IT was a night of nostalgia as thousands of revellers at the Upton House Music Festival turned back the clock to the 80s with three of the era’s icons.

Punk performer Toyah kicked off the evening belting out her hits It’s A Mystery, I Want to Be Free and some covers including the Martha and The Muffins classic, Echo Beach which got the crowd cheering and clapping along.

Once renowned for her bright orange hair, the singer who used to live in Dorset, hasn’t lost any of her va-va-voom, jumping around the open air stage in a bright metallic dress.

Next up was Kim Wilde, all in black, whose distinctive voice sounded as strong and clear as it did 30 years ago.

She also reminded us of how many hits she’d had - You Keep Me Hangin’ On, Chequered Love, Water on Glass, View From A Bridge and finishing with of course Kids In America teasing the crowd by drawing out the opening bars.

Some people dressed up for Friday night’s 80s Extravaganza in an array of neon or paid tribute to stars like Boy George.

In between performances there was a superb soundtrack blasting out that kept everyone in party mode.

Everyone was having such a good time though that we almost didn’t notice the headline act Billy Ocean arrive on stage with little pomp or ceremony.

But as soon as the R’n’B king started singing everyone was up on their feet dancing and bouncing along to his extensive back catalogue including Love Really Hurts, When the Going Gets Tough, Get Out Of My Dreams, Love On The Run plus some superb covers including Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry and the classic Caribbean Queen.

There’s been a flood of new releases from 80s bands this year so what is it is about this decade that keeps us going back for more?

Looking around the crowd at the Upton House Music Festival, there is definitely an age element, but there were plenty of younger people joining in who were probably not even born at the time.

The fact is the 80s were packed with brilliant songs that have stood the test of time and this was evident by some stalwart performances last night.

International star Michael Bolton closes the three-night festival tonight with support from Kenny Tomas. Bring on the Bolton!