So here we went again, 20 years in existence now and for me still the best weekend festival for a number of reasons but mainly because Hemsby offers a range of music varieties for all tastes from authentic rock’n’roll and rockabilly, through to swing and rhythm and blues, and even daring to venture into neo rockabilly and psychobilly.

OK the festival is much smaller now than it used to be, but this hasn't changed the fact that it has remained the king of rock’n’roll festivals for so many years now and for many more to come I have no doubt.

Mrs Sprex and I left home at 5am on Friday morning to catch an early boat from Calais, as I had to pick up some equipment for the festival from London on the way. We arrived at Hemsby around 6pm and I managed to check out Smokestack Lightnin's set at 8pm, this band just gets better and better and were on top form, great vocal harmonies and musicianship.

I'm not gonna rattle on about details of set lists etc because it's boring, just say what my personal opinion is of the acts I managed to see and listen to.

I watched a bit of the next band The BarnStompers but it wasn't my cup of tea, very nicely played hillbilly/authentic rockabilly from a well-established band but too light and clean for my dirty old ears!! They did however do a fantastic job of backing up Sid and Billy King and I checked out most of the set which I thoroughly enjoyed, old guys but they still rocked the house.

Last band of the night was the brilliant Union Avenue from Scotland featuring my mate Paul Paterson on guitar. This is a great band with a great concept, image and sound. As I said I'm not going to talk about set list details, but if you dig Johnny Cash and have an open mind about obscure cover versions from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Billy Idol then check this band out because they are fantastic. A roof raising end to Friday night and they enjoyed at least 3 encores before being allowed to leave the stage.

I stayed up 'til 5am before hitting the sack after 26 hours awake!! only to try and fall asleep to the sounds of Dave Phillips having a jam session next door ... Excellent !!

Got up at 8am to run through my set I had to play that night with Karling Abbeygate from Los Angeles, and met up for breakfast with her and her manager Donny Whitbeck and the guys who were chosen to perform with the houseband this time, Rob Tyler on drums and Paul Paterson on guitar.

We had a nice and relaxed early afternoon rehearsal, and then I rehearsed a bit with another band I have some work coming up with in November in Belgium and Holland, The Drugstore Cowboys ... Watch this space for news about that.

I had to sort out various stuff that was needed that night, but managed to catch the set of Alton Lott backed by The Infernos which was a pleasant surprise. He reminded me a little of Ronnie Dawson with his powerful voice and guitar sound, and this was a good discovery to bring over to appear at Hemsby which was his first gig ever in Europe.

Next up it was time for the long-awaited return of 80's rockabilly revival pioneer Dave Phillips backed by his origional band The Hot Rod Gang (Mark Harman and Rob Tyler). This for me was the best show of the weekend, probably because it was one of the bands that I first got into when I was a baby Sprex in the early 80s and have always loved, but also because they delivered 100 percent of pure passion filled entertainment which is a rare thing when most of the 'revival' bands today are just milking it for the money and don't put an ounce of effort into their craft and performance. Absolutely superb show and I hope there is more to come soon, if there is then don't miss it.

1am and I was next up to play bass with Karling Abbeygate, a British singer who lived in LA and made the trip to perform especially for Hemsby. Although she was only given a very short 30 minute set, she managed to fill it with a nice mix of interesting covers and origional material. I think the style was a little too country for the Hemsby audience, but by the end of the set she had them in full attention and won over quite a lot of new fans. I enjoyed working with her on Donnie, truely professional people and very nice personalities too. We hung out together for the majority of the weekend actually, and I hope we will keep contact and work together again in the future.

Last band of the night at 2am was Rochee and The Sarnos, a legendary name for those that care to remember. I saw them last year in Antwerp and it was a great show, so I was looking forward to a fun and crazy gig at Hemsby. I and everybody else was unfortunately very disappointed as the set was cut very short due to personal reasons regarding the lead singer. A pity but these things happen sometimes and I dare say they'll be back soon.

Sunday I went to check out the jam session which was fun and also included a special appearance from Dave Phillips and one of his sons on drums ... Cool!

Saw The Houserockers too who were absolutely brilliant and blew the crowd away, I was happy for Rob after his embarassing situation the night before with The Sarnos. He deserved the success that he brought this evening doing his own thing ... Well done mate.

Next up were The Go Getters who are a familiar name to many, and more my kind of thing as they always perform with a powerful and punky edge which is what I personaly like. Another new line up but great musicians as always and a great gig.

After that I was really having enough and so was were my ears and legs!! but I stuck around to catch a bit of Mike Sanchez and his band. As always the master showman and performer, with the cream of British talent backing him up. It doesn't come any better than this and I wish I had the stamina to stay to the end of the set, but it was time for bed and an 8 hour drive home.

Thanks Willie, Varick and Viv for putting on yet again a fantastic weekend of entertainment.