The behaviour of the 30,000 music fans who attended the Rewind 80s festival has been praised.
As those who stayed on camping made their way home from the grounds of Scone Place on Monday it was revealed that there had only been a handful of offences reported.
Inspector Nicky Russell of Tayside division said: “Police Scotland worked closely with organisers to ensure this was a safe and fantastic event.
“I am pleased to say there was only a very small number of minor incidents, with the majority of revellers enjoying themselves in a responsible manner.”
The breakdown of offences was two petty assaults, one vandalism and two breaches of the peace – all detected – and two thefts which remain undetected.
The stars of the show were also full of praise for those attending.
Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley, who had relatives from Stonehaven watching on, described the fans at Scone Palace as “a cracking audience”.
“What was nice was that I was backstage and all of a sudden Pat Sharp announced me and the crowd just roared and then I got really nervous,” he said.
“I always get nervous before a show but this was a nice kind of nervousness. They were a fantastic crowd, really superb.”
Ultravox frontman Midge Ure was impressed by the festival-goers’ fortitude during Sunday’s downpours.
“It would take a JCB to move half of these people,” he joked.
“No one’s put off by a bit of rain, they’re used to it. They live here, it’s fine.
“They sing along with every word and are just having a ball.”
The Scottish star said Rewind was even more meaningful in a year that has seen a string of 80s music legends passing away, including David Bowie, Prince and Black.
“I’ve done a lot of festivals over the summer and there’s been a huge nod of respect to Bowie and Prince, people who inspired us,” he added.
“None of us would be here if it wasn’t for David Bowie. Music’s about inspiring other people and a lot of the artists who’ve died this year inspired all of us to get started in this.”
The British Electric Foundation’s Martyn Ware also reflected on the poignancy of the event.
“People are starting to understand that none of us are going to be around forever so every year it gets more precious having the original artists at Rewind,” he said.
“That’s why we did Wonderful Life, to commemorate Black and the passing of a beautiful artist.”
Ware’s Heaven 17 colleague Glenn Gregory added: “The fans are one of the most important and fun things about doing this.
“Seeing them in that weather just giving so much love and joy back is amazing, it can’t be knocked.”
Festival promoter David Heartfield also felt it had been a vintage year despite the weather.
“We had another fantastic weekend here in Perth,” he said. “It’s always an amazing way to kick off the festival season for us and every year the crowd gets better and better.”
