Wondering where to go next weekend? Here are fourteen reasons why Surplus Festival is better than Glastonbury

1: YOU DON’T HAVE PEOPLE WANDERING AROUND SAYING IT IS NOT AS GOOD AS IT USED TO BE:

At just four years old, the festival is getting better every year.

2: NO BINOCULARS REQUIRED:

You can get up close and personal with the bands, just like you are supposed to. Punk rock is not supposed to be viewed from three fields away on a giant screen.

3: YOU GET TO MEET ROCK STARS:

There’s no green room so all the bands come out to play with everyone else. You are guaranteed to see Shaun Westbourne from them Sporadics (pictured here on the right) wandering around in various states of drunkenness at some point. You might even see Fraggle out of that Back to the Planet wandering around taking his ferret for a walk.

4: NO NEED TO GET WORRIED ABOUT CLASHES ON THE MAIN STAGES:

The two main stages co-ordinate so the bands are not on at the same time.

(NB: dont rely too heavily on the stage times abouve, some of them have changed already – PAIN are playing on Saturday for instance)

NB2 – there be five stages in total

5: NO NEED FOR POLITICIANS TO BE INVITED:

Just about all of the bands have a political edge. No need to brining in professional politicians to make speeches.

6: NO NEED FOR GIANT FIRE BREATHING MECHANICAL MONSTERS:

Little things please little minds. The Surplus crew are quite capable of making their own entertainment

7: DONT WORRY ABOUT BANDS GIBBING OUT JUST COS THEIR LEAD GUITARIST HAS NOT SHOWN UP:

Someone else will step up the the plate (Jay from inner Terestrials and Oscar from AOS3, seen here helping out an otherwise guitarless Sporadics)

8: NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT HEAVY SECURITY
No giant fences, no search towers, no insecurity thugs that failed the test to get in the police driving around in land rovers dressed in paramilitary gear, no sniffer dogs. Just Steve. And a few blaggers.

9: YOU CAN BRING YOUR DOG:

And dogs don’t wander around in packs anymore, like they used to back in the day.

10: THE LEAD SINGER OUT OF THE LACERTILLIA WILL COME AROUND AND DO YOUR DISHES

The Boy Fry never leaves home without his marigolds

11: YOU WONT GET RIPPED OFF FOR OVERPRICED DREAM CATCHERS:

No, you can guarantee all the stalls will be selling cheap shit.

12: IT HAS ITS OWN AIRPORT:

Well, it used to, but the new site is not far from the airport

13: THERE WILL BE GENUINE FAIRIES WANDERING AROUND AT NIGHT:

Not silly fake faires like you get at other festivals

14: YOU WILL GET TO HEAR RADICAL DANCE FACTION FINISH THE  SURPLUS FESTIVAL OFF BY PLAYING THEIR SONG  ‘SURPLUS PEOPLE’

And that on it’s own makes the festival worth going to

To listen to the Peppermint Iguana Radio special, with disorganisers of the festival in the studio, go here

To check out the Surplus sampler album, go here