shy, and has dabbled in a number of different projects which have all contributed to his success. ‘I’ve done everything involving new media to get where I’m at,’ he says. ‘We could be here for a day talking about my actual journey, but what it all came down to was self belief and hard work. As long as you believe in yourself and are willing to put the hours in, you can achieve.’ But some parts of his job have not come naturally to the north Londoner. ‘I’ve had quite a lot of awkward interviews’ he says. ‘I think the most awkward interview I’ve ever done was probably with Amber Rose. ‘Generally what happens when a big name comes in is you’re told what you can and can’t ask, but I never abide by that – if you come to the studio I’m gonna ask you what I wanna ask you,’ he tells me. ‘I started

1Xtra and fans to his live gigs and festivals sets. And he’s had some good interviews. ‘Roll Safe was really fun,’ he says of the parody character, played by Kayode Ewumi. ‘He’s a genius. He didn’t step out of character once.’ He’ll be appearing at Lost And Found and MADE Festival, which is held in the old industrial spaces of the Rainbow Venues in Birmingham’s Digbeth Triangle. ‘I’ve played at the location before but not MADE,’ Sloth says. ‘The line up is sick so to be on the event gases me.’ Other festivals he has played at include Reading and Creamfields, and he has some stories to tell. As he begins to tell me about a tale from Glastonbury last year, – which was apparently a ‘mad one’ – he interrupts himself. ‘I’ve got a better story actually.’ He recalls how he travelled from

‘I call my tour manager and say “bro, I’m on this beach I don’t even know where I am” he’s like “bro, I went and reported you missing to the police” I’m like “oh my god”. ‘I sent him my location on WhatsApp and he came and picked me up. The story became legendary. Everyone was like “rah you got sand in your shoes Sloth” I was like “ah leave it man”. That was a crazy one.’ Despite last year’s shenanigans, Sloth is excited to play live again this year and he seems to have a natural talent for picking the perfect tunes. I ask if he has a secret to getting an audience pumped. ‘Just play big records and play them well,’ he says. ‘It’s not what you play, it’s how you play it.’ Charlie Sloth will be performing at MADE Festival on Saturday, July 29

The Interview  Patrick Hollis

Trapped door: (l-r) bassist Kevin Baird, who locked himself in a toilet at the Isle Of Wight festival, singer Alex Trimble and lead guitarist and backing vocalist Sam Halliday

fans might believe. ‘Backstage is not always the most glamorous,’ he says. ‘If we can, we’ll try to get to a hotel for a bit of R&R.’

Treble trouble Lead singer Alex Trimble on sticky situations his band have got into

25 April 2017

and performing on new ones. Their festival tour this summer, which follows the release of latest album Gameshow in October, includes a headline slot at Boardmasters plus shows at Reading, Leeds, Wilderness and Coachella.

I ask for Trimble’s personal favourite and he’s torn. ‘Glastonbury is always the one we try to spend as much time as possible at,’ he says. ‘I try to always make sure we aren’t at any other festival on that weekend.’ But there’s a challenger for his top spot across the Atlantic. ‘We did Bonnaroo festival in

Backstage is not always the most glamorous place

Alex Trimble

move up the bills over the years,’ the 27-year-old says. ‘For example, we’re playing on the Lollapalooza tour in America so there are six or seven dates across South America with the same bands. ‘Every night we’re on before The Strokes, which is blowing my mind.’ He says he still has to pinch himself every time he performs ahead of the four-time NME Award winners.

‘Their first album changed my life when I was a teenager,’ he says. ‘I learned to play every song on guitar and learned every word. ‘That band has played such a big part in my life and the fact that we’re on right before them is hard to believe. It’s totally surreal.’ Trimble says he likes to watch as many bands as possible. ‘I like to come down early and watch a few bands,’ he says. ‘It helps me to get into the vibe of the venue for when you go on stage. ‘Festivals are the best opportunity we get to see other bands – when you’re on tour it’s not viable. ‘You get to see whoever is supporting you or who you’re supporting, but you get the chance to check out so many new bands or the ones you already love.’

Two Door Cinema Club headline Boardmasters on Friday, August 11. Get your tickets at www.boardmasters.co.uk

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April 2017

Student band of the month

27 April 2017

Blood, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Sonic Dawn, Arctic Monkeys, Gary Clark Jr and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Who are your favourite artists right now? Royal Blood, Gary Clark Jr, Tame Impala, The Sonic Dawn, Hiatus Kaiyote, Guthrie Govan, Connan Mockasin. What are the main topics of your songs? Love and politics and drugs, or whatever lucid dream we feel like having. If you could do a collaboration with one band or artist, who would you pick and why? Portishead, because it would be interesting to mix trip hop and psychedelic rock.

Each month we talk to the best new musicians from UK campuses. This time we chat to Bristol’s Paper Tiger...

We’re off to a great start

 Tom Gellatly How would you describe your music? A combination of blow your mind hypnotic visions and chest shaking riffs with magnetic wah sounds getting involved from time to time. Who are your major influences? Led Zeppelin deffo, Cream, Royal

Wild animals: (l-r) Paper Tiger’s Fin CharltonJones, Harry Brazier, Lewis RennieCampbell, Adam Taylor, and Toby Panatti

Competitions: Festival special

Where is one place you’d really like to play live? 100 per cent Thekla, for now. What are you working on now? We’ve got off to a good start. We’ve won the unbelievable opportunity to play at a small music festival in France called D’orFest and we’d like to thank the lovely people at UoB LiveSoc and the crowd who voted for us (we had a brilliant time playing at the LiveSoc-organised battle of the bands a couple of

weeks ago). Right now we’re taking our time to write some original tunes because we haven’t been together for long (we only really met last month) and that is a must for us. During this period, we will still be gigging, so you can keep your ears pricked for news. Where do you want to be in ten years’ time? Settling down, paying an appropriate amount of tax, staying out of trouble, eating our ﬁve a day, becoming increasingly conservative, forgetting lefty Bristol, and potentially joining an aerobics class. What do you enjoy doing outside of music? We don’t like Trump or smooth peanut butter (doesn’t have that godly crunch) or push doors with handles. We enjoy not poaching tigers. Sleeping. Hunting in the forest. Being made entirely out of paper… and occasionally roaring. If you had one philosophy your band lived by, what would it be? Life is better barefoot, as long as there’s grass and no needles. For more from other student bands, go to www. unipaper.co.uk

To be in with a chance of winning any of our competitions visit www.unipaper.co.uk/competitions

WIN! Summer is unlocked

2000TREES

2000trees is set in the beautiful Cotswold hills. Headliners on July 6 to 8 include Slaves and down the bill are acts such as Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. We have a pair of tickets to give away.

NOZSTOCK Subtitled The Hidden Valley, this Herefordshire bash combines music with art and film. We've got two pairs of tickets to the event on July 21 to 23.

FARR FESTIVAL This event brings lovers of electronic music from Farr and wide to a forest in Hertfordshire. We've got one pair of tickets to the July 13 to 15 fest .

WE ARE FSTVL

BESTIVAL

It may be short on vowels but it still vows to wow. Carl Cox, Giggs and Sigma play this May 27 and 28 festival. We're giving away two pairs of tickets.

On page 13 we introduce you to the brains behind Bestival – Rob da Bank. This year he's taking the four-dayer, which runs from September 7 to 10, from the Isle of Wight to its new home in Dorset. We've got one pair of tickets.

EXIT Liam Gallagher and Years & Years are among the lineup at this Serbia festival on July 5 to 9. We've got a pair of tickets for our lucky winner.

BALTIC WEEKENDER Liverpool is culturally vibrant, and what better way to celebrate this than with a festival? 24 Kitchen Street and Abandon Silence are teaming up to bring you house, grime, techno and reggae from June 2 to 4. We've got a pair of tickets with your name on.

SZIGET

BEAT-HERDER

COCOON IN THE PARK

LOVE SAVES THE DAY

LIVERPOOL DISCO

COMMON PEOPLE

Fancy dress and Sleaford Mods as headliners – skipping this festival would give you serious fomo. We have a pair of tickets to the party on July 14 to 16 to give away.

Combine the minds of two music scene pros and what do you get? One amazing day, with seven DJs on one stage in Leeds, that's what. We have a pair of tickets to the July 8 event.

This festival is packed with acts to suit diverse tastes – from Jamie Jones to Kano. We have a pair of tickets to give away to the weekender, which takes place on May 27 and 28.

If you like to boogie, this dancefloordedicated shindig is perfect for you. D Train and Ultra Naté will perform live at the May 6 festival, joined by a host of DJs. We have a pair of tickets.

Rob da Bank has created another cracker. Wild Beasts and Sean Paul are on the bill from May 27 to 28. We have a pair of tickets for each of the venues – Oxford and Southampton.

This island fest will light up Budapest once again on August 9 to 16. P!nk, Kasabian, Major Laser and Wiz Khalifa headline. We have two tickets.

LOWLANDS This Netherlands festival features acts including Mumford And Sons, The xx and Editors. We've got a pair of tickets to the August 18 to 20 bash.

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29/03/2017

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www.unipaper.co.uk | 020 7580 6419

April 2017

OST festival-goers’ accommodation will be a £20 pop-up tent, a cheap sleeping bag and a pillow made from balled-up clothes. However, the rich and famous don’t have to put up with that. Camp Kerala Mademoiselle at the Isle of Wight Festival offers the ultimate VIP package – but it will set you back £6,000 plus VAT. On arrival guests will be met by the ‘Pretty Girl’ Team who will be waiting with a cocktail. The ‘Naughty Boy’ Team will deal with the luggage – taking it to the tent. Guests will sleep in a bespoke Shikar tent which houses two guests and includes either a king-sized bed or two singles, Egyptian cotton bed sheets and sumptuous throws. They will also be treated to all drinks, lunch, dinner and late night snacks in the premium VIP area plus breakfast at CKM. Residents can also allay fears of queuing for stinking toilets and washing themselves down with a wet wipe, opulent loos and showers are provided. When it is time to watch the acts, VIPs can be transported in buggies and to top it off they get access to the raised viewing platform which overlooks the main stage – giving them the best seats in the house.

PICTURES: CAMP KERALA MADEMOISELLE

 John Shaw

The £6k glamping experience

Luxury living: VIPs sleep in a bespoke two-person tent

For more amazing festival stories go to www.unipaper. co.uk

High life: From above clockwise, last year’s Camp Kerala

Bottoms up: The Pretty Girl Team greet guests with a cocktail

21 - 23 JULY 2017

HEREFORDSHIRE WEST MIDLANDS

"An incredible weekend that will never be forgotten." Virtual Festivals

Seasick Steve / Happy Mondays Hazard & Eksman / Delta Heavy General Levy / Ocean Wisdom

Krafty Kuts & DYNAMITE MC / Mungo’s Hi Fi 15 Years of Critical feat Break, Ivy Lab, Kasra, Foreign Concept / Loadstar Mind Vortex / Beans on Toast T

The Correspondents / Rodney P & Skitz / Dabbla Frankee / LADY CHANN / Uncle Dugs showcase FEAT. Billy Daniel Bunter / Chainska Brassika JEREMIAH FERRArI / SOLA ROSA SOUNDSYSTEM

Land of The Giants / The Stiff Joints / Hannah Peel Oh My God! It’s The Church / Death By Unga Bunga

CARASEL MC / Remidy MC / Octo Pi / Trafic MC / The Meow Meows

Jasper In The Company of Others / Micall parknsun / Galactic Funk Militia Haus junior bill / NATTY SPEAKS / Normanton Street / Desert Boots / Youth Boy Azooga / Andy Jones / Lit FM / Mango Factory / Scope / passion bel canon Little Wonderland FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES / Mash Cinema present Wrong Directions Bantam of the Opera Theatre / LAUGHING STOCK COMEDY / Velveteen Valley Cabaret Clik Clik’s Cabinet of Lost Secrets / DJ MAG BUNKER TAKEOVER / BLUJAY’S JAZZ LOUNGE NEW: ELEPHANT’S GRAVE REGGAE + HOUSE STAGE FEAT. FROM BERLIN WITH LOVE + FORTE INTERACTIVE SILLINESS, STREET CIRCUS, FIRE + GAMES APLENTY / CRAFTY WONDERS / COSY CAMPING

Sport

Champions with Hart

College claims BUCS rugby final at Twicks

 John Shaw

IN BRIEF

Glas acts net seventh win in a row

Glasgow University proved they are the driving force in the city after claiming The Glasgow Taxis Cup for the seventh time in a row. The team in black and gold comfortably held off Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian in the three-way varsity tournament by taking big wins in the athletics, women’s football and swimming. Second-placed Strathclyde scored important victories in the men’s rugby and football plus the men’s and women’s basketball, taking them above GCU. More than 800 athletes took part in the annual tradition, competing across 17 sports. The last team to win it other than Glasgow was Strathclyde in 2010. John Shaw

Sheff still the city’s finest

PICTURE: BUCS

ARTPURY COLLEGE came from behind to secure a dramatic victory over the University of Exeter in the men’s final of the BUCS Rugby Union Championship. In a pulsating match at Twickenham Stadium, Super Rugby winners Hartpury edged the reigning champions, 27-24. Seb Negri, Hartpury’s captain, said: ‘It’s a bit of a blur to be honest, but I couldn’t be prouder of the boys. The amount of heart and character we showed, not just in this final but throughout the whole season — it’s been a long journey and I just couldn’t be happier.’ Exeter started stronger, making the perfect start as Aaron Bagwell went under the posts. BUCS Super Rugby’s top points scorer Ted Landray calmly converted, putting his side 7-0 up. The reigning champions resisted Hartpury well, only conceding from a penalty before Matt Eliet scored his team’s second try of the game, which Landray converted again, giving Exeter a 14-3 lead. Hartpury managed to claw their way back into the game just before half-time. Maliq Holden scored their first try of the match which was converted by Sam Leeming, leaving the score 14-10 to Exeter at half-time. The restart saw Hartpury’s fortunes change, as Holden was shown a yellow card and sent to the sin bin. Exeter scored the resulting penalty and put themselves 17-10 up and facing 14 men for the next ten minutes. But the reigning champions were unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage, as Hartpury’s

April 2017

I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in such a special team before

Hartpury College captain, Seb Negri

Jonus Mikalcius scored in the corner, with Leeming converting again to level the scores at 17-17. Hartpury suffered another setback as captain Negri was stretchered off with an injury shortly after Leeming missed a penalty. They reacted well, though, as Harry Randall sped through the Exeter defence and went over in the corner. Leeming was unable to convert, but Hartpury were still ahead for the ﬁrst time. Randall had his second of the game mere minutes later, with Hartpury slowly working their way to within two metres of the try line before the England U20 international bundled it over. Leeming missed the resulting

conversion, leaving the score at 27-17 to Hartpury. With ten minutes left to play Exeter would need to conjure up a comeback of their own if they were to retain their title, and on 76 minutes Callum Roberts gave them hope as he scored his team’s third try, which Landray converted. Four minutes left to go, and it was 27-24 to Hartpury. Exeter knew they only needed to get some sort of score to level or win the match, but despite their passionate push in the game’s dying minutes they were unable to produce the points they needed. Hartpury’s victory sees them ﬁnishing a superb season on a triumphant note, as their win at

Twickenham sealed the double of the BUCS Rugby Union Championship and the BUCS Super Rugby League title. Randall’s late brace to help his side to victory earned him the player of the match award. Captain Negri said: ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in such a special team before, from the coaches to all the medical staff to the players, and I couldn’t be prouder to wear the Hartpury shirt. ‘Twickenham’s the best stadium in the world and to play here is something very special. It’s a memory that will remain with me for the rest of my life, for sure.’ You can watch the full match at www.unipaper.co.uk.

Seeing red: Hartpury College look to smash through the solid Exeter defence

For more sport, go to www.unipaper. co.uk

Sheffield University held off a spirited Team Hallam to claim victory in Varsity 2017. Last year’s winners showed their mettle in the Steel City to beat their rivals 45-35 overall, exactly the same score as in 2016. It’s the fifth year in a row that the team in black and gold have lifted the trophy. However, valiant Team Hallam tweeted: ‘No matter the Varsity score we always showed passion, pride and spirit. Huge thanks to all the athletes, spectators and staff involved.’ Hallam managed to take the final match up of the event, winning 6-3 in the ice hockey at Sheffield Arena. John Shaw

Eleven-year

Dramatic golden goal secures Bath victory in Wales reign ended

Series goes down to the wire after rugby  Tom Gellatly

A golden goal in the men’s rugby union secured a Varsity victory for the University of Bath over hosts Cardiff Metropolitan University. The English side levelled the overall scores in the series with a win in the final event of the day, the rugby union. To decide the overall champion the two teams were forced into sudden death. Bath struck first scoring a breakaway try to seal a second Varsity win since its inauguration last year. Will Galloway, Bath’s SU’s sports officer, said: ‘It was a fantastic end for the spectators. ‘After this second win, [Cardiff

Triumphant: The University of Bath celebrate their Varsity victory

Met] have got to come back and prove they’re better than us.’ In the closely-fought contest, which took place on March 29, Cardiff Met began well, winning the day’s ﬁrst three events. ‘We didn’t get off to a ﬂying start,’ Will said.

‘We lost the women’s basketball, the women’s rugby and the men’s basketball, but we did manage to get two really important bonus points in those games.’ The reigning champions began their comeback with a 7-0 win in the women’s hockey, followed by a

win in the netball. After a tense 3-3 draw in the men’s football, Cardiff Met led 25-21 going into the ﬁnal event of the day, the men’s rugby. Cardiff Met made an excellent start, pulling into a 7-0 lead, but the visitors managed to claw their

way back into the game, eventually winning 22-14 and tying the overall points for whole series to 26-26. ‘It was very unlikely it ended up as a tie, but it did and it was great for spectators. ‘In extra time it was very tense,’ Will said. ‘But as nervous as I felt, I was really pleased to see the number of Bath students there and the support they gave those rugby players after such a long day.’ And once the tournament had been settled on the pitch, any lingering animosity between the two sides dissipated. ‘Once we got to Score, the students’ union night, it was all good,’ Will added. ‘It was a very happy atmosphere.’ ‘There are certainly some worse for wear faces around campus [the next day].’

Northumbria ended Leeds Beckett’s 11 year BUCS Rugby League dominance, despite a dramatic fight back from the former champions. At 24-0 up with 30minutes to play Northumbria seemed comfortable and heading towards victory. But a rousing 18-point comeback from Beckett, made for a nail biting final few minutes. However, the Northumbria defence held firm and claimed the title, 24-18. It’s the first time since 2005 that Beckett have not won the national tournament. Elsewhere, Nottingham University picked up the BUCS Rugby League Trophy for a secondyear in a row. They held off the challengers Bath University taking the game 14-6. John Shaw

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