THE Fratellis rocked Watchet Festival with an electric, jam-packed performance on Saturday night.

The Scottish indie band (Jon, Barry and Mince Fratelli) were joined on stage by The Wild Tonics, a joyful trio of energetic backing singers dressed in suits, plus a saxophonist and a trumpet player.

Singer and guitarist Jon is a natural frontman who barely paused for breath between songs, allowing the band to cram over a dozen into their headline set.

They flew out of the blocks with ‘Henrietta’, the first single from their relentless debut album Costello Music (2006).

That set the tone for a wonderfully loud, shamelessly retro 80 minutes of hits, which peaked when their riotous smash-hit ‘Chelsea Dagger’ left the crowd delirious.  

Standout moments along the way were their explosive cover of Baccara’s ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’ and ‘Flathead’, which saw Jon swap his glittering red guitar for a remarkable harmonica solo.

Throughout The Fratellis’ set, lead singer Jon barely spoke (save for a “thank you” at the end of every track) but when he did, it provided a worthwhile reminder of how far they’ve come.

“We still remember playing pubs,” he said. “Sometimes, just the bar staff.

“Or there would be someone in there’d who’d been drinking all day but would leave after two songs.

“That stays with you. All we ever wanted was an audience to play to. Thank you so much.”


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Watchet Festival brings a little bit of everything across its three stages, and a rather different Saturday highlight came courtesy of ‘shanty punk’ outfit Skinny Lister.

The London five-piece’s captivating evening set saw vocalist Lorna Thomas climb the fence to ride on a crowd member’s shoulders and invite her dad, affectionately known as Party George, onto the stage to perform a song he wrote.

While waiting for Main Stage acts to begin, it’s well worth venturing into the nearby Udder Stage or Something Else Tea Tent, where you can get a slice of cake or a boozy coffee while watching an intimate set. 

There are surely few festivals in the world where you can watch an open mic singer perform a folk song about his love of pasties 30 minutes before watching BRIT Award nominees – and that, in itself, could be a short summary of Watchet.