Benicassim // Hey Ho The Witch Is Dead

Nothing makes you feel quite as old as a band making a comeback in your lifetime. Warm nostalgia washed over Noize in the last of the Saturday afternoon sun, watching still-youthful-looking Ash take to the stage, just like the summer of 97’, V Festival, Weston Park, when Ash were in their prime.  

Initial fears that revisiting this cherished memory, 13 years later, might shatter a rose-tinted, hormonal adolescent impression of a band integral to the Brit-pop era were short lived. Possibly because of the reassuring performance littered with classics like Kung Fu, Oh Yeah and Girl From Mars, or the ice-cold beer after a day of beautiful sanguine sunshine. Either way, it was one of the finest moments of this 4-day marathon. We beamed, proud descendents of the nineties Brit-pop bubble, clicking our ruby red shoes together, whispering “It’s not a comeback, it’s not a comeback, it’s not a comeback.” Were they ever away? 

Words by Neill Higgins

Photos by Melanie Manneville