THE eighth Eddie Cochran festival attracted record numbers of visitors, with people travelling from Canada and Holland to Chippenham's Olympiad Leisure Centre.

The celebrity line-up included Jet Harris from The Shadows, Elvis Presley's guitarist Scotty Moore, Bobby Cochran and the Big Bopper Junior, among many more talented rock 'n' roll musicians.

Festival organiser John Knight said the gala had been unbelievable.

"All the artists and visitors said it was the best ever festival and on Friday night we had double the figures we expected," he said.

The three-day festival got off to a rocking start on Friday night with performances from The Hell Raisers, The House Rockers and the legendary Jet Harris and The Rapiers.

Saturday started with the classic vehicle cruise from Chippenham cattle market. There were also memorabilia stalls packing the hall at The Olympiad.

The afternoon kicked off with The Drugstore Cowboys and live music continued to the early hours of Sunday morning.

Performers such as Bobby Cochran and his band flew from the United States especially for the concert, and the Big Bopper Junior made his first ever appearance in Britain.

Scotty Moore and Rocky Brunette also travelled from America and received a warm welcome from the audience.

Sunday morning began with a second classic car cruise, which was followed by a service at St Mary's School.

At the service Eddie Cochran was remembered as well as his friend and songwriter Sharon Sheeley who died on May 17 this year.

"The place was packed," said Mr Knight. "More than 200 people came along."

The service was followed by a walk to the Eddie Cochran memorial plaque on Rowden Hill, where he was fatally injured in a car accident on April 16, 1960.

Organisers said the weekend was a huge success, with more than a thousand people attending the concerts on Friday and Saturday night.

Kids to grandmothers get a real buzz

THE undisputed star on the opening night of the festival was Jet Harris, who toured with Cliff Richard and The Drifters in the fifties and sixties, and was the first British musician to play an electric bass guitar.

Organiser John Knight said: "The line-up this year was really, really great, but Jet attracted a lot of people. More than 400 people turned up on Friday night."

Jet Harris, who was playing at the event for the first time, said it was an honour to be invited.

"I feel proud to be part of this because Eddie Cochran was a great performer," he said.

Scotty Moore was the big pulling force for the Saturday night session and more than 800 people went to see him one last time.

Mr Knight said: "It will probably be his last tour as he is 70 now, so many people came to see him and the crowd absolutely loved him."

Bobby Cochran was also a huge hit.

A nephew of Eddie Cochran, he considers the festival very important to him.

He said: "It is great to be honouring Eddie's memory because he was there at the beginnings of rock 'n' roll which has had an effect on music over the last forty years. It is great that Chippenham puts time, money and energy to keep Eddie and his music alive."

Mr Cochran said it was great that their music appealed to so many different people and really meant something.

"We get everyone from kids to grandmothers coming to this festival, across four generations," he said. "It is really great to see all ages enjoying it.

"Rock 'n' roll is about the love of music and making a connection with people and we all get a real buzz when we get up on stage and move people emotionally."

Mr Knight agreed: "It was phenomenal and we attracted people from all over and even some guys on Harley-Davidsons from Canada," he said.