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Created December 2007.

Updated March 2008

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The Reading Rock Festival.
Richfield Avenue. 
Reading 
August 28-30th 1983.

Reading rock 1983 © Phil Teague


 

  The last Reading Rock held at the Richfield Avenue site. The local council decided that it would be a good idea to redevelop the site and unceremoniously kicked the rock festival bods off without providing a new venue- spoilsports !.

  This last festival ( for the moment) featured one of the potentially better lineups of the 80s , certainly the lineup was more varied than it had been for years, with reggae from Steel Pulse, classy Hendrix styled psych blues from Stevie Ray Vaughan and a dose of new wave rock from the Stranglers.

   The old school was represented by Suzi Quatro , Black Sabbath, with Reading fave Ian Gillan in place of uncle Ozzy on vocals. Reading 83 was also notable for the last ever festival performance by Reading institution Thin Lizzy.

   Although this was by no means the classic and highly potent Lizzy of the mid to late 70s , the crowd were kind and gave Lynott , Moore and co a highly emotional sendoff, almost as if they knew this would be last time they would see the boys back in town...

  The weather was warm all weekend, but the welcome wasn't warm for Steel Pulse. They were bottled by a biker element in the audience and were forced to retire early into their set ... not the first time this had happened to a reggae act at Reading , this had occurred back in the mid seventies when the Mighty Diamonds and Uroy were bottled and subject to racist taunts by a section of the audience in 1976 .

  Saturday night was notable for the inclusion of Black Sabbath's monolithic Stonehenge set, the band dwarfed by 45 ft high henge slabs which took up much of the stage - apparently this was the inspiration for Spinal Tap's ludicrous stage set . However, Hawkwind had done something similar( but on a smaller scale , the Sab's set filled three semis) in the 70s with their "Atomhenge " backdrop.

Friday 26th Aug.

2pm start

Sat 27th Aug

12 noon start

Sunday 28th Aug

12 noon start

  • Auto da fé
  • Pendragon
  • Solstice (1)
  • Pallas (1) L
  • Hanoi Rocks
  • Man (1) L
  • Steel Pulse R
  • Big Country (1) L
  • The Stranglers (1) R

Steel Pulse were bottled off after one and a bit songs)

() indicates number of encores

L Is left stage , R is right

  • Crazy Angel
  • Fortune
  • Lee Aaron
  • Heavy Pettin'
  • Mama's Boys (1)
  • Magnum (1)
  • Anvil (1) R
  • Suzi Quatro (1) L
  • Stevie Ray Vaughan with Double Trouble (1) R
  • Marillion (1) L
  • Black Sabbath (1) R
  • The Opposition
  • Twelfth Night (1)
  • One The Juggler
  • Sad Cafe (1) L
  • The Enid (1) R
  • Climax Blues Band (1)
  • Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel (1)
  • Ten Years After (2) R
  • Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul (1) L
  • Thin Lizzy (1) R

Thanks to Duncan Watson for this information

Weekend Ticket cost £15.95

  • Djs :Jerry Floyd, Mike Quinn and Martin Bell

Recollections
I was travelling with my pal Roger, all the way from Elie (in Fife, Scotland) to Reading and back, so it took us from the Wednesday the 24th to getting home late on the Monday 29th. I also reckon it cost over £100 in total but was well worth it. I remember there were train strikes around that time but did not have any bother in getting to the venue.

One useful part of Reading Station was the toilets which had hot water so paying the 2p (yes, 2p) for a platform ticket was good value to get your hands and other parts of your body washed. Going in with dry hair and coming out with soaking wet hair must have seemed odd to the platform ticket collector!

The weather was indeed very kind. There was a very light shower early on the Sunday morning (is that why I missed The Opposition) but other than that, it was a glorious weekend.

The River and stage - Reading rock 1983 © Phil Teague

We had a 2 man tent of which the guy ropes were detached periodically by folk who stumbled over them. However, the most annoying thing was a bloke who was obviously on commission selling the official Reading Rock newspaper and who peddled his wares at the top of his voice all day and too damn early on a Sunday morning!

He got a good bawling at, but I now regret not hanging onto the paper. I have just managed to source one and will send scans, if you wish them. This is the one with Ian Gillan on the front (right ) and came with a free badge (sadly mine is long lost)

The official t-shirts were really quite duff but one of the best unofficial ones was one that named all the bands on it, in their own logos in full colour. Having all that properly printed on a black t-shirt made for a really good effect. Sadly I no longer have that t-shirt but I am sure anyone at the festival will remember it as it was a superb t-shirt.

Courtesy Duncan Watson

I no longer have my original ticket. It was perforated into three parts, one for each day, but started to get a bit thread-borne after a while of showing it to get in & out the arena. So you could trade it in for a blue plastic wrist band and that way you could gain easy access in and out. However, folk got wise to this and cut them off wrists in the middle of the night (and day!) Therefore, the security staff tested your band to see that it was not broken. Luckily, mine was not tampered with, but it was a scary moment, After all, £15.95 was a lot to pay if it got nicked.

No glass bottles or cans were allowed in the arena, so a local drinks shop did a roaring trade in 1 gallon plastic containers where the two of us got our favourite brew (mine was McEwen’s Export and Roger’s was Scrumpy Jack cider) and decanted it out of the cans into the container. As it turned out, the heat & sunlight did not make it last long (deduce from that what you will!). However, the other popular container was the 2 litre (was it litres in those days?) plastic bottles of cider & beer, and these were the main missiles of choice for the crowd to chuck at the bands !

If I remember rightly, a local band played a free gig in the Duke pub (I think) and did cover versions, most memorably of Bat Out Of Hell by Meatloaf. It whiled away the Thursday evening while we waited for Friday to come!

A review in Sounds magazine later did state (very rightly) that Marillion were brilliant (playing 'Assassing' for the first time) and that Black Sabbath were rubbish. Sorry, but they were! You are right about the Friday Rock Show playing Marillion’s set too.

As the pictures reveal, it was indeed a two stages arena and me & my pal spent most of our time on at the right hand stage because the better acts were there. I do not think I have any photos of the time. Even if I did, they would have been 110 film size, without a zoom lens, so not great quality.

I do believe that one band did not turn up (if I had my t-shirt I would know) and there were a late substitute (not sure who) but my t-shirt did name all the bands correctly.

Above : "In the car park of The Griffin over the river. We often used to go here in the morning to get warmed up for the day ahead. This is definately 1983. You can see how popular the pub was. Interesting that fest-goers were welcomed here, rather than being shunned like in lots of other bits of Reading. They even used to put Porta-loos in the pub garden. "

© Ferg Ranson

Outskirts of crowd at Reading rock 1983 © Phil Teague

View of the stage from the campsite . Reading rock 1983 © Phil Teague

 

The view from behind a bottle of coke - The Enid appear yet again at Reading © Phil Teague

 

Friday - 2pm start

 

Cornish Reading fans © Dave Mitchell

 

Auto da fé – a good new band at the time. Nice set, to start things off.

Pendragon – my memory of them is hazy but I recall them to be similar to Marillion (a favourite at the time). Therefore, I thought they were okay.

Solstice – Ah, nice hippy band. A memorable quote was 'let’s make this the most peaceful festival ever'. I am not sure if that comment triggered the bottling sessions! Note : first band to do an encore.
Pallas - Superb set from Euan Lowson et al. A truly great band. If I remember rightly, they set off a flare during their set (deliberately). I just have a vision in my head of this. Maybe I do have photos some where …

Hanoi Rocks – One of the best parts of watching Pallas was also watching Hanoi Rocks set up. Their drummer (Razzle) had to sound check his own drums. He was a true star. Sadly now deceased (no thanks to Motley Crew’s lead singer) but Razzle was a brilliant drummer and great character. During their set, the bottles were flying thick and fast. Mike Munroe (the lead singer) dodged them really well as did Andy McCoy who played the cowboy, constantly spitting on stage and totally ignoring the audience, and occasionally returning a bottle by a deftly placed kick!. In all, a fantastic set.
Man – my memory of them is hazy too. Sorry.

Steel Pulse – infamously bottled off. I think they played one song, then stopped about half way through song two, stormed off and never returned. I think they warned the audience once, and when that was not heeded, disappeared. In my opinion, no great loss!

Big Country - Now, this is more like it. No huffs here. Stuart Adamson, also stopped mid-song and warned the audience (oi, you tubes, quit flinging bottles!) as it was getting quite out of hand. They carried on to the end though, and I think actually helped calm the bottle throwing down, because it was hard to dance to the music and chuck bottles! A really good set by a great band.

The Police were friendly © Dave Mitchell

The Stranglers – this band was one of the main reasons why I went to Reading. Any chance to see The Stranglers is well worth grabbing. They played a great set and finished off day one really nicely.

Cover of the 83 program.

Mamas Boys and Hanoi Rocks Pix © John Spence

 


Saturday - 12 noon start

Crazy Angel – my memory of them is hazy too. Sorry.
Fortune – my memory of them is hazy too. Sorry.

Lee Aaron – Now Lee Aaron always puts on a good show and was a good looker so was always nice to watch.
Heavy Pettin’ – these guys were okay and I was to encounter them as support acts for Kiss and for Ozzy Osbourne later that year.

Mama’s Boys – These guys were great. There are three brothers and really rock. Not only that, they were one of the few acts that supplemented their guitar playing with violin. Class stuff and justifiably got 10 out of 10 from me!
Magnum – my memory of them is hazy too. Sorry.
Anvil – most notable for playing the guitar with his teeth and shouting into the pickups. Nice effects, and a good show.

A fire built from the remains of the bar © Dave Mitchell

 

Suzi Quatro – it was only when I revisited my memories of this, that I remember she was on. Okay, not that memorable then!
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble – This sort of washed over me, sorry. I was busy waiting for Marillion.

Marillion – While not yet at their peak, they had just recorded the Fugazi album, and so let rip with 'Assassing' for the first time. A truly magnificent set, not least because they started off with the full 15 minutes of Grendal. My pal was in raptures about this - justifiably so. Sadly, only one encore but more later …

Black Sabbath – yeah, well. Let’s face it, Ian Gillan on vocals – it is not right. What capped it all was 'Smoke On the Water'. Sorry, but if you are trying to create another Deep Purple then you have the wrong backing band. The funny part is, the crowd shouted for more Marillion after Black Sabbath went off!


Sunday - 12 noon start

Opposition – The only band I missed.
Twelfth Night – Now I think they were not that bad

One The Juggler – interesting choice for a Rock festival. Enough said.
Sad Café - This band were the surprise hit of the festival. They put in a great set and (although the lead singer had got huge since we last saw them on telly) were full of energy and superb voice. A very good set indeed.

Fans at Reading 1983 © Dave Mitchell

Good relations wid de fuzz !© Dave Mitchell

The Enid – Old favourites and did not disappoint.
Climax Blues Band – Not really my cup of tea.

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel – Another act that I did not remember playing. But they must have!
Ten Years After – Notably the only act to get hauled back for two encores. If there had been a roof, it would have been brought down. A really great act.

Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul – bit dull, sorry - not really my scene. Never mind.

Thin Lizzy – The pyrotechnics let them down, all going off in one go and that was that. Still a good set and I am happy to say that I have seen them live.

Duncan Watson

 


Setlists and recordings

The BBC recorded a LOT of sets from 1983. Audience recordings seem rare for this year ,almost all the sets out here seem to be sourced from fm. If you know of any sets that exist we have missed please send us details.

Pallas 8-26-83

we are looking for cover art and setlist for this set , can you help?

 

 

 

Man 8-26-83

    • Spunk Rock
    • C'Mon
    • Talk About A Morning
    • The Ride And The View
    • Asylum
    • Remain
    • Bananas

 

 

 

The Stranglers 8-26-83

Introduction
Nuclear Device
Toiler On The Sea
Ships That Pass In The Night
No More Heroes
Golden Brown
Midnight summer dream
European female
Thrown Away
The Raven
Duchess
London Lady
Down In The Sewer

FM

 

Lee Aaron 8-27-83

 

Nightriders
Lady of the darkest night
Metal Queen
Under your spell
I like my Rock hard
Deciever (Different Lyrics)
Shake it up
Hold out
Head above water
We will be Rockin´

Looking for confirmation of whether this is an audience or FM source.

 




 

Anvil 8-27-83



March Of The Crabs
Mothra
Free As The Wind
Butter-Bust Jerky
Future Wars
Metal On Metal

 

Suzi Quatro 8-27-83


Intro (Suzi Q)
Never Been in Love
I Know What I Want
She's In Love
Good Girl
Strange Encounter (inc Bass Solo/Jam)
Can the Can
Devil Gate Drive
Tear Me Apart
Keep On Knocking
Bye, Bye Johnny

FM

 

Stevie Ray Vaughan 8-27-83


Scuttle Buttin'
Testify
Voodoo Chile
Pride and Joy
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Love Struck Baby
Texas Flood

 

Marillion 8-27-83

Grendel
Garden Party
Script For A Jester's Tear
Assassing
Charting The Single
Forgotten Sons Intro
Forgotten Sons
Market Square Heros *
Margaret (incl. Jean Genie & The Web) *
He Knows You Know

FM 60 mins

Aud source * 10 mins

 

Black Sabbath 8-27-83


Supertzar

Children Of The Grave

Hot Line

War Pigs

Born Again

Supernaut

Bev Bevan Solo/

Rock'n'Roll Doctor

Disturbing The Priest

Keep It Warm

Black Sabbath

Zero The Hero

Tony Iommi Solo

Digital Bitch

Iron Man

Smoke On The Water

Paranoid

100 Min Aud

A portion of this set was also broadcast on the BBC Friday Night Rock show

 

Alvin Lee Band 8-28-83

Love Like A Man
Good Morning Little School Girl
Suzie Q
Slow Blues In C
Hobbit
I May Be Wrong But I Won't Be Wrong Always
Help Me
Scat Thing
I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes >
Extension On One Chord
I'm Going Home
Choo Choo Mama.

FM released on CD

The Friday Rock Show Sessions: Live At Reading '83" (Raw Fruit FRSLP003) 1990

 

we are looking for cover art for this set , can you help?

 

Thin Lizzy 8-28-83

 

Jailbreak
Thunder & Lightning
Waitin' For an Alibi
Are You Ready
Baby Please Don't Go
A Night in the Life of a Blues Singer
The Holy War
The Sun Goes Down
Emerald
The Cowboy Song
The Boys are Back in Town
Suicide
Rosalie/Dancing in the Moonlight/The Cowgirl Song
Sill in Love With You

80 Min

 

Recordings also exist of the Mamas Boys and Pallas at Reading 1983, we are looking for setlists and cover art , can you help?


Can we get a witness ?

We need more info on this and the other Reading festivals, we are now in the curious situation of having better documentation on some of the earlier festivals, so c'mon headbangers, get yer photos out and fire up whats left of the aging braincells .Send your recollections and scans to us NOW ! !! Contact us


Reading in the 80s to date- Fat Regs excellent site covers Reading from 1982 onwards


The early festivals.

You can find out the complete line ups of the first festivals if you follow the links below ,as well as new information recently received in 2004 .
 
  1961
1962
1963
1964

Festivals 65-83

Most of these have fairly complete documentation .But new contributions of any sort are always welcome regarding any of the festivals.
Richmond 1965
Windsor 1966
 Windsor 1967
Sunbury 1968
Plumpton 1969
Plumpton 1970
Reading 1971
Reading 1972
Reading 1973
Reading 1974

 

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