Bands and fans do the town proud . . .

INDIE rockers Razorlight topped a great Saturday night bill at the 2017 Rochdale Feel Good Festival, the 10th anniversary of this free weekender of live music, street food and drinks.

Pop-up food outlets offered an eclectic choice of international fare including crepes, tacos, burgers, fish n’ chips, Spanish doughnuts, nachos, halloumi sandwiches, wood-fired pizzas, wild boar hot dogs, vegan Thai curries and Arabic naan sandwiches.

A German beer hall and real London doubledecker bar complemented the Feel Good Festival Sponsors, The Flying Horse, with an array of fine local and global beers.

Long queues for face painting, at Wish Upon A Sparkle, snaked through the food court and front of stage was populated by glow-stick clutching, garlanded young people enjoying their first festival experience.

The musical highlights of the high-quality Saturday bill included The Bright Black, who played their new single, soon to be launched at Band On The Wall in Manchester, and Baked A La Ska who got the huge crowd jumping with a ska version of David Bowie’s Starman, which they followed up with imaginative arrangements of I’ve Got You Under My Skin and The Lady Is A Tramp.

Lazers lit up the Rochdale night sky as Razorlight hit the stage, to the delight of the thousands gathered.

They played a blistering set of new songs and iconic favourites that the ecstatic crowd sang along to - impressing Johnny Borrell so much that he stopped singing to give a heartfelt ‘Thank you, Rochdale’.

The band were certainly up for the gig, having earlier tweeted, ‘Feelin’ good for Rochdale’s Feelgood Festival Today! We’re headlining, see you at the front.’

Incredibly for the Feel Good Festival the headliners Razorlight, an English indie rock band formed in 2002 by lead singer and rhythm guitarist Johnny Borrell, took to the stage without the traditional accompanying rain

They are best known for having topped the charts with the 2006 single America and its parent self-titled album, their second.

Along with Borrell, the current lineup of the band consists of drummer David Sullivan Kaplan, lead guitarist Gus Robertson, and bassist João Mello.

They brought to a close another highly successful weekender that is firmly established as one of the best free festivals in the UK, something for the borough of Rochdale to be truly proud of.