Vintage 2011 Boasts Stylish, Best-Looking Crowd of the Festival Season

John Phillips, UK Press/PA

Forget the rain, the wellies and the mud –- when it comes to the most stylish and good-looking crowd of the festival season, Vintage 2011 was the place to be seen. Organised by designer Wayne Hemingway and celebrating music and fashion from the 1920s to 1980s, London's Southbank Centre was transformed over the weekend of July 29 to 31 into a self-contained time machine allowing fans to slip from one era to another.

The Torch Club brought to life the swing sounds of the 40s as the area on the ground floor was convincingly transformed into a wartime ballroom replete with swish curtains, twinkling lights and swing bands. For those who found those sounds a little too contemporary for their tastes there was always The Cotton Club, a credible and evocative take on the Golden Age of Jazz. The note perfect music by the likes of the Shirt Tail Stompers was accompanied by a cavalcade of zoot suits, military garb and flapper dresses.

Bringing things more up to date was the outdoor balcony disco that faithfully recreated the sights and sounds of the 70s disco to the obvious delight to the appropriately attired hordes drawn to the party. Likewise, the 80s rave taking place in the Southbank's previously disused basement counted legendary Manchester DJs Mike Pickering and A Guy Called Gerald.

But it was at the Let it Rock room where the joint was truly jumping. Pumping out the sounds from the first generation of rock 'n' roll, it was left to the incendiary Jim Jones Revue to bring Saturday night to a thunderous close. Making good on their reputation as one of the UK's best live acts, their unholy fusion of Little Richard and the MC5 went down a storm.

Though the urban setting and lack of all-night tubes in the capital does much to dampen a true festival spirit, Vintage remained a memorable experience for those for whom music and fashion and are a way of life. There's rumours circulating of an outdoor venue for next year -- roll on 2012.

Watch the Video for Jim Jones Revue's 'Elemental'

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