We’ve been on about the other big Devizes events we’re looking forward to across July, but on the 24th to the 26th it’ll be time to get up on your feet, put your braces together and your boots on your feet, and give us some of that old moonstomping, at Devizes Scooter Rally. And it’s only three weeks away; time enough to wash that Fred Perry…..
There’s no complicated reason for a way of putting this, I love Devizes Scooter Rally! With a few photos I’ll attempt to explain why.
Firstly though, note; I don’t got no hairdryer, no need for anything on two wheels, I’m dodgy enough on four! I go for the music, the drink and the great company; of which is plentiful.
Last year the site significantly expanded as The Beat headlined, at least Ranking Roger’s son Ranking Junior paid homage to his father and the original lineup. Needless to say it was well-received and off the scale; I called it the best one yet. But it’s only a fraction of why I love Devizes Scooter Rally!
I think it’s at the maximum scale the Scooter Club feels comfortable with. That’s understandable, any bigger could potentially lessen that community feel which has attracted the niche market of scooterists and retrospective youth cultures, and blessed this rally with a renowned reputation nationwide.
This year sees lesser-known names on the lineup but all tried, tested and loved by the Scooter Club. Bands this year include the Butterfly Collective returning for their second year, newcomers Skamageddon, Bootleg Blondie, Marquis Drive, The Decatonics and all-time club favourite All That Soul.
It is not about big names, rather throwing one heck of a great party, and that is what they do every year without fail. Kick it off, Colonel!
Here’s a snap of Goldsteppers, who played the 2024 Rally, and I reckon were my favourite band to ever play here. They had this total dedication to recreating an original Jamaican ska sound. Even if I grew up with the Two-Tone movement it only served to fuel my obsession with its roots. Through my eclectic tastes I need to do Devizine, I reserve my rights to declare officially, that original Jamaican ska and reggae are my desert island discs, my favourite style of music. And, we simply don’t get nearly enough of this around these backwaters. But this is only another fraction of why I love Devizes Scooter Rally!
Here’s a picture of All That Soul from a previous year. They’re coming again this year, and if you think perfectly mimicking those Motown classics is asking too much, All That Soul do, do sublimely and on a level I’ve only ever witnessed before when watching All That Soul! Awl, those Northern Soul boys are welcomed here too; throw down some talc and call me Andrea! But, that’s only a fraction of why I love Devizes Scooter Rally too.
It’s all weekend, it’s affordable, there’s free camping. On a local level I believe those with only a passing interest have cottoned onto its brilliance, and even the council have accepted it’s an important annual date on the town’s event calendar. Scooterists from all over the country fly back and forth down Caen Hill, spending money in town; an economic advantage but still, only a fraction of why I love Devizes Scooter Rally!
The biggest chunk on my pie chart of why I love Devizes Scooter Rally, can be best illustrated by these last two snaps. Co-founder of the Devizes Scooter Club Martin Gibbs has been busy painting barrels with the logos and colours associated with the variety of movements which combined make up the ethos of the rally. And there’s the thing….
Everyone at the Scooter Club muck in, use their relevant skills and work tirelessly to create this extravaganza. With their reflection on reggae, their combined efforts is rather akin to a Caribbean carnival, whereby participants will labour all year on their decoration, dress and floats. The Devizes Scooter Club built this bar themselves, they built this bangarang (but not necessarily on rock n roll!!) And you best believe it, this bar takes some heavyweight usage!
You’ve never seen such a busy bar, and members of the club and their families slave night and day, serving attendees with their booze quota until the point they drop from exhaustion! With a lost voice and physically drained from tending the busiest bar this side of Munich’s Theresienwiese during Oktoberfest, my wonderful sister-in-law still drives my sorry drunken ass home afterwards; I’m so grateful, it’s become our thing!!
That’s my major point, that’s why I love Devizes Scooter Rally most; the team behind it, giving 500%, mucking in, and creating this wonderful annual event. And this reflects into those attending, only expanding on this real community feel, done only so for the spirit of the day, and love of doing it!
That’s the magic of Devizes Scooter Rally, in a nutshell. In Jamaican patois you’d be a bubu, or here, a fool, to miss it!
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