PERHAPS inevitably, the most magical moments at most festivals happen away from the main stage.

And last weekend’s Camp Bestival was no exception, for as memorable as Madness were, as bewildering as one-time KLF wizard Bill Drummond’s The17 choral project was, as surprising as Marc Almond’s set list was (Marc & the Mambas anyone?), as appalling as The Human League continue to be and as gloriously out-there as Lee Scratch Perry must always be, there was a certain level of expectation attached to all of them.

Whether it’s in the loving way one partied-out young man told his friend: “Your wings have had it mate”; or the hot thrills of having their moment that spilled from Dorset Music Awards winner Disco’s Out (Murder’s In) as they played their Saturday night headline slot on the tiny bandstand stage, there were all kinds of wonder to be found at Camp Bestival.

Pretentious performance art in the woods in which a man rose from the bushes and exclaimed with much gusto: “I. Am. The. Recession.” was beautifully undermined by one young critic who tugged his mum’s jacket and asked: “Mummy, how much did you pay for us to see this?”

Elsewhere, Pete & the Pirates’ ramshackle set in the Polka Tent swashed our buckles, The Insect Circus provided a memorably inventive acrobatic highlight on Saturday afternoon demonstrating there’s plenty of life in girl-on-a-rope music hall and circus acts; while The Dukes Box, in which three musicians wedge themselves and perform as a human jukebox, was hilariously inspired entertainment.

And Suggs’ triumph of enthusiasm over technique in a (let’s just say) fluid DJ set at the Isle of Boden on Sunday night was a thing of rare beauty. Having followed a brilliantly uplifting Friendly Fires set, the Madness frontman rolled out vintage ska 45s as if entertaining mates at a teenage house party 30 years ago.

Oh what fun we had!