Going Down Memory Lane With 90s Baby

In a short time, 90s Baby has come a long way. Launched initially as a one-day event at Manchester's AO Arena, their debut event proved a huge hit despite Aqua pulling out of the headliner slot at the last minute. Since then, the brand has grown to include mini-events around the world and a two-day festival at the Barton Aerodrome. 

With the event having sold out ahead of time, the spacious venue filled out quickly after the gates opened to the very family-friendly event in time for the 2pm kick kickoff on Saturday. With food stalls aplenty and a small activity space, this year's event is stripped back to one stage and a dance focus for the first morning. 

With a strong set from JX really getting things heated up, Phats & Small deliver their big hit too soon in the set, leaving vocalist Ben Ofoedu struggling to fill his place on the stage. A more balanced set from N-Trance followed. While 911 and Blazin' Squad added some much-needed bounce to the day's affair, one of Saturday's main struggles was that it was too reliant on DJs as opposed to live performers to build the anticipation for the main three acts of the night. 

Although Scott Mills' suitably cheesy set prompted a fairly hearty sing-along, Sonique's brief appearance seemed a little halfhearted. Appearing unaware of her set length or her set list, she almost walked off after an impressive vocal delivery of just two songs. Although she stayed on to complete her set with impressive renditions of her hits, the between-song issues felt a little jarring.

Peter Andre, less bothered by the weather issues, was aware that his audience was more than up for a little dancing in the rain. Armed with his early hits, he was also honest, saying that he knew that most of the audience was just awaiting a rendition of his breakout hit. While Flava and Get Down On It were well-received, they also brought to light the lackluster nature of his return hit, Insania. Following a brief happy birthday to his son's girlfriend, Jasmine, his son Junior delivered his first ever live performance before the set erupted into Mysterious Girl.

With the rain still heavy, Eternal meandered on stage for the night's far-too-brief headline set. With an allotted time that was half of some of the DJs earlier in the day, the trio (the Bennett sisters are now accompanied by Christel Lakhar following a fallout with Kelle Bryan and Louise Redknapp) are slick and professional, but despite waves and heart shapes in the direction of their fans, they fail to really interact fully with those lapping up their set. Time restrictions prevent them from performing many of their hits on stage, but their stunning vocal performances of I Am Blessed, Power of a Woman, and Don't You Love Me serve as a clear reminder of their popularity in the 90s and their right to a full headline slot with a live band, ensuring an unforgettable closing for Saturday's event.

With the rain having not stopped play on Saturday, the sun came out for Sunday, and a shift away from the DJ-heavy sets lifted the mood, and the party seemed to be in a fuller flow. Early sets from Happy Clappers, Urban Cookie Collective, Alison Limerick, Baby D, and Livin Joy highlighted them as under-celebrated vocalists and performers, setting the tone for what would become a truly unforgettable trip down musical memory lane.

Christian Ingebrigsten

Mark Read

Livin' Joy

Peter Andre

Scott Robinson

While a DJ set from Ultrabeat overran, his bouncing between genres and sounds fuelled the boyband frenzy that was building in the aerodrome. First to take to the stage were A1, whose set paid tribute to all the boyband greats while showcasing their early hits. While they resisted the temptation to showcase some of the post-heyday material, their pop power was more than impressive.

Having had the bar set high, 5ive effortlessly bounced their way through their equally impressive back catalogue. With the audience eating out of the palm of their hands, their set proved itself the biggest sing-along of the weekend to this point, and their relentless energy made them a truly irresistible presence.

With Blue still riding the radio waves pretty happily, the quartet knew they could easily bounce their way between the decades—particularly given that they didn't even venture into the charts until 2001! Boasting a catalogue that is as strong and relevant to today as it was back in the day, this is a boy band that delivers on many levels.

After a brief interlude, former Boyzone frontman Ronan Keating arrived to close the weekend with his own nostalgic journey. Whereas Blue bounced between the decades, Ronan stuck to his earlier work, sharing his thanks alongside his insight as he revisited key moments from both Boyzone's and his own celebrated back catalogues. Having aged like a fine wine, Ronan's humble presence enhanced his rich voice as he connected with each and every member of the audience with little winks and discreet waves as he touched their hearts with stunning renditions of Words, When You Say Nothing At All, Baby Can I Hold You, and If Tomorrow Never Comes. However, it was in the closing moments of the encore song, Life Is A Rollercoaster, that Ronan earned himself the most rewarding sing-along of the whole weekend.

90s Baby is designed as a trip down memory lane, and the sets that worked best were the ones that broke that fourth wall, where the artist stepped out of that box in the audience's memory and into their present day. As Ronan so effortlessly reminded his audience, life is a rollercoaster and you just have to ride it—and 90s Baby allowed its audience to live in the moment while simultaneously reliving memories with people from their past as their memories flooded back into the hearty singing and dancing. A truly joyful weekend.