Heather Small - The Voice Of M People
The National Bowl, Watling Street, MK5 8AA Milton Keynes Directions
Sat 08.08.2026 12:00
SATURDAY 8TH AUGUSTTHE MILTON KEYNES NATIONAL BOWL
Electric Paradise arrives this summer as a brand-new open-air festival experience at Milton Keynes's National Bowl on Saturday 8 August. An era-spanning blend of disco, funk, soul and house plays out across multiple stages of this inaugural edition, which is a large-scale, feel-good celebration for a broad, music-loving audience.
Set within one of the UK's most iconic outdoor concert locations, Electric Paradise will welcome up to thousands of attendees to the Bowl's natural amphitheatre, which boasts high-spec production, premium sound and large-scale staging with a carefully curated cross-generational lineup. Promoted by the renowned and experienced JBM Music, Electric Paradise marks the launch of a long-term festival concept that will become an essential date on the annual festival calendar for years to come.
The spectacular Main Stage brings together globally influential live artists including Grace Jones, Candi Staton, UB40, Kool & The Gang and Sister Sledge featuring Kathy Sledge. The Big Love Stage continues the feel-good energy with Cameo, Earth, Wind & Fire (by Al McKay), Shalamar, Jocelyn Brown and Heather Small among others.
House and disco culture is strongly represented via the Glitterbox Stage, which will bring all its signature colour, diversity and authenticity with house heroes Armand Van Helden, Dimitri from Paris and Roger Sanchez, London party legend Fat Tony, celebrated house vocalists Barbara Tucker and Julie McKnight, eclectic and Balearic beats from Colleen Cosmo Murphy and more from Ella Knight.
The Fool's Paradise Stage showcases timeless house in all its styles from Mark Knight, Todd Terry, Dave Lee (JN) and Michael Gray, soul selections from Norman Jay and more from Fleetmac Wood. Completing the programme, the Clockwork Orange Stage delivers classic dance heritage with Graeme Park, Danny Rampling, Alison Limerick, Baby D, K-Klass ft. Bobbi, Livin Joy ft. Luzuahnn, Rozalla, and Andy Manston & Danny Clockwork all tapping into the classics.
The Data Transmission and Disco Infiltrators stage will feature the varied sounds of Ron Mexico, Hobbs, Carlos Van D, Slick Pete Flash, Oh! L'Amour, The Goddess Music and Lizzie Curious.
Electric Paradise is an 18+ event. No-one under this age will be permitted entry.
MAIN STAGEGRACE JONESCANDI STATONUB40KOOL & THE GANGSISTER SLEDGE FT KATHY SLEDGE
BIG LOVE STAGESHALAMARCAMEOEARTH, WIND & FIRE EXPERIENCE BY AL MCKAYJOCELYN BROWNHEATHER SMALLGOK WANGWEN DICKEY OF ROSE ROYCEODYSSEY
GLITTERBOX STAGEARMAND VAN HALDENDIMITRI FROM PARISFAT TONYKIROLLUSROGER SANCHEZBARBARA TUCKERJULIE MCKNIGHTCOLLEEN "COSMO" MURPHYELLA KNIGHT
FOOLS PARADISE STAGEMARK KNIGHTTODD TERRYDAVE "LOVE" LEEMICHAEL GRAYNORMAN JAY MBEFLEETMAC WOODJAEGEROSSA
CLOCKWORK ORANGE STAGEGRAEME PARKDANNY RAMPLINGALISON LIMERICKBABY DK-KLASSLIVIN JOY FT LUZAHNNROZALLAANDY MANSTON & DANNY CLOCKWORK
DATA TRANSMISSION / DISCO INFILTRATORS STAGERON MEXICOHOBBSCARLOS VAN DSLICK PETE FLASHOH! L'AMOURTHE GODDESS MUSICLIZZIE CURIOUS
Performers
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Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang, masters in jazz, R&B, soul, funk, dance, disco and boogie. Active since 1964 their music remains timeless and loved by countless generations.
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Grace JonesGRACE JONES IN CONCERT:
When it comes to multi-hyphenate icons, legendary Jamaican performer Grace Jones stands alone. Singer, actress, model, fashion plate, Bond girl – Jones has done it all with a singular artistic vision that continues to mesmerize and enthrall as she enters her fifth decade as a performer. From her days as an androgynous disco diva to her reign as queen of the new wave and beyond, Jones has remained at the vanguard of music and fashion trends, collaborating with the best producers and designers from both fields to build a legacy of cutting-edge music and visual style that is unquestionably her own. At her incredible live performances Jones is known for stalking the stage with her signature scowl and striking severe poses in outré stagewear while she coos and purrs in her sultry contralto voice over rhythmically seductive classics like "Pull Up to the Bumper" and "I've Seen That Face Before." From the elaborate stage design to the multiple costume changes, Jones pulls out all the stops, delivering a once-in-a-lifetime concert experience that will make even the most casual fan a "Slave to the Rhythm."
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Mark KnightIn a world where music is often limited to genre handles and buzz sounds, Mark Knight has proven a rare and wonderful breed of integral house heavyweight. With a career spanning more than a decade and a solid reputation on both the digital market and..
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Armand van Helden
Armand Van Helden's Facebook page is run by his managment and label
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CameoCAMEO were trendsetters through the 1970s and 1980s and even influenced early R&B and hip-hop acts. Their biggest hit, "Word Up," made it to number six on the pop chart in 1986, giving them their biggest bite of the mainstream. As the founder, creator, producer, director of the CAMEO band, Larry Blackmon’s creative & musical direction have guided CAMEO through the decades. -
ShalamarShalamar Fan Page History & Info
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Dimitri from Paris
Dimitri from Paris (born Dimitri Yerasimos in October 1963) is a French producer and DJ. Contrary to his musical pseudonym, he was born not in Paris but in Istanbul, Turkey.
He started out by DJ'ing at the French station Radio 7, before moving on to Skyrock and finally NRJ, one of the top radio groups in France, in 1986. There, he introduced the first ever house music show to be broadcast in France, while simultaneously producing runway soundtracks for fashion houses such as Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Hermès and Yves Saint-Laurent. He also released two solo EPs from 1993 to 1994, and contributed to the Yellow Productions compilation La Yellow 357.
In 1996 Dimitri released his first full album, Sacrebleu. Subtly blending a variety of styles ranging from jazz to samba to house, Sacrebleu sold 300,000 copies worldwide and was named Album of the Year by Mixmag magazine. He followed this up with A Night at the Playboy Mansion and Disco Forever in 2000, My Salsoul in 2001, After the Playboy Mansion in 2002 and most recently Cruising Attitude in 2003.
"Love Love Mode", from Sacrebleu, was the template from which "Neko Mimi Mode" and "Tsuku Yomi Mode", the opening themes to the anime "Tsukuyomi Moonphase", were created from.
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Dave Lee (ZR)In a flash in the pan industry like music, Dave Lee is one of its notable survivors. As a record producer and remixer, DJ and curator, he’s now clocked up well over 30 years. If such things existed, he would be nailed on for a carriage clock for long service to add to the numerous hits and landmarks he’s enjoyed over a storied career.
Lee’s first role in the industry was working for Rough Trade, eventually setting up the label Republic, one of the first in the UK to champion the house sound of New Jersey. They released tunes like Phase II’s timeless ‘Reachin’’ and also featured some of Lee’s earliest productions and remixes, including early Brit-house gem Raven Maize’s ‘Together Forever’, one of Dave’s first pseudonyms.
His breakthrough came through with 1990’s ‘Do It Believe It’ on cool NY indie Nu Groove under his most well-known moniker Joey Negro. The follow-up ‘Do What You Feel’ on the newly minted Z Records, eventually went Top 40 pop and landed him a deal with Virgin Records. It was the start of a purple patch that saw him become one of the most in-demand remixers on the nascent UK house scene, several of which – ‘Direct Me’ by Reese Project and Brand New Heavies’ ‘Dream Come True’ – are now regarded as house classics. He was also responsible for handing Take That their second number one when he both suggested and produced ‘Relight My Fire’. Later in the decade he had further crossover successes with ‘Must Be The Music’ and ‘American Dream’ (re-spectively as Joey Negro and Jakatta).
Lee’s passion for disco and vintage dance music has never been more prominently to the fore than with his enduring series, Remixed With Love (now up to volume three). This superannuated fan project has seen Dave working on some of the most iconic songs and singers in the dance music canon, including Ashford & Simpson, Gladys Knight & The Pips and Patti Labelle, his passion shining through in respectful remixes. His other life outside the studio, Over the years he’s built a stellar reputation as an entertainer, playing parties like Percolate, sell-out all-nighters at Oval Space, his residency with Glitterbox in Ibiza and numerous notable spots around the world. In 2020, he was #3 in Traxsource’s Top House Artists, a recognition of his skills both in and out of the studio.
Lee’s also a noted record collector and he’s spun his passion for vinyl into a landmark series of compilations, initially for labels like BBE and Strut, but over the past decade or so has developed Z Records into one of the most respected reissue labels – with series like Under The Influence – while still using the label as an outlet for his current productions, including his cherished live mu-sic side project, Sunburst Band.
Having gone through the industry sausage factory over the years, signing for major labels, enjoying crossover hits, and all the trappings that came with it (much of it a king-sized pain in the arse), these days Lee’s USP is arguably his fierce independence. He has no manager, no A&R man, no boss. Every major decision, whether it’s to replace a hi-hat pattern or release another compilation album, is ultimately down to him. It’s how he likes it. “I don’t have a well connected team of people who get involved in strategic decisions,” he explains. “I approach artists, not because of their marketability, but because I like what they do and hope they’ll want to work with me. I’m pretty critical of my own music, so I like to think I know when it's below par. Also, I don’t think there are many people left producing the same type of material as me, so when I make an album I want to come out with my sound but at its absolute best.”
Last year, Lee decided it was time to retire the Joey Negro moniker. “I was never that mad about it in the first place,” he says. “I was struggling to think of a name for that 1990 Nu Groove release and had a pile of records on my desk, J. Walter Negro’s ‘Shoot The Pump’ and ‘Reach Up To Mars’ by Pal Joey, and put the two together. In my mind, the Negro was the Spanish pronunciation of black and I never envisaged it being used beyond the label of that release. Somehow it stuck.” 2020 was the year of Black Lives Matter and issues of race and cultural appropriation have been hot topics and Dave, whose entire career has been defined by his love of black music, did not want to become embroiled in these issues. “I would like to make it clear, there wasn’t enormous pressure on me to change it, I just felt it was the right thing to do.” Despite a number of notable Afri-can-American artists backing Dave, he decided it was simpler to retire it and move on to pastures new.
Ladies and gentlemen, may we introduce you to Dave Lee.
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OdysseyOdyssey Lounge -
Livin Joy
Official Facebook page for Livin’ Joy. Tameko Star’s new single ‘Something Beautiful’ is out now!
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Barbara Tucker
RA: Resident Advisor
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Danny RamplingRA: Resident Advisor
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Julie McKnightRA: Resident Advisor
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JaegerossaRA: Resident Advisor
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Kirollus
Kirollus will light up any stage with his infectious high energy DJ sets and unrivalled passion for music.
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UB40
Socials | Spotify | Shows linktr.ee/ub40alicampbell