JCB employees were treated to a surprise performance by Potteries music legend Robbie Williams when the digger maker celebrated its 80th anniversary with its biggest-ever birthday bash.
More than 23,000 employees, former staff and their families attended the two-day celebration at the company’s Wootton Estate over the weekend.
They enjoyed a packed programme of live entertainment, displays and attractions organised as a thank you for helping build JCB into a global manufacturing success employing more than 20,000 people worldwide at 22 factories.
Alex James Brit Pop Classical headlined on Saturday night, and the crowds packed in to see Staffordshire’s own Robbie Williams bring the curtain down on Sunday.
Described by JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford as “one of the very best world entertainers”, Robbie reflected on his Staffordshire roots throughout his set, even pointing out family members in the audience. His eldest child, Teddy, also joined him on stage during a performance of Angels.
The crowd witnessed two of Staffordshire’s biggest names together when Lord Bamford joined him on stage to thank the employees.
Addressing JCB’s 80th anniversary, Robbie said: “We’ve lost the pot banks, lost the mines, but we’ve still got JCB. Let’s keep going.”
Lord Bamford said: “This whole event was to say thank you to every employee, past and present, for helping make JCB the global success it is today. JCB competes on the world stage and we could not have achieved that without the efforts of the whole team. It was a magnificent weekend and gave me particular pleasure that our two headline acts had links with Staffordshire, where our business began 80 years ago.”
The festival featured everything from sheep shows to celebrity cookery demonstrations, parachute displays, the world-famous Dancing Diggers, and a fly past from a Hurricane and a Spitfire.
A day of musical entertainment included tribute acts to artists such as Taylor Swift, Take That and Oasis, and comedian and actor Paddy McGuinness performed a live DJ set to get everyone ready for the surprise headline acts.
Alex James is best known as the bassist of rock band Blur and British actor Phil Daniels, who sang on the original recording of Parklife, made an appearance when the hit was played. Alex’s wife Claire, a music video producer, hails from Trentham in Stoke-on-Trent.
JCB employees described the festival as an unforgettable celebration.
Merchandise Assistant Tracy Mottram said: “It was a brilliant weekend. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the event and it made us proud to work for JCB.”
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