The Beat, guitar player Steve Harper and Ranking Roger. (Picture by Tom Tardif, 0978030)

MANY came to party like it was 1980-whenever last Friday.

I’d never seen the big hall at Beau Sejour so packed since, well, that very decade. The Best 80s Party in the World Ever…Part 2! was an excuse for 2,000 or so islanders to don various 80s attire, eyeliner, pork pie hats, Harringtons, spray industrial quantities of hairspray up top, and get into the groove.

The event had a friendly and fairly laidback feel to it, probably helped by the good weather and the fact it was a bank holiday weekend.

The night belonged to the final act, The Beat. They may only count original members vocalist Ranking Roger and drummer Everett Morton among them, but bolstered by Ranking Junior and some excellent musicians they were a treat for sore ears – particularly after being bombarded by various 80s hits from DJ Carl Ward. If any DJ screams 80s, it’s Carl Ward and he was in his poptastic element.

Earlier, Toyah had bounded on stage, all orange hair and black fetish-wear, like someone’s mad, embarrassing auntie. Singing to backing tracks, she launched into, bizarrely, Lenny Kravitz’s Are You Gonna Go My Way? – a track from 1993, but hey, who’s checking? She sang three of her hits, Thunder In The Mountains, It’s A Mystery and for an encore I Want To Be Free: ‘I wrote this when I was 13 – to think I’m singing this now at 52, with a new hip!’ You’ve gotta love her.

Give Toyah her due though; she rocks out, she’s one feisty rock minx, as shown by her new material – to which the crowd gave a lukewarm reception. Her set was a mix of old and new and the odd, and sometimes confusing. Earlier on she announced she was going to sing a song that had ‘inspired’ her: Guns ’n’ Roses Sweet Child of Mine. A track from 1987. Hmm. And she also sang a version of Martha and The Muffins’ Echo Beach. Eh!!? Out of fashion and a trifle uncool as that may be, all in all she put on a good show.

‘Guernsey – I think I fancy you!’ she hollered towards the end of her set.

Yeah, Toyah – I bet you say that to all the audiences.

‘Guernsey, I think I fancy you!’ Toyah gets flirty. (Picture by Tom Tardif, 0978034)

After some cheerleading antics from the dancers from the Blondel Earl Centre The Beat took to the stage. Apparently lead vocalist Ranking Roger had missed his flight but made the gig with an hour to spare.

It was just as well he did as he makes for a commanding presence, all dreadlocks flailing as he bounced about the stage. The hits Hands Off She’s Mine, Tears of a Clown, Sooner or Later and Too Nice to Talk To had plenty skanking away in the hall. But the main tune people were waiting for, Mirror in the Bathroom, came later.

‘If we played it too early, you’d all start to leave!’ said Ranking Roger.

His son meanwhile certainly gave the band a more up-to-date sound and his toasting was a highlight of the set.

Guernsey’s own tribute to 80s electronica, Fade2Grey, kicked off the proceedings earlier on the night. Unfortunately I missed them, due to a wife who couldn’t decide which 80s outfit to wear and then having to park half a mile away.

Of course, if I had wanted to make the evening more authentic for myself I’d have worn a long, Joy Division-style overcoat, had hair implants and would have been standing outside the venue, grumbling and refusing to join in with the fun. But then nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.

The organisers, Nick Creed and Andy Fothergill, are understandably delighted about how the night went.

‘Both Toyah and The Beat were great fun to work with and everyone seemed very impressed with the island,’ said Nick.

‘Nothing was too much trouble for Toyah. Within a couple of hours of landing she had been photographed and interviewed by virtually every media organisation and publication in the island and she was still raring to go and meet as many people as possible.’

He added that The Beat were a little more laidback.

‘Our biggest concern was that Ranking Roger had missed his flight with the rest of the band and wasn’t there for the soundcheck. He eventually sauntered off a late flight with about an hour to spare before the gig and walked on stage as cool as a cucumber.

‘The Best 80s gigs are best described as a variety show.

‘Each of the musical styles probably wouldn’t work on its own for such a large scale gig – but the different elements brought together ensure there’s something to appeal to all tastes.’

Andy said it was a little too early to say if there would be another Best 80s Party.

‘We’ve still got a couple of weeks to go in terms of putting this one to bed – but we’re already being asked when number three will be taking place.

‘Watch this space.’