I hear these Butlins gigs are a bloody good earner and Steve has resisted them for years, however, who do you think will fully or partly finance the full orchestra affair? Who will pay the musicians? Who will hire the rehearsal room? Pay the design and printing costs of the full colour programme [please]? Who will pay for the advertising or the transport? It seems to me that one gig possibly makes the other happen.Either way I shall be at both. x

Yes... me too.. I truly don't know why folk are getting so hot under the collar about Bognor... I'm sure Steve and the boys will enjoy it.. I'm sure the crowd will enjoy it... It feels just a little 'snobbish' to say that the rest of the lineup are 'has beens'... Truth is, they are still out there performing for their audience just the same as Steve and CR are out there performing for us.

What I know for fact is that if any of you were there, you would enjoy it too... Personally, I'm too far away to attend (Scotland), but would if I could...

Lookin forward to Birmingham.. Plenty of time to arrange all the logistics... Hate to wish my life away, but roll on November..

I have just found this site because I am going to see Steve Harley and the Cockney Rebels at Bognor Regis Butlins next month. I am shocked that some of you are not thinking it is something that he should be doing. They are fab weekends, I promise you. I'm not a real fan of dressing up, but it is real laugh. We went last year, my six girlfriends and me, and we had a really good laugh, considering we are all nearly 50! These party weekends attract a mixed range of age groups and we weren’t the oldest. There were several hen and stag parties, too-and they made it great, singing along to everything and really getting in the mood alright. Most people entered into the spirit of things and dressed up in the evenings. The bars were full of glam rockers, and people sporting big hair and dodgy fashions, and everyone seemed up for a real laugh. The enterainment rooms are surrounded by slot machines and hot dog vendors, so the noise level is always high no matter what time of day or night it is. The live entertainment was great last time we went. The weekend we were there, there were tribute bands for David Bowie, Abba, Queen and T-Rex, as well as originals including Les McKeown’s Bay City Rollers, Brotherhood of Man and the Real Thing. The tribute bands varied in quality (as one of my friends commented, T-Rex, was more Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall than Marc Bolan), but the Real Thing were a genuine highlight. Their energy and enthusiasm while belting out their favourite hits like 'You to me are everything' and 'Can you feel the force?' was formidable considering they've been performing for some 30 years. And they seemed to enjoy the audience too, even welcoming a group of friends dressed in spangly dresses and long gloves on to the stage to provide backing vocals.
So don’t be snobby, come and have a good laugh with everyone else. Its not as bad as all that. There are lots of things on Youtube and on Flickr to show you how good a time it is if you are interested.
Will see you there.

proof of how good a time you will have...

Steve is a serious artist of course, but I imagine that considering his well-known and highly-developed sense of fun and adventure, he took the offer, thinking "tribute band.
, hasbeen band, tribute band, tribute band, bubblegum, bubblegum bubblegum AND US!!"
Yes, as headliners SH and CR will blow the weekender audience awy, and the fee will almost certianly go a long way towards costs of the Birninghma extravaganza.
Essentially, of course, it's none of our business. The question is: to buy a ticket or not to buy a ticket. Your call.
I would if I could, but that's another story. I don't go to the PJH site, never seen it, the official one here will do me. But any negative comments should be ignored or treated with the contempt such snobbery deserves - that's my own opinion. I mentioned before, the biggest acts on the world, and I mean THE BIGGEST, play for all sorts of reasons at functions their fans know nothing about. Good luck to you Steve. Class will out!

Well said jollyroger, I recall seeing Steve at the Southbank studio's London for Bradley Walsh's show. Two songs and away with the mixer! [don't ask]. I do recall Bradley calling Steve 'The Guv'nor' after he'd held us in his palm yet again. The gospel choir were an added joy. I guess i've gone off on a tangent again but the gist of it is, you get to any gig Steve chooses to do if, you have the money, the geography is possible, your job allows it, and in my case my wife says so!! x