Rick and Max are on cloud nine

Photo: Paul Chan

Gardenback on the main stage

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SO, years after Rick and Max Lees first dared to dream about putting on a new, totally exciting music festival for Saddleworth, the brothers finally delivered Cotton Clouds on Saturday, and what a roaring success it proved to be.

The forward thinking siblings later admitted that there had been a few 'teething problems' ­- presumably referring to some hefty queues at the bars, food outlets and toilets ­- but aside from those issues, the boys - with the terrific support from fellow festival director Luke Stanley and the rest of the team involved - most certainly did good and I can't wait for Cotton Clouds II.

I had been frantically checking the Saddleworth weather forecast for weeks beforehand, and when the rain lashed down as I walked down Manchester Road on the way to the cricket club venue, I feared the elements might end up playing a part.

However, the big man upstairs then blessed Cotton Clouds with some stunning sunshine at times, and there proved to be no more darting under cover anywhere for shelter.

This whole event turned into a complete triumph for 3,500 music lovers from across the region, no matter what their age or what genre they may have been into. Cotton Clouds had everything.

My Cotton Clouds day actually began with a coin toss.

Would I end up watching brilliant Mossley punky outfit Proletariat on the Tim Peak's Diner stage, or local indie rockers Shadow Palace in the excellent Jimmy's tent?

Shadow Palace won, though I did catch a few minutes of the former's set on my way past to the Jimmy's tent.

The Shadow Palace lads were on top form again, with 'Put out the fire' and 'Tribe' particular faves of mine, and the guys and girls in the tent positively lapped it up. What a start!

Interviewing both bands backstage meant I then missed the vast majority of Darling Club's set ­- though it was kind of heart-warming to see the supremely talented Jake Fletcher ­- although he had been ill all night ­- up there with former Cupids' band-mate and drummer James Cardus, and Joshua Cavanagh-Brierley ­- it sounded impressive.

Maybe those three will turn Darling Club into a band going forward, with Jake initially having set up as a solo project.

I then made my way over to the fantastic main stage to catch fellow local hopefuls Gardenback, and they rocked it again, banging out a great set, with new single 'Bulldog' and 'Bury me' personal faves for me.

The whole atmosphere was simply beautiful around the place ­- not a hint of trouble anywhere. This was amazing live music being enjoyed by genuine music lovers.

The sound systems were all spot on after one or two early issues were ironed out, and the techies out there all performed wonders to get the best sounds out into that field as possible.

Of course with at least half-a-dozen artists listed on all three stages, I was always going to miss plenty, and I later heard wonderful things about The G-O-D, the Sundowners, Stillia, Nev Cottee, the awesome Blinders and Hello Operator, among others.

I caught the hilarious and very clever Yorkshire show band the Everly Pregnant Brothers, Saddleworth's own The Whip, and the Howling Rhythm brass outfit, but the highlight of the day for me was seeing 80s legend Nick Heyward offering up a terrific half-hour of pure nostalgia.

As soon as he opened up with Haircut 100 mega smash Love Plus One, I knew we were in for a treat.

There were a couple of sweet tracks from his new album Woodland Echoes, but Boy Meets Girl and Fantastic Day really got the crowd on their tiptoes.

The queues for a drink led to me catching half of The Coral set and the Sugarhill Gang from the venue perimeter (across from the Royal George), but that didn't spoil the day - Cotton Clouds was a smash hit for me and three-and-a-half thousand other live music fanatics.

Roll on next year ­- when it seems Cotton Clouds could well turn into a two - or even three-day - musical extravaganza!