They were followed by acts including Big Country, Mull Historical Society, Nina Nesbitt, Hue and Cry, the Undertones, Black Grape and the Bay City Rollers as the festival began to grow in scale and ambition.
By 2015 it was a nine-day event with 100 shows and a Burns Night Carnival taking the celebration to a “whole new level”.
Alongside acts from around the UK and beyond, its own burlesque show – Le Haggis – drew in big crowds.
It brought a buzz to Dumfries at a time when the streets were normally as quiet as the mausoleum where Burns has his final resting place.