The opening of pubs and venues last week allowed many of the island’s gig-starved musicians the chance to get back to singing on stage.

In the north of the island, the Mitre Hotel in Ramsey was packed to the rafters with revellers who were entertained by singers Rebecca Forrest on Friday night and David Castro on Saturday.

In Castletown, the heaving crowds were entertained by Jamie Blackburn and Ian Astill, while the Tides and Switch kept the people dancing at the Secret Pizza Company over the weekend.

The music started early on Thursday evening at Quids Inn, on Douglas Promenade, where the opening of the bars was welcomed with a celebratory open mic night.

Many of the island’s singer songwriters took part, including Terry George, Steven Nash and Aaron Harwood.

There was even a glamorous turn by Quids regular Stanislav Stanev, also know as ’Stan’, who stuck to a pledge he made at the start of the lockdown to sing wearing a dress and high heels once the pubs re-opened.

True to his word, he strode out onto the stage and sang ’I Will Survive’ wearing fishnets, killer heels and a leopard-print fur boa.