The Beach Boys were surfing on a wave of nostalgia when they swapped the golden beaches of California for Montrose East Links in May 2017.
The concert was the perfect end to the 10th year of Montrose Music Festival, which included around 100 gigs over 25 venues during the weekend.
The thought of the Beach Boys playing anywhere in Montrose but through a pub jukebox would have been unimaginable before MoFest put the town on the music map.
Some 10,000 fans – many in Hawaiian shirts – enjoyed a packed set of greatest hits and fan favourites from one of the most influential rock and pop acts of all-time.
What a weekend it was for music fans in Montrose from the get-go!
Deacon Blue were Friday night headliners
Those Good Vibrations actually started on Friday May 26 2017 when Scottish soul pop legends Deacon Blue got the party started at the East Links.
The much-loved Glasgow band, led by Dundee’s Ricky Ross, were returning to perform at MoFest for the first time since 2009 when they became the only headliner in its history to play shows on two consecutive nights after the first gig completely sold out.
It was also the band’s first live performance since taking a well-earned break following their concert at Glasgow Barrowlands in December 2016, which sold out in 60 seconds.
Highlights included Fergus Sings the Blues, Chocolate Girl, Real Gone Kid and Dignity, which saw the crowd singing every word of the anthem about a Glasgow street sweeper.
The Deacon faithful in the Friday night crowd knew every word of the lesser-known tracks and their biggest hits during the packed two-hour set.
People, young and old, soaked up another unforgettable weekend of live music with free gigs taking place across the town during Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
‘It’s going to be a great night…’
The Beach Boys brought the festival to a close on Sunday night at East Links for what proved to be another unforgettable weekend of live music.
The legendary 1960s band was led by co-founding member Mike Love, while Bruce Johnston, who joined the band in 1965, was also part of the line-up.
Mike arrived looking resplendent in a Hawaiian shirt and seemed up for a party!
“It’s great that 50 years plus we’re still in a position to be touring and sharing our music with fans around the world,” Mike said.
“The beauty of the Beach Boys’ music, the stuff that we’ve created for going on five decades now, it seems to transcend generations.
“Not only do our original fans still love to hear those songs, their children and some of their grandchildren like the Beach Boys, which is kind of miraculous, if you think about it.
“We’re really looking forward to performing outdoors in Montrose, and being part of this popular festival.
“It’s going to be a great night.”
Mike and the troops answered the call
Entire families, covering three generations in some cases, enjoyed the feel-good songs about surfing, driving fast cars, and hanging out with pretty girls.
The band were formed in California in 1961 by the Wilson brothers – Brian, Dennis and Carl – and Mike Love, their cousin, along with their schoolfriend Al Jardine.
The Beach Boys were joined on stage in Montrose by Hollywood actor and producer John Stamos, who has toured on and off with the band for more than 30 years.
The evening’s repertoire was filled with impeccable harmonies as the boys dug deep into their considerable songbook and proved there was plenty left in the tank.
The band performed some of their greatest hits from their 50-year career including Good Vibrations, Surfin’ USA, Barbara Ann, and Wouldn’t It Be Nice.
The angelic barbershop harmonies were unforgettable and the fans certainly got their money’s worth, with more than 40 songs crammed in.
The concert was full of just about every big Beach Boys hit that will never age and for about two hours it really did feel like 1965 again!
Previous headliners at the East Links festival, which started life in 2008, included Status Quo, Madness, Jools Holland and Bryan Adams.
But it quickly became a victim of its own success, which brought with it spiralling costs.
Will live music return to East Links?
The festival limped on but the BBC’s Biggest Weekend in Perth being scheduled on the same date as the 2018 MoFest didn’t help.
Music fans feared the worst when MoFest pulled the plug on the 2019 event due to a lack of volunteers but promised to “step back, regroup and come back stronger in 2020”.
MoFest was quietly killed off.
LCC Live announced it would bring platinum-selling artist Jess Glynne to perform at the inaugural Live at the Links to plug the gap.
The 2019 summer event also featured the Kaiser Chiefs and Madness and was the largest weekend event in Scotland outside of Glasgow’s TRNSMT Festival.
The pandemic put the brakes on major festivals during 2020 and 2021 and there is hope Live at the Links will return sooner than later to Montrose.
Wouldn’t It Be Nice?
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