COME rain or shine, 80s pop sensation Mari Wilson is determined to have a good time at Rewind Festival next weekend.
The Neasden Queen of Soul, who had hits with Just What I Always Wanted and Cry Me a River, will take to the main stage at Rewind South as part of the British Electric Foundation (BEF) alongside Heaven 17’s Glenn Gregory, Joy Division’s Peter Hook and The Farm’s Peter Hooton at Temple Island Meadows on Sunday August 21.
Mari performed at Rewind Scotland at the end of July, which she said was sadly memorable for all the wrong reasons.
“It absolutely poured with rain,” she told The Wokingham Paper. “It was such a shame as the weather the day before had been beautiful, but we still managed to have a great time though. It was great to see everyone dancing down at the front of the stage, even if they were holding umbrellas. It says a lot about British people I think.”
Mari, whose latest album Pop Deluxe was released in May, is looking forward to taking to the stage at Henley later this month, promising a performance to remember.
She said: “I am always on tour, and the show I am currently doing I have been doing for two years, so it will be nice to perform with a different band and sing some different songs.
“The biggest difference between being a recording artist now to how it was back in the 1980s is that I can spend more time working on an album. Back then it would be done in a matter of weeks, but we spent a year working on Pop Deluxe, and I could be really selective about the songs I wanted to do.
“What is interesting about performing with the BEF is that I don’t really need to do very much in the way of planning. When you are a solo artist a lot of the decisions come down to you, so it’s actually quite nice just to turn up and sing and everything else has already been done.”
The life of an 80s pop star never seems to slow down as Mari discovered at Rewind Scotland when she missed seeing Adam Ant perform.
“I really wanted to see him, but I had another performance to shoot off to so I missed him, which was a shame,” she said.
“I’m worried the same thing will happen at Rewind South, I am flying out of London the following day so I will need to leave early. But I suppose Henley is a little bit closer so hopefully I will be able to catch his set.
“I just really hope we have better weather this time!”
Mari Wilson performs at Rewind Festival South on Sunday August 21. Tickets start at £59.50 for day tickets, and £107.50 for weekend tickets. For more information and to book tickets visit www.rewindfestival.com.
