Summer festival to celebrate 80s icons

A host of eighties music icons will be heading to Staffordshire's Shugborough estate this summer.

Stars including Spandau Ballet frontman Tony Hadley, Rick Astley and ABC will be taking to the stage for a gala concert at the historic attraction near Stafford in July.

The event is part of the Summer Sessions season, which takes place over the weekend of July 24 and 25.

It will see a packed line-up take to the stage on the Saturday evening, and will also include Go West and T'Pau lead singer Carol Decker.

Organisers have promised that as well as songs from the performer's massive repertoire of hit records, there will also be specially chosen duets and collaborations.

Jools Holland, of BBC2's Later, will be performing with his Rhythm and Blues orchestra on the Sunday evening.

Both concerts will be capped off with a spectacular fireworks finale.

Spandau Ballet were one of the biggest UK acts of the 1980s, racking up 10 top 10 singles, including 1983 smash True, and four top 10 albums.

They split acrimoniously in 1990, but made a comeback last year, performing a string of dates in an arena tour across the UK and Europe.

Best known for his 1987 single Never Gonna Give You Up, Rick Astley has sold more than 40 million records worldwide.

After fading into obscurity in the 1990s, he gained cult status in 2007 after becoming the subject of an internet craze known as 'Rick-rolling'. He was subsequently voted Best Act Ever, an accolade voted for by internet users, at the 2008 MTV Europe awards.

ABC clocked up 10 top 40 hits in the 1980s, and produced the critically-acclaimed Lexicon of Love in 1982.

The band have continued to tour since then and released a new album in 2008.

Go West enjoyed massive success in the US and their smash hit King of Wishful Thinking was one of the most played songs in America in 1991.

T'Pau, fronted by Shrewsbury-born Carol Decker, enjoyed success in the late 1980s and celebrated their twentieth anniversary in 2007 with the release of a new single.

Tickets for the Shugborough shows, priced from £32.50, are available from the box office on 0845 4598900.

Season ticket holders and groups of 10 or more will receive a 10 per cent discount if they book through the promoter by calling 01603 660444.