The Fled, The Flew, The Fla, The Fledahah, The Flaw, The Flor, The Flare, The Flea, The Fleh, The Flay . . . yup, it's time for the biggest music festival in London again, the one with the Irish name and the predominantly Irish line-up. This year's Fleadh is the 10th anniversary bash of the Vince Power/ Mean Fiddler-backed event, which has now turned into a roving international event - with similar shows held in New York, Chicago and San Francisco and Australia being added next year.
It all began back in 1990 when the Fiddler and those splendid people at The Workers Beer Company decided to put on a "home from home" festival for the almost two million second-generation Irish in Britain. Loosely named after the Fleadh Ceoils, the London Fleadh is always one of the best days out in the music calendar - and there's not a shamrock in sight.
Although acts like Shane McGowan, Sinead O'Connor, The Chieftains and Van Morrison used to headline in the first few years, latterly the term "Celtic music" has been interpreted in a much looser fashion with acts like (spit) Sting, Crowded House and Bob Dylan also taking part. Sting remembers it well: "The time I played was the first year that the bill had become slightly broader in its musical scope. Apart from me there was Lloyd Cole and Jools Holland alongside the Fleadh greats such as Christy Moore, The Chieftains and Mary Black, and I think it really worked. The atmosphere was fantastic and the audience was as warm as at any UK shows I've ever played. It's one of those gigs that stays with you - and for all the right reasons," he says.
Neil Finn, of Crowded House, concurs: "I remember playing it with the Maori Choir and The Pacific Island Log Drummers; the atmosphere was great as the sun set. I also remember standing at the side of the stage watching Christy Moore. Shane McGowan was standing next to me, looking at the bill, saying to the guy next to him `What are Crowded House doing on the bill? They're not fuckin' Irish'."
Still, if this year's line-up were to be ethnically cleansed, it would mean going without The Pretenders, Elvis Costello, John Martyn, Barenaked Ladies, David Gray, John Prine, Ron Sexsmith and Eddi Reader. Other acts this year include Van Morrison, Shane McGowan and The Popes, The Sawdoctors, Lunasa, Andy White and Luka Bloom with Dylan Moran, Ardal O'Hanlon and Tommy Tiernan heading up the comedy tent.
Also putting in an appearance are the Massive Heads. These outsized puppet heads were first created by Macnas for U2's ZOO TV tour in 1993 but since then, and thanks to their exposure on Channel 4's TFI Friday, they have become staples on the outdoor music circuit.
The man behind it all, Vince Power from Waterford, began his descent into rock'n'roll hell with the opening of the original Mean Fiddler venue in Harlesden in North-West London. Now, if it rocks, he owns it: besides the two Fiddlers in London and Dublin, he also has The Forum in Kentish Town, The Garage in Highbury Corner, the Jazz Cafe in Camden and Subterrania in Ladbroke Grove. There's also the little matter of running the Reading Festival.
With three separate stages, tons of good acts and a laid-back approach, this year's anniversary Fleadh is shaping up to be one of the best. It takes place all day tomorrow in Finsbury Park, tickets are priced £30 and you can get further information on 0044181 963-0940.
