"The sun was shining for us or at least just until we were about to start. Then a little rain scattered the site and seemed to be a good start for some rock music. By the time we finished the opening track, 'My World', the rain had disappeared and we began to relax into the rest of the set. The crowd seemed to warm to us when we played 'Sweet Resort'. It appeared to fit in well with their Sunday afternoon recovery from the Levellers gig the previous night" - Kevin Brown (Vocals/Guitar)

"Happylife serve their brand of intense Britpop in style" - Jon Wright - www.virtualfestivals.com

Check out video footage from the festival - WATCH VIDEO PART 1 - WATCH VIDEO PART 2

At 2.00pm, happylife took to the stage for their first ever festival appearance! As the intro tape started for their first song "My World", the crowd sat up and took notice. Happylife are set to explode, with Chris Drinkwater (Bass) swirling around the stage, and the guitar duo of Kevin Brown and Ian Pellman playing in perfect harmony. As the set went on, more and more people started to arrive to see who the band were and the street team were there to hand out thousands of stickers to anyone who wanted them. As the sub-bass boom bellowed out at the start of "Sweet Resort", happylife hooked into the festival vibe perfectly. A slightly slower paced, melodic sound was what this festival was all about, with "Sweet Resort" and "Alive", happylife won over many new fans who may have thought the rock sound was too much for that time of day! Finishing off with the usual set closer of "Paragon", happylife walked away with their heads held high and spent the rest of the day meeting and greeting fans in the merchandise tent.

Review by Chris Hall

"Best Gig! Crowd were amazing!!" - Chris Drinkwater (Bass) - by TEXT as soon they came off stage...

"it's to happylife's credit that their energetic, hook-driven rock 'n' roll gets so many arses shaking, particularly when they tear into barnstorming forthcoming single 'Silence When You're Burning'" - Nick Ruskell - Kerrang! Magazine

By three o'clock a queue of the most dedicated Rasmus fans already stretched around the London Astoria, many clad in all black and adorned with black feathers- a look started by the band's lead singer, Lauri Ylonen, in the video to their unavoidable hit single 'In The Shadows'. However, despite the militant nature of this somewhat daunting troop, happylife didn't fail to excite, quickly winning over what had promised to be a hard crowd.

The opening number, 'My World', set the pace and was instantly well received, followed by the band's last single, the anthemic 'The Way You Hate Me'. The audience were also treated to three tracks due to appear on the album, as well as the forth-coming single, 'Silence When You're Burning', all of which on first hearing seemed to have a slightly harder edge than the previous singles but still remained just as melody fuelled - WATCH VIDEO. It wasn't long before every arm in the venue was raised on demand and throughout the heavier songs in the set, swirling mini mosh pits also began to open up within the crowd. Even the lead-singer of the Rasmus appeared briefly on the balcony to watch the band before giving what seemed to be a nod of approval and returning backstage.

Nothing seemed to phase happylife in their assault. Despite playing to a sold-out Astoria and perhaps a much younger crowd than they have been used to, the band seemed relaxed. When I asked Kevin (Brown - Vocals/Guitar) before the gig if he was nervous, he assured me that they were simply going to 'have fun'. Even when Chris (Drinkwater - Bass) found himself flat on his back after trying to 'run backwards' -WATCH VIDEO - (an incident only topped by Lauri dropping his microphone during the Rasmus' set) they seemed undaunted.

The passion and intensity of happylife's half-hour set was tangible, each song unleashing an energy that can only be hinted at in studio versions. Their charged performance showed them to be a band who ooze confidence and composure without arrogance, connecting with the crowd and certainly living up to their being described as 'one of the rock debuts of the year' (Music Week). All that's left is to wait eagerly for the release of the album…

Review by Christine Miller