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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Jamie Roberts

'Inaugural Rock N Roll Circus has Newcastle crowd flying high as Noel Gallagher headlines'

The streets surrounding Newcastle might have been heavily beaten by footfall from the day's iconic Blaydon Race on Thursday, but it was in a huge circus tent where history was made.

The inaugural Rock N Roll Circus came to town and planted itself onto the vast fields of the city's Town Moor for a concert experience like no other which left fans wanting more.

Bringing circus and the best of music together all under one roof - or tent as it were - was, to put it simply, a masterstroke.

It just worked.

The unique event was the brainchild of Ali O'Reilly and allowed the usual down time between bands at gigs to be filled with mesmerising displays by aerialists, stilt walkers and fire dancers to name just a few.

Circus Performers at Rock N Roll Circus on the Town Moor in Newcastle Upon Tyne. (Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)

There was also a selection of fantastic food stalls and fortune tellers on offer on the outskirts of the main arena, so it's safe to say unique concept could and should be here to stay.

On the main stage, the enthusiastic crowd was treated to a jam-packed night of quality tunes from the likes of local lad Andrew Cushin, Australian duo Confidence Man, indie royalty The Charlatans and the outstanding headliner Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

Geordie chanter Cushin got the night off to a flier, grabbing the attention of the rapidly growing crowd with a number of impressive original numbers, such as Memories.

Geordie musician Andrew Cushin impressed at Rock N Roll Circus (Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)

The duo from Down Under stepped up next to put on a special performance, showing they were real entertainers, before switching places with Tim Burgess and his Charlatans bandmates who never fail to impress.

Of course, when it was time for proud Mancunian Noel to grace the stage, the Geordie faithful was ready to blow the roof off the big top and a special mix of his High Flying Birds songs and classic Oasis hits helped them do just that.

Crowds gathered at the first Rock N Roll Circus (Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)

With his adoring crowd lapping up every second, he couldn't resist throwing a cheeky jibe towards the Toon Army football fans in the crowd by dedicating a song to them - Stop Crying Your Heart Out.

In his typically blunt way he described it as the perfect song for them as they're "gonna win f*** all!"

The circus-style set-up is one music fans will no doubt want to see more of and it's a sentiment the acts echoed backstage too.

The crowd was entertained from all angles (Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)

Cushin said: "We need stuff like this to showcase the North East. It's amazing.

"It can only get bigger and better and it needs to come back. I'm buzzing."

Gallagher also praised the set up and admitted he was surprised at how good it looked.

He then shared a few kind words for the North East crowd, admitting: "Gigs in Newcastle are always great, aren't they?"

The Charlatans singer Tim Burgess wowed the Geordie crowd (Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)

Next up for the exciting concept sees another night in Toon on Saturday which will be headlined by The Libertines.

However, O'Reilly insisted that this is just the beginning for the idea.

She added: "The plan is to grow bigger and pick it up and take it across the country like a circus, having home artists at their home venue."

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds put on a brilliant show (Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)

If Thursday night is anything to go by the sky's the limit for the Rock N Roll Circus.

Roll up, roll up!

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