Sign of the Times: Haircut One Hundred and Paul Young’s Los Pacaminos lead first wave of acts for festival at Little Hadham
Heart-throbs Nick Heyward and Paul Young, who rolled out the hits in the 1980s, will be taking to the stage at Sign of the Times Festival 2025.
Organisers of the three-day bash at Church End, Little Hadham, have announced the first wave of acts performing on the weekend of June 20-22.
Wholesome Haircut One Hundred, who made jodhpurs and Aran jumpers the height of fashion in 1982, will be performing hits including Favourite Shirts, Love Plus One and Fantastic Day.
The group was formed in 1980 in Beckenham, London, by Nick Heyward, Les Nemes and Graham Jones, and for two years their hits topped the charts.
But in 1983 frontman Heyward quit to go solo, pleasing fans with tracks like Whistle Down the Wind and top 10 album North of a Miracle.
There was a brief rapprochement in 2004 for the VH1 show Bands Reunited and last year the deluxe reissue of the hit album Pelican West put the group back in the spotlight.
This year, Haircut One Hundred toured the United States and Canada as the opening band for ABC and Howard Jones.
After brief stints with Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, Paul Young found solo success in the 1980s.
Love of the Common People, Wherever I Lay My Hat, Come Back and Stay and Every Time You Go Away all reached the top 10 in the UK and No Parlez, his 1983 debut album, was the first of three to top the charts.
He will be performing at Sign of the Times as part of Los Pacaminos, a Tex-Mex band he formed in 1992.
The side project evolved with a first album in 2002, drawing on influences including the Texas Tornados, The Sir Douglas Quintet and Flaco Jimenez as well as Ry Cooder, Calexico, Roy Orbison, The Band and Chuck Berry.
After more than 30 years together, the band has two studio and two live albums, with a third studio album of original songs ready for release.
The first wave of acts for Sign of the Times also includes crossover tribute band Elvana, performing the music of American grunge band Nirvana in the style of an Elvis impersonator.
Newton Faulkner, the singer-songwriter from Reigate, Surrey, will also appear. His 2007 debut studio album, Hand Built by Robots, went double platinum in the UK.
Ferocious Dog, the raucous folk punk band from Warsop, Nottinghamshire, will be making a welcome return to the festival.
They will be joined by MTV EMA award winners GUN. The band, formed in Scotland by guitarist Giuliano Gizzi, has notched up four UK top 20 albums and eight top 40 singles including a cover of Cameo’s Word Up.
Former Stranglers lead vocalist and lead guitarist Hugh Cornwell, who left the band in 1990, will perform his solo set.
The Blockheads, originally fronted by legendary singer Ian Dury, will roll out the band’s impressive back catalogue including hits like Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, Razzle In My Pocket, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, Sweet Gene Vincent and I Want To Be Straight.
The anarchic vibes will continue with a set from Skinny Lister, a folk punk band formed in London in 2009.
The festival is almost home turf for When Rivers Meet, a blues/rock band formed in Essex by husband and wife Grace and Aaron Bond in 2016.
The Commoners are coming from further afield – the five-piece roots/rock outfit are from Toronto, Canada.
UK-based Kissmet will provide a taste of India. The band has fused bhangra – traditional folk dance music from the Punjab – with rock.
There will be blues, soul and rock from Xander and The Peace Pirates plus Northern soul from Groovetrain.
The Pistol Daisys, who perform “music with more than a hint of heartbreak dressed in Americana, with cowboy boots and attitude”, will be making their Sign of the Times debut.
Festivals are nothing new to The Jacques, who formed in 2014 and shared a bill with The Libertines at Hyde Park.
With the three headliners and other acts yet to be announced, Sign of the Times promises three packed days of rock, indie, pop, punk, britpop, ska, mod and alternative music for a fifth year.
