Who is top of the castle pops?

New figures show who’s been top of the pops at Medway’s Castle Concerts – and how the event has fared over the past five years.

Top sell-out performers include Craig David, who played two sold out nights to capacity crowds of 4,500 in 2017, UB40 who sold the event out in 2014 and 2018 and Status Quo, who played to a capacity crowd in 2016 after cancelling the previous year.

The figures, released following a Freedom of Information Request, show the concerts hit an all-time high last year, with Wet Wet Wet and the Magic of Motown also drawing capacity tickets sales, while the Proms finale sold 2,435, bringing total sales to 20,435.

But this year saw ticket sales crash to the lowest ever, with just 11,479 turning out over five nights. Only headliners UB40 sold maximum tickets, while Jools Holland – competing with England’s World Cup semi-final clash – sold only 959 tickets, and Ronan Keating only 1,314.

Organiser Medway Council fell under the spotlight as it was revealed the concerts made a loss of £305,000, with many blaming a new ban on drinks being brought into the venue for the main gigs.

The council said other big events around the county had possibly contributed to the poor turnout.

But they’ve some work to go until they bring the ticket sales back to previous levels.

Even when Status Quo cancelled in 2015 and the event was reduced to three nights, organisers managed to sell 11,981 tickets with Peter Andre selling 4,445 tickets and Billy Ocean selling 4,433, before the ever popular Proms drew 3,103.