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McFly and UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro to headline The Bath Festival Finale Weekend 2020

Bath Festivals and Orchard Live are very excited to announce McFly and UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro as the headline acts for The Bath Festival Finale Weekend on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 May 2020 on the Bath Recreation Ground.

Festival organisers are thrilled that chart-toppers McFly have added Bath to their 2020 national tour dates, which include major venues such as Manchester Arena and London’s O2 Arena, whose November date sold out in minutes. They will be supported at their Bath appearance by Scouting for Girls, who have built their reputation as a party band and released their latest album in September 2019.

Legendary reggae band UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro, had a string of hits in the 80s and 90s, including Red Red Wine, Rat in Mi Kitchen and I Got You Babe, and have just celebrated their 40th anniversary with a tour and a new album. The band is headed Ali Campbell and Astro. They will be supported on Sunday 24 May by Britain’s most successful black recording star, Billy Ocean. Many of the singer’s floor-fillers, including Caribbean Queen, Love Really Hurts Without You and When The Going Gets Tough, have become modern-day classics.

More acts will be announced in the coming weeks. There will also be the chance for solo acts and bands to enter Bath Festivals’ Bath Introduces talent competition. Acts will battle it out in a series of heats to compete for slots playing the main stage during the Finale Weekend, with the winner receiving the prize of a day’s professional recording at the Real World Studios. Look out on social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @TBFFinale) for more announcements in the coming weeks, of more acts and details of how to enter Bath Introduces.

This will be the third year that the two-day live music spectacular has been staged at Bath Recreation Ground, in the heart of the city and within walking distance of the train and bus station. The Rec is a fabulous setting with views of Bath’s famous historic architecture and its surrounding green hills. It’s a family-friendly festival with something for all ages. As well as the main stage there will be bands playing in the Big Top, plus other stages featuring local talent, the spoken word and street theatre. There will be a Kids Zone with live entertainment to keep younger festival-goers entertained. Festival stalls will offer a variety of delicious artisan food and drinks stalls, and there will be bars selling beer and cider. For 2020 there will be more undercover seating than ever before, where people can meet up with friends and enjoy a range of festival food.

The Finale Weekend is supported by sponsors Bath Ales, Novia, Bath BID and Agriframes.

General tickets are on sale from Friday 15 November at 10am.

Tickets can be purchased from ticketmaster.co.uk and the Bath Festivals website: www.thebathfestival.org.uk/finale-weekend or Bath Box Office tel: 01225 463362.

McFLY

British rock band McFly was founded in 2003, with a line-up of Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd. The band holds the record for the youngest band ever to have its debut album reach No1. McFly has had seven singles at No1 in the charts and hits include 5 Colours In Her Hair, All About You, Star Girl and Room on The 3rd Floor.

UB40 FEATURING ALI CAMPBELL AND ASTRO

Founded 40 years ago British reggae band UB40 is in the middle of an anniversary tour and has recently released a new album, A Real Labour of Love. Fronted by singers Ali Campbell and Astro, UB40 has a vast army of fans, having sold more than 70 million records worldwide.

BILLY OCEAN

Trinidad-born singer-songwriter Billy Ocean who made his home in London’s East End when he was just seven years old has more than 35 years of global success. This soul singer’s greatest hits include Red Light Spells Danger, Suddenly and Love On Delivery, among many more. He wowed the crowds with his live performance in Hyde Park as part of Radio2’s Festival in a Day in 2014.

SCOUTING FOR GIRLS

The three-piece indie rock band founded in 2005, comprises Pete Ellard, Greg Churchouse and Roy Stride. Popular with festival crowds, the trio’s sing-a-long hits include Elvis Ain’t Dead, I Wish I was James Bond and She’s So Lovely.

PREVIOUS FINALE WEEKENDS

The first Bath Festivals’ Finale Weekend was in 2018, in a partnership of Bath Festivals and award-winning Orchard Live music promoters and designed to appeal to a wide range of audiences. The line-up over 2018 and 2019 provided a mixture of current chart-toppers and heritage acts, including Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Paloma Faith, Robert Plant, Midge Ure, Mabel, Clean Bandit, Van Morrison and

Corinne Bailey-Rae. The 2020 programme continues that theme of providing an open-air festival experience to a wide range of people in a unique setting.

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