BOB TIPLER FROM ALBION FORMER ORGANISER OF HFT AND AT ALBION

For Bob, the seed of Fat Tuesday was sown in 2006 as a one-off event to tie in with his band The Cajun Dawgs, who were inspired by the culture of the American South. He saw the idea as stemming from New Orleans Mardi Gras celebrations as well as the pagan celebration of Saturnalia. Once Bob started working with Adam Daly, a current Hastings Fat Tuesday Co-Director, they were able to gather musical talent from around town and presented the idea to many local venues. This led to the nights expanding year on year, with Fat Tuesday reaching all the way to St Leonards from its Hastings origins in the last few years.

However, Bob remarks that last year was likely the festival’s peak, with a lack of funding “clipping the wings” of HFT 24, with the umbrella parade and grand ball of previous years having been left out this year.

SALLY LAMPITT, CO DIRECTOR OF HFT 

With around 80 bands and 300 or more performers, Fat Tuesday is a big opportunity for musicians, she says. This year is more local than previous years, but the draw of the festival has attracted bands from as far as Edinburgh and South West England. Sally mentioned that the festival’s growth over the years has been steady, maintaining a close connection to local music.

Sally also explained how the festival contributes to a recognised growth in the musical industry in Hastings, with sound engineers and even mastering companies beginning to set up. And local artists such as Kid Kapichi and Greentea Peng, who have opened for national headliners, have often made appearances.

SIMON KENNEDY FROM THE JENNY LIND

Simon described Hastings Fat Tuesday 2024 as “in jeopardy” this year due to the funding cuts and how this led to crowdfunding which was able to cover the main events of the weekend and Fat Tuesday itself. Simon describes the event as “an established cultural event on the Hastings calendar, during a period where there isn’t much going on”. As HFT gained popularity, The Jenny Lind has had to think more about carefully about the capacity of the venue, bearing in mind how busy the festival can get. When Skinny Lister played the high main room of the Jenny, their singer and a double bass player were walking over the top of a packed crowd, which Simon admits was as amazing as it was scary.

DRAGON BAR, PADDY PIGGOTT

Fat Tuesday is a switch up for the Dragon bar, which usually hosts DJ events, but the bar takes on live acts on Saturday 10th and Tuesday 13th. Paddy described HFT as “a real opportunity for new music acts around Hastings”, and an event that has remained when others have fallen to the side. Despite funding cuts having meant that the parade and fringe parts of Fat Tuesday are not as present this year, he thinks there is still a real excitement for the event – Fat Tuesday being perceived as more of a local event than Jack in the Green. From years past, Paddy particularly remembers the incredible crowd drawn in by Skunk Anansie, where there were as many people outside the Dragon Bar as there were in.

TOBY BARELLI, AKA KING SIZE SLIM

A local musician who has been able to perform at every HFT, Toby has seen new musicians cut their teeth at local events and go on to play around the country: bands such as Hot Wax and Chimer.

Toby emphasised how unique Fat Tuesday is for performers, as it gives budding bands lots of practice in playing a series of quickfire sets to big, excited crowds, and even transport becomes crucial in moving from place to place around town.

As someone who is familiar with the event, Toby says it’s a great way to try new songs and play as loud as possible – a necessity on the unplugged shows. But the popularity of Fat Tuesday weekend can itself prove a problem as he recalled a bar where he was heading to play being so packed that he couldn’t get in!

Over the years I have seen out-of-town acts arrive with little idea what to expect from this little town, two hours in traffic from the M25 and its weird Tuesday gig. First, they laugh, then they start to get it, then by the end of the night many have decided they want to move here and some actually have.

What is the Fat Tuesday tour like to play? It’s a beautiful chaos. All night the streets are filled with musicians clambering their way through crowds to get to their next venue which will inevitably be packed to the rafters. Swapping stories of how the last set went as they pass fellow musicians also en route to their next venue. You squeeze in to what is generally a tiny stage area strap your instrument on and you’re in. The crowd who’ve probably seen three more acts before you are straight in too, primed and ready.

The plug-in and play situation can be unnerving but that’s part of the excitement. By the third set in the third venue the worry of ‘I can’t hear myself’ has all but disappeared and the crowds, as Hastings crowds do, are loving every moment – and that’s just the Tuesday.

Preceding Tuesday’s tour is the Saturday Acoustic tour, a similar idea that takes place in the afternoon with no in-house amplification and four or five shows instead of just three. The musicians tackle this imposed equipment limitation in a number of ways. Some carry with them all the electrical detritus needed on trolleys giving the tour something of the look of Hastings’ famous carnival-week Pram Race. Some musicians just learn to play acoustically but really loud and use old-style theatrics to grab attention.

It can be tough keeping the attention of a crowd with no microphone or amplification, particularly after they’ve ‘ had a few’. It can however be done. Sometimes with subtlety, other times with a more brash approach. The Saturday tour is a great place to hone that particular craft.

There is always a feeling of accomplishment that comes with playing both the Fat Tuesday and Saturday acoustic tours, like you’ve survived an adventure and you’re stronger for it.

I’ve been lucky enough to have been involved since the beginning and host the Slim Monday event. I have happily watched both the Saturday and Tuesday tours become institutions within this wonderful 5-day event they call Fat Tuesday.

Allez! Laissez le bon temps rouler! C’est Mardi Gras!

King Size Slim and guests will be playing the Lord Nelson in the Old Town for the annual pre-Fat Tuesday party ‘Slim Monday’ on 20 February 8.00pm.