The Archive
Formatted at 1280 X 1024 min res - Updated Feb 2008.
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August 27-31st 1980. |
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Very little is known about this one, a seeming one off festival ( paying ? ) which featured The Tibetan Ukranian Mountain Troupe and Greatest Show On Legs . Can anyone help ?
Digger Dave remembers this
The
other was the Festival of Fools in Penzance.
Malcolm Hardee brought his Greatest Show on Legs down for that one and enticed
me to join them and move to London. I had got the performing bug ---all the
blame being on Polgooth fayre.
Later on , Bob one of the main organisers,and probably some others went onto
the Elephant fayres, invited my later
group Cafe De Gaza to perform there.
Even later , whilst touring in the north I came across Henry , working as a Circus Ringmaster.
The
whole entity of Polgooth had quite a bonding effect on life in Cornwall at
that time and it sowed a lot of seeds for much that came after.
Digger
Dave:Feb 08.
Tibetan Ukranian Mountain Troupe.
From the Tibetan Book of the Road
Festival of Fools. Penzance .
5 PM.
After getting away from the very large roundabout and putting all energies into getting to Penzance in time to get the marquee up,we get to Penzance and the fools won't let us in ! They don't want the marquee either saying things like "There is no room, we are full up and you weren't invited anyway , so what do you expect. " and ' how can you come in when we didn't know you were coming , how can you have your pudding if you don't eat your meat ? "
So although Perry bus, Mac bus and Golly bus were already in and J managed to slip in, we had to put the bus down by the harbour in a coach park. Anyway the troupe is nearly back together but the friction on the outside is causing tension and headaches on the inside -but we're staying cool and not panicking like the other fools and so we can pull it off- we've been in worse shit than this , we've been fighting the police all summer and carrying generators on and off buses , we've had it all man , we don't want to fight you, we've been fighting the police all summer and carrying generators on and off buses......... Friday 29th Aug. 2 PM. . Last night small talks abounded in Perry bus about foolish Festival people and how its not on that they are turning buses and trucks away at the gate, some of whom have come all the way across the country to get here . Its crazy but they just haven't catered for whats happening . So this morning, a few words in the organisers ears about what a cock up this is turning into and they confessed to being 'totally incapable and not really having a clue where they're at. Like they don't even get their dome up, but we've let them use the marquee that just appeared next to the busses last night !. Anyway we gave a few helpful suggestions on how to build a festival in 600 easy lessons and hopefully we can work something out . Saturday Aug. 30th 7. PM. More Tibetans are claiming that the marquee is the best its ever been - with bar , tables, chairs , straw bails and stage with PA and big pink tent . Albion parachute covering half the inside of the tent. Its a good space with day time friendly scenes and midnight madness and zanity. |
Tibetans Raising the Glove somewhere or other in the early 80s © Igor Malaprop |
Today is very laid back with burnt out Tibetans slumped out over tables and on the floor recovering from last night because last night it was all happening . All but one of the Festival Foolish organisers went totally insane and were seeing busses before their eyes and when four busses appeared at the gate their circuits overloaded and heads exploded. In the heat of the chaos appeared shortly , longly and extremely longly departed crew mates. Greame, Spike , buddy and Mike. Then did follow many hours of insanity in the marquee with lots of trippers and space cadets , some of whom likened the scene to the Hammer house of Horrors or even
----" Magic Theatre " ----.
Not for Everyone , ----mad men only .
Suddenly as if by magic the clowns appeared and amazed all with a show performed in the audience, while drunkard fools drunkardly fooled on the stage - once again amid loons and lunacy the Tibetan Ukrainian Mountain Troupe stole the show ! - and its not every day you steal your own show !
After last night all we could do today was christen the marquee the' Cop Out Cafe' although ideas were stirred up about ramming the main gate with four busses and Molotov cocktails when a local piggie visited Mike and Buddy's busses , parked next door and said ' you can't stay here, you'll have to go ". But it seems to have calmed down now and the busses are still sitting outside the great Penzanian show factory- its nice here innit ?
Any info to add ?-well don't just sit there , Contact us !
Free festivals and small fayres held in the United Kingdom between 1967-90.
1967-69.
1970-79 |
1980-90 |
Main list of Free festivals 1970-1985
Free rock festivals of the 70s and 80s
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Many, many thanks go to Roger Hutchinson , Big Steve , Roger Duncan, Celia, Will , Jeza,Chris Hewitt ,The Fabulous Time Tortoise , Peter Piwowarski - ( 70s music site/photos ) Martin S, Steve Austin ,Traveller Dave,Herb,Noddy Guevara,David Stooke,Gary Gibbons , Nigel Ayers, Rich Deakin ,Glenda Pescardo,Justin Warman,Brian F, Steve Bayfield, Kev Ellis, Paul Seaton and many other minor contributors for their help in providing the archival material related to these free festivals which has at enabled us to construct the site .
Any info to add ?-well don't just sit there , Contact email
