The Stranglers to play at Coventry Motofest concert

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Rock legends The Stranglers will headline a concert in Broadgate as part of this year’s Coventry Motofest.



The rock band, whose career spans four decades, will be joined on stage on Saturday, May 30, by 1990s favourites Reef.

The three-day Motofest is a celebration of Coventry’s motoring heritage and will include time trials on the city's ring road and live music.

The festival starts on Friday, May 29, and runs until Sunday, May 31.

The Stranglers have racked up 23 top 40 singles during their 40 years in the industry with major hits including Golden Brown, Peaches, Always The Sun and No More Heroes.

Reef burst on to the music scene during the 1990s and are most well-known for their indie anthem Place Your Hands.

They are the latest additions to the Motofest 2015 line-up, with internationally renowned tribute act The Rat Pack Boys already announced to play at this year’s three-day motoring festival.

James Noble, Motofest’s festival director, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have secured two such fantastic acts to perform at Coventry Motofest 2015.

“We felt a show like this on the Saturday evening during the festival would be a great way to keep the energy up throughout the day and it should bring even more people into the city centre and create a fantastic atmosphere.

“Both bands need little introduction and have a number of hits that will get everyone singing along so it promises to be a great night.

“With a night of rock on Saturday, following the swing set from The Rat Pack Boys the night before, we hope to be offering something to many people with different tastes in music – as well as the rest of the action going on throughout each of the three days.”

The Friday night will also see a performance of Carmen by Britain’s leading outdoor opera touring company Opera Brava inside Coventry Cathedral.

The renowned professional company will bring their unique production of Bizet’s classic opera to a capacity 1,000 people inside the cathedral from 7.45pm.

Plans for a one-off nightclub under a bridge on the ring-road were cancelled following the death of Coventry teenager Daniel Kirkwood at another nightclub in March.

Tickets for The Stranglers and Reef concert cost £25 in advance or £30 on the night, while tickets for the Opera Brava performance are £25 per adult and £10 per child.

To buy tickets or more information visit http://www.coventrymotofest.com

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Coventry Motofest cancels The Stranglers and Reef gigs

Coventry Motofest organisers have been forced to cancel three of the weekend’s main music concerts after poor ticket sales.

The scheduled performances of the opera Carmen at Coventry Cathedral and the headlining concert in Broadgate featuring Reef and the Stranglers will no longer take place.

Saturday night’s concert cancellation also means that Friday's free Ratpack swing music tribute will not take place.

The cancellation of the concerts is said to have cost Coventry Motofest around £50,000.

A lack of interest and poor ticket sales was cited as the reason for cancelling the evening concerts.

James Noble, Motofest’s festival director, said: “We are extremely disappointed to have announce that the three main music concerts are not now going ahead.

“We had assembled a really great line-up which we thought would have provided fantastic evening entertainment, but it would seem that the appetite from the motorsport community in sufficient numbers for such music events is just not there.

“Our learning from all of this is that people clearly want to see the cars, but not necessarily attend a music concert.”

Other acts axed include Superbike champ James Toseland's band and Coventry alt rock outfit Commonjets.

Organisers have assured visitors that all other programmed events, such as pop-up racing and static displays, will continue as normal.

Mr Noble said: “The irony is that for the main Motofest event during the daytime, we are being inundated with inquiries and requests for information about what cars and events people are going to see over the weekend and we continue to have a very strong line-up of events for the motoring festival.

“The motoring side of the festival will continue over the weekend with all the fantastic cars and vehicles we have to showcase and this will remain true to its main aim as a celebration of the city’s rich motoring heritage.”

Organisers have apologised to fans and assured those who have bought tickets that they will get a full refund.