I like festivals
myself but haven't attended that many over the years. I went to Womad
for the first time last year and intend to make it my festival of choice
from now on. Interesting to read about the Bath festival at Shepton
mallet in 1970 as I well remember going to that one. It was actually
a badly organised disaster but I enjoyed it. I was a gauche young kid
who spent the weekend in awe of what I thought of as a crowd of really
cool hippie types that I yearned to be like, but at the time I hadn't
even so much as smoked a joint!
The organiser must have been ripped off for thousands as all
the guys who were supposed to be selling tickets at the entrance were
actually taking people aside to sell them a ticket at half price and
pocket the cash. I believe I paid £1.50 or something like that.
A field of bell tents was also helpfully provided by the organisers
which of course everyone folded up and took home with them.
There were woefully inadequate toilet and food facilities,
and none of the bands could make it to the site because the roads
were blocked, so Donovan
played a set about three times over until the other
acts could arrive, which was good of him. This meant that the music
played all night and I remember seeing the Byrds
at about five in the morning. They had to play acoustically because
of the rain but they were great to see, as were many of the other
bands which I now feel priviliged to have seen.
regards
Roger Purbrick
Mike Ward of San Diego gave me his take
on the festival - and said some nice things about the site too.
I found something about a memorable event in my life - "the
bath festival of blues and progressive music" which was an english
3-day rock festival on par with woodstock, that i went to right after
graduating in 1970 from london central high. We had about
20 people with us and had a great time at a beautiful time of our
lives. It's coming up to the thirty year anniversary this week!
Wow!! Cool!!!
http://www.users.senet.com.au/~tortoise/bA1.html
Having moved there the year before, from '69 california, this
concert was like california coming over there to catch up with me
(i mean the cal music scene, which i felt was exploding with talent
and innovating the world-wide music scene at that time.).
Check out that concert lineup!!
http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/ebony/546/mybath.html
(I also
found a cerp from a guy who may have explained where some nekkid dancers
came from!! If they were americans, they weren't connected to
anyone in our high school group.)
"
Um, I remember sitting cross legged on the grass on the perimeter
of the crowds that Saturday arvo...the sun a streaming. An American
came up, smiled at me, sat down and invited me to to be a naked dancer
when Airplane hit the stage. Simply turn up backstage around 8pm
(I'm guessing on the time). I missed the appointment -
but sure enough, there were naked dancers when Airplane played...I
could have been there! "
Jochen
Laschinsky
©
Fact is, the nekkid dancers started when johnny winter came
out jamming - surprising us and the crowd with his brilliance (and
the dancers too, i guess?). It was amazing that he could still
play with two gurls and a guy dancing wildly, right next to him and
swinging their arms everywhere - winter was watching their arms flailing
more than looking at his guitar neck.
Like a guy who was really fried,
walking through the crowd and suddenly flopping down next to me in
a conveniently open spot, where two of my friends had just vacated
to go use the rest area. I told the guy the spots were taken
but it was apparent he was totally impervious to the outside world
- so we just let him sit there with his eyes closed till the
guys got back. After a couple of minutes, he started to do some
weird things like rubbing his face and then pulling some hair out
- the sun was out and a little warm, so he started ripping off his
clothes, one piece at a time and throwing each article as far as he
could in different directions till he was totally nekkid (this
was before any nekkid dancers hit the stage). Then he went back
to just being still with his eyes closed. I'll never forget
how surprised the two girls in front of him were when they turned
around to see who threw some pants in front of them:) LOL!!
By this time my two buddies got back - their jaws hit the ground
and wanted to know who that was and why did i let him flop there.
They kind of kneeled to the side as we wondered what to do with him.
We didn't have to think long because he just suddenly stood up and
walked away (his eyes still closed) towards the middle of the crowd
and then walked all the way to the back while everyone was cheering
and standing to take pictures of the poor, nekkid guy. He was
a "happening event" there for sure!! (i felt for him because
soon after that the sun went away and it got chilly).
The concert went on all 24 hours of the days and each band
played on longer than normal to allow for other acts to arrive though
the thick traffic. Violins were hip then as jimmy page
seemed to be using a bow with his guitar for half the songs they played.
I still don't know what those instruments were that the floyd brought
out for their set. The airplane and hot tuna used the violin
bows too.
Remember the "Flock" and "It's a beautiful day"? (The
latter was the theme group of our graduating class - that first album
of theirs was played at all the parties we staged in the last weeks
before our graduation.) Towards the end of the senior days there,
we had used music as the tool to incorporate just about every senior
in our class into our party scene, no matter what their particular
leanings were. That feeling of cohesiveness fit well with the times
- they were some beautiful days alright!!
Mike Ward
Sally wrote :
Hi,
Great to find a site
dedicated to the Bath Blues Festival , what a time we had there. A group
of us drove from Oxford on the Friday evening, and I remember crawling
along the road with hundreds of other cars and
freaking out at the time it took to get there. We were all a bit
under the weather, and were itching to arrive.
I remember we found a spot quite close to the centre stage, but can
only vaguely remember the bands we watched, Donovan, Frank Zappa, Moody
Blues, Jefferson Airplane, Canned Heat, Santana and Steppenwolf and
I think nightime on Saturday Pink Floyd came on with clouds of coloured
smoke pluming into the sky. Led Zeppelin were there but can't remember
too much about them. We were even expecting Jimi Hendrix but were disappointed.
There were huge queues for food and the toilets were quite disgusting
but as the organisers had only been expecting about 15,000 people and
"my mother told me" 250,000 turned up facilities were definitely not
adequate. But who cares when you are young and have had the time of
your life.
I think it rained that night and remember waking up in a sleeping
bag soggy and wet but unconcerned. There were announcements over the
pa system asking for "so and so" to come to the first aid tent as
their friend, brother, partner were tripping. Guys with long snakly
hair were openly selling hash and other drugs.
Going home was horrible, it took ages to find the people we
were with and drive out of the area and home to Oxford. But I've never
forgotten the atmosphere and how friendly everyone was to each other,
it was the best and nothing I've been to since can eclipse it.
Sally
Simon
Phillips
What can I say that's not already been said on your web site??
The thought of seeing all these top American bands at one time was
too much. There were about 8 of us who hitch-hiked (in pairs) from
Lancaster down to Shepton Mallett where we planned to meet up with
another friend from London. My brother and I had the most trouble
getting lifts. We were OK to the Midlands but then had to walk for
miles along a dual carriageway on the outskirts of Wolverhampton.
There were some cruel drivers around that day, stopping 100s of yards
ahead of us, making us run to their car, only to drive off laughing.
I'd taken my college scarf as it generally made getting lifts a little
easier. However its black and gold stripes attracted the attention
of a group of West Brom thugs on the back of an open truck going in
the opposite direction, who, mistaking the colours for a Wolves scarf,
threatened to come back and "f***ing sort us out". Discretion being
the better part of valour, I hid my scarf until we were well clear
of the Midlands. As dusk approached we only reached the outskirts
of Bristol and the lifts had all but dried up, so we spent some of
our precious little money on a bus in the general direction of Bath
, a bus which trundled around every housing estate in Bristol and
the surrounding area, stopping at every bus stop to pick up and let
down. We despaired of ever reaching the festival.
Not knowing the area, we all needed somewhere to meet up so
had agreed in advance that we'd all wait up outside the local village
post office (bound to have one!) in Shepton Mallet. My brother and
I arrived towards midnight on the Friday after our 16 hour journey,
expecting to see our erstwhile comrades sitting on the Post Office
steps. Imagine our (somewhat naïve) surprise when we got there
to find about 2000 other people sitting in front of the post office
and no sign of our friends (who'd arrived many hours earlier). Eventually
some of them came looking for us and we made our way to the site and
set up camp. (I went back there this summer and it seemed a long way
from Shepton Mallet to the showground ? I don't know if it’s moved
since but I don’t remember it being that long a walk).
Jochen
Laschinsky
©
Saturday morning the heavens opened and most everyone got soaked.
I seem to remember there were a couple of public phone boxes on (or
maybe just outside) the site so several of us squeezed in and remained
relatively dry. One of our friends, who had a Saturday job back in
Lancaster, had planned to ring in sick to avoid losing her job .I
remember the look of horror on her face as the operator put her through
to her employer with the words "will you take a long distance phone
call from Bath…." ? somehow she busked it, describing a mercy dash
down the length of the country to visit a sick aunt.
As with Hollywood, I have no recollection of the "village"
at the festival (as you'd now find at Glastonbury) -maybe just a few
tents selling records and suchlike. All I really remember is the music
arena and the camping fields. I know, looking at the layout in the
program, that I'm wrong- maybe we just never bothered visiting everywhere.
During both days, we set up in front of the stage, about 50
or so yards back, so we had a pretty good view of all the acts. We
had a large plastic sheet (God knows where we got it from as we hadn't
brought it with us) which we all sat on to try and stay dry (when
it rained, we pulled it over our heads). Throughout the day(s), as
people spilled drinks on it, and a passing stranger a strawberry yoghurt,
the idea of sitting on the wet grass came to seem more and more attractive.
Being blasé, we didn't watch every act during some we just
sat around talking. My friend Colin had only really gone along to
see the Floyd much to his great disappointment we just couldn't
wake him up when they finally came on at whatever time in the morning
it was. Similarly, my brother shook me and shook me to wake me up
for both the Byrds and the Airplane but,
both times, even though I was vaguely aware of what he was telling
me, I was more interested in sleep by then. (This was the second time
I'd missed the Airplane! I was supposed to go with a friend to the
Roundhouse in 68 to see them with the Doors ? Carol , are you reading
this??).
Pink Floyd
were pretty spectacular in the early hours of the morning. I'd seen
them perform Atom Heart Mother (under other names) a few times
before, but this was the first time with an orchestra and choir. The
finale (at around 3.00am?) saw the stage shrouded in orange light
and smoke, with rockets (if I remember rightly) lighting up the night
sky.
The stage was in darkness just before Johnny Winter came
on. You could make out vague shapes moving around on stage but couldn’t
see who they were. As someone plugged a guitar into a live amp it
gave out a loud ‘farting’sound ? at this, an American sitting just
behind me leaped to his feet crying "That’s
Johnny, it’s Johnny, I can tell it’s Johnny". The same guy
asked my friend from London if he could borrow a match to light up
his joint. My friend replied that he could if they could share it
(which they did) - no problem, except I always wondered what the American
guy would have done if he'd realised that he was sharing his joint
with a member of the Metropolitan Police's finest.
Frank Zappa ? I remember
it was pretty hot by the time he came on and we all started getting
burned by the sun ? maybe I’m mistaken about this given his comments
on the tape about how cold it is (perhaps it was Santana who brought
out the sun?). I certainly remember it being hot in the afternoon
of the second day. Donovan I think put in an appearance on both days
to fill in gaps in the schedules ? possibly acoustic on his own on
the first day, and with his electric band The Open Road on the second.
Or maybe both of these just a single appearance??
I remember the Angels being there. As I recall it there was
a farmer’s gate which led through from the camping area to the area
in front of the stage, and the Angels and their bikes (about 30 of
them) were hanging around on both sides of the gate so everyone had
to walk through between them. Despite the bravado suggested by others
who've written in to your site, we were pretty apprehensive and I
remember telling my brother not to catch their eyes as we walked past.
We returned to our tent late one night to find someone in it,
lying on his back, casually burning holes in the roof canvas with
his cigarette. He was pretty out of it so, although we were pretty
pissed off, we just let him stumble off into the night. (That same
tent ? suitably patched up ? was subsequently stolen at Bickershaw
in 72 but that, as they say, is another story).
Pete "Gripper" Campbell ? if you see this, how’re you doing?
This was a friend from Manchester University that we bumped into at
the festival. No idea that each other would be there but good to see
him anyway.
The journey home on the Monday morning was as bad as the journey
down. We split back up into our pairs and attempted to hitch. Of course,
all roads in the area were clogged with people every few feet, similarly
hoping for lifts. We decided to just walk and get off the main roads
and hope for luck on some quieter roads………..nah, nah nah - big mistake!
Yep, there was no competition for lifts but, similarly, there was
no traffic. We walked for miles, seeing no-one and no cars. I seem
to recall that it was a pretty hot day. In the middle of nowhere,
we came across a roadside stall selling fruit and soft drinks. Between
us we had enough for a couple of apples and a bottle of fruit juice,
which we bought and shared. At some point we got a lift which dropped
us in the Midlands somewhere, but on another similarly deserted road.
After we'd walked some more miles with no passing traffic, a Ford
Transit van suddenly stopped ahead of us, the back doors flew open
and there were Colin and Marijka, two of our friends from Lancaster
! they’d seen us walking and persuaded the driver to take two more.
I don’t remember what time we arrived home, we certainly slept overnight
on the roadside near a motorway sliproad, so it must have been sometime
on the Tuesday , very tired, very broke, and extremely hungry.
That and the Hollywood Festival, coming only a month apart,
were a wonderful time and hold a special place in my memory ? much
more so than subsequent events like Bickershaw and various others
I attended. The only time I got anything approaching the same buzz
was my one trip to Glastonbury in 1995, a quarter of a century later.
Simon.
Chris
Jones
Bath - built a little shelter (well, actually quite a big one) from
the boarding round the side of the stage and crash barriers,
wrapped up with assorted bits of plastic - room for four or five (very
close) friends to sleep snug as a bug in a rug. Did a lot of sleeping
and missed more name bands than ever before in human history. Slept
through the Byrds - can you believe it? Remember the amazingly hypnotic
drum solo by Jon Hiseman of Colosseum on the Saturday afternoon. Was
trying to get to somewhere in the front of the crowd to this frenetic,
throbbing, powerful, rhythmic, explosive backbeat. Thought Zeppelin
were pretty crappy - very disappointed.
Most untogether. Like me really!
I was there! Yes
the Bath Festival was a gas. I went with Dave Slade and
his girlfriend, and Sue Smith. We drove there in Daves Morris
Minor. I remember sheltering under a plastic sheeet in
the rain all night in front of the stage. There was a
delay and I recall the show going on through the night and
watching Dr John, the Byrds and Jefferson Airplane in the small
hours of the morning. Yes it was a really great line up -
much better than the Isle of Wight which always seems to attract
more comment. I am sure I have still got a copy of the
programme that you show on your website. Great stuff!
Grahame
Newman
Jochen
Laschinsky
©
Hi,
I located your site because I had just been watching the Glastonbury
festival on TV and was telling my kids about Bath 1970.
We travelled down from Liverpool on the midnight train Friday night
and had a great time, starting off with a security guy lifting the
fence for 7 of us to get in although we all had tickets!
Tony Fleming
I
was at the 1970 Bath Festival, a great experience overall which was
topped off, for me, with the Byrds playing Eight Miles High as the
sun came up on the last morning (Monday, I'm pretty sure). Their images
were being beamed over our cold, wet heads on two giant screens at
either side of the stage, but by that time enough people had left
and we had managed to get close enough to the stage to make out individual
players.
Bruce Bradley.
Photo©
Terry Farebrother
hi,
Came across your site
yesterday, and what a buzz it was to be reminded of what for me one
of my great memories. I was still in school at the time and went on
my own, so was able to squeeze into a good position for the weekend,
but not able to move until early morning, when I went to sleep in
a cinema tent ( I recall Fahrenheit 541? was on at the time). I attach
some pics that someone I met there sent me, not long after the festival,
so I would hope you may be able to use them.
I recall Johnny Winter,
Colosseum, Steppenwolf, Hot Tuna as being my personal faves and I
recall enjoying maynard ferguson immensely. My disappointments were
Frank Zappa - I thought they mostly wasted the slot, I still am a
strong advocate of his music and that was the only time I saw him
and am saddened that my only memory is disappointment. You mentioned
King Kong on the set list I wish I could recall that as I love that
tune. The other disappointment was when I woke in the morning I could
hear this wonderful blues so I made my way to the stage.. it got better
and better so I started to run. As I turned the corner I was met with
"goodbye and thank you" would you believe it I'd missed my hero Peter
Green - was I sick!. Anyway I've talked too much about the disappointments
- the highlights go on for ever, the bands, the friendship of the
people, it was just great.
one other thing is when
I got home the six o'clock news had a bit about the festival and all
they showed was hells angels kicking seven bells out of someone (or
each other) anyway I was so cross that the spirit of friendship that
I had experienced was so opposite to what the media wanted to show.
Calvyn
Price
1970. -Not so sunny!
-Arriving to the sound of Maynard Ferguson's Band.You're right to
say they were applauded politely .Was the bass player(normally Dave
Lynnane)absent? Joe Jammer being onstage interminably and playing(more
than once!)'She caught the Katy?and left me a mule to ride'. -Big
screen projection during Floyd's Atom Heart Mother. -Donovan's set.I
am 99.9% sure he sang(at great length)'There was an old lady who swallowed
a spider'! -Expecting 'Hot Rats' and getting doo-wop from Frank Zappa.
Mike
Hodges.
I was at Bath in 1970. Still have a vivid memory of crashing in
a sleeping bag somewhere on the path from the stage to the porta bogs,
surfacing out of the sleeping bag at some time in the early morning
(It must have been as there was just enough light to see by) and coming
face to face with this apparition, a scrawny red eyed dude, as pale
as can be like some vampire drifting through the morning. Only later,
after I woke up properly did I realise I had probably scared the crap
out of Johnny Winter.
I am a big bloke and in those days sported full beard and hair (you
know the uniform) I had sat up suddenly and shoved my head and shoulders
out of the bag. I sleep light and the noise distrubed me and I always
surface in major grump mode. I know I did the old "whassat?"
and he legged it.
I am now living in Perth (WA)
See you are OZ based. Like your site, had a good browse especially
as I was a dedicated festival goer in the UK up until I left for Canada
in 1974
Cheers
Mike
I have fond memories
of the Bath 70 festival and that whole period. I attended the first
"pop proms" at the Albert hall in 1969. I know I was going
to see Fairport Convention, the Incredible String Band and Family.
Sadly, Fairport didn't play as they had just lost their drummer in
a crash. At that time I remember seeing the original "T-Rex"
at Fairfields Hall, Croydon. The support acts were Ravi Shankar and
a mime called "David Jones" (David Bowie). I gave up on
my History A Level to train uptown to the Rolling Stones Free Concert
in Hyde Park. Partial blame for my poor academic showing is awarded
to reading "Lord of the Rings" and glueing my ears to Free's
"Tons of Sobs".
I remember being
at the Bath festival from the start. I was amazed as each band got
progressively better. I certainly remember Fairport, Coliseum, Donovan
and Steppenwolf early on. I went to get a burger when Maynard Ferguson
began. I was so exhausted by the early hours that I heard only one
track each of Pink Floyd, Canned Heat and the special John Mayall
band assembled (what a regret). I got to the edge of the press barrier
for Johnny Winter and Frank Zappa. Johnny Winter was stunning on the
big screens. the Mothers were totally freaky but great.
Led Zeppelin were
just tremendous. I can remember the huge standing ovation they got
- they really were the mainliners. We left after that as the weather
was closing in. I recall a film crew with camera and lights filming
down a fast-food queue that I was in. I have always said that I hope
it is never shown because of the state I was in. Now, I wish it could
be found as a tribute to a great festival. I believe that Bath 1970
was the last great rock festival in the UK. IOW had so many bad vibes
whereas Bath 70 was a really calm and happy festival. When people
ask me where my crazier/happy side comes from I always tell them..
"I stood on the ridge at the back of the Bath festival in 1970
- breathed in deeply - and have never been the same since!"
Best
Stephen
Lyons
From
Wayne
I arrived in London
in June 1970 after travelling overland from Australia.
I was staying in a youth hostel in central London when I saw the poster
advertising the Bath concert
I was a fan of Jefferson Airplane and I had Surrealistic Pillow in
my collection and, even though I hadn’t heard of many of the
bands playing, I thought what the hell, I’ll go to Bath.I hitched
to Bath and I recall walking to the concert site and that there were
people everywhere and there was a real buzz in the air.
I’ll always remember coming over the hill, looking down and seeing
what looked like millions of tents.
I had read about Woodstock but didn’t expect to see what I saw.
Actually I didn’t know what to expect.
I don’t recall paying to enter but I do recall that the fence
on the perimeter was down and people were just walking in.
I was fortunate enough to get quite close to the stage. All that I
had with me was a ground sheet , sleeping bag, camera and some food.
I recall the sound system being fairly ordinary but because there
was enough going on around me the music was secondary at that stage.
Because of the crowd I pretty well stayed in the same spot most of
the time.
Getting food and finding a toilet was a marathon task and I recall
that food became non existent after a while and that people were saying
that Bath had sold out of everything.
There seemed to be long delays between acts , which made the crowd
restless. The only reason that I can recall Johnny Winter is that
he was the guy with the long white hair.
I’m not sure whether it was the Saturday or the Sunday but, like
other people, I remember Donovan playing for what seemed like an eternity
- so much so that the crowd started booing and yelling.
Sunday night became cold and wet and Jefferson Airplane had just started
with their great light show and, as the drizzle got heavier, it wasn’t
long before the Airplane called their act off because of the wet.
For me, that was a huge disappointment.
I believe that it was around 2 or 3 in the morning when the Airplane
started playing and I seem to recall that the Airplane came on after
Pink Floyd, but the memory fades over time.
I have an overwhelming memory of the cold and wet but I was fortunate
to have bought a ground sheet and sleeping bag with me.
After some time there was acoustic music but because the sound system
wasn’t that great I had no idea who was playing.
By this time people were leaving in droves.
I have only now found out that it was the Byrds playing acoustic.
Can you believe it?
I stayed on hoping that the rain would stop and that the Airplane
would come back on stage but the rain kept on and on and I got colder
and colder and I decided to pack it in and head back to London.
I caught a train from Bath and arrived back in London early Monday
morning, wet, cold and somewhat bedraggled.
Despite the weather Bath was a fantastic ray of sunshine during my
time on the road and I am glad that I took some photographs for the
memories and I also would like to express my thanks to this site for
maintaining those memories.
Wayne Stinson
Australia
John
from Adelaide, South Australia - ex York,
Have just found this site quite by accident and I can't believe it
exists. This festival is one of the highlights of my life even though
I was pretty uncool compared to some of the other dudes there. But
I was there!
About five of us had travelled down from York on the Friday night
in the guards van of a British rail train that stunk of fish. It took
about eight hours to get to Bristol, because people kept pulling the
communication chord and the cops kept coming on looking for drugs.
On Saturday morning we changed trains at Bristol and carried on to
Castle Cairey station where there were trains arriving every two minutes
and only one guy checking tickets. Eventually every one piled across
the lines and bypassed the ticket man. On arrival at the station,
buses had been put on to take us to the festival sight and my friends
said- get on that bus John -which I did. My friends did not get on
the bus and I never saw them again until Monday. I had the ground
sheet and one of them had the tent. Fortunately for me there were
a few other people on my bus from who I recognised and so I stayed
with them.
We got a really good
position about 20 yards from the stage and the the ground sheets came
in real handy. It rained on and off all the weekend but it must have
been pretty hot at times, because I came back with a suntan. Any way
it was fantastic. Joe Jammer were one of the first bands on and I
think filled in again on the Sunday. Donovan I don't think was on
the bill, he was in the audience and he helped out, because Fairport
were running late and had to be flown in by helicopter. And he did
do an up tempo version "There was an old lady who swallowed a
fly". Ainsley Dunbar drummed for Peter Green and John Mayall
as I remember. Hot Tuna became Jefferson Airplane as other band members
came on stage. Zepplin were the highlight as more and more people
arrived just to see them. But we mustn't forget the others, Colosseum,
Steppenwolf, Santana, The Mothers, Canned Heat, It's a Beautiful day.
It was unbelievable and it'll never happen again, but I was there.
On the Monday we did nothing but talk about the whole event there
were just so many stories to tell of our experiences from that great
weekend. I think enough has been said about what groups played and
when they came on, so I won't go on.
I will just finish by saying that as I walked along the road back
to the station in the pouring rain with thousands of others, it felt
like we'd all been on some kind of pilgramage. Perhaps we had.
Thanks for having this site and allowing me to share my memories.
I thought I was isolated.
See ya
John Forde
Photo©
Terry Farebrother
From
Ray Davis
Went into your site
recently
Revisited this morning
Will try and remember
Very sketchy
Do remember TV cameras with TV X written on them
(not the soft porn on cable)
Jeff Dexter introduced
So there must be a lot of footage somewhere
Don't remember the rain
But do remember walking across fields to the strains of
Whole Lotta Love
I stayed on the hill directly in front of the stage
And slept under a blackberry bush with my girlfriend!
Don't have any photos
Just a few slides of my girlfriend hitching a ride back home to Kent.
Did go to the 1969 festival which was held in the city
In a park next to the river
John Mayall's acoustic set were booed off the stage
Lots of cider bottles being thrown from behind me!
Saw the poster for that in a recent auction
Very organic
Hope the ramblings fill some gaps
Ray
Chris
Dawson throws light on Formerly Fat Harry's appearance even though
they were not on the bill
Hi,
Great site which brought back lots of memories. I think I can shed
some light on the appearance of Formerly Fat Harry. We drove down
to Shepton Mallet from Brighton and arrived on the Friday evening.
FFH were playing on a temporary stage somewhere on the festival site.
They were also the first band to appear on the Saturday when the festival
got underway. They came on about mid-day and were followed by (in
order) Joe Jammer, Keef Hartley, Maynard Ferguson, Colosseum, Fairport
Convention, It's a Beautiful Day, Steppenwolf, Johnny Winter........
By this time it was 2 am and we crashed out, being vaguely aware of
Pink Floyd but missing John Mayall and Canned Heat.
Music started again on Sunday about 1.00 pm with Joe Jammer, followed
by Donovan, then Santana, Flock, Zappa, Zep, Hot Tuna....... At this
time tiredness again caught up and we missed Dr John, Country Joe,
Moody Blues, Byrds and Jefferson Airplane.
As far as I was concerned, the highlights were Johnny Winter and Led
Zeppelin, who did about 5 encores.
I was 19 at the time and had been to the Isle of Wight the previous
year.
Bath though, must have
been the greatest uk festival of all time. It was an amazing line-up
of bands and I remember having a great time, despite the weather.
The reason that I can recall so much about the bands is that throughout
the late 60's and early 70's I kept a list of all the bands I'd seen.
Chris Dawson.
Hi GW
What a great site.
The Bath Festival was
one of the most memorable weekends of my life. The overall vibes and
music of the event have been unmatched since. My brother was married
on the Saturday but hey, draughty church hall with the family, the
sister-in-law's relatives and a crap disco or the best line-up of
rock bands ever assembled in the UK. No competition.He understood!
Johnny Winter was great
, it was the first time I'd seen or heard of Johnny but he blew me
away and I went right out and bought the Progressive Blues Experiment
and Johnny Winter albums. The next time I saw him was on my 21st birthday
at the Big Apple club above the Regent cinema in Brighton. This would
have been 11 February 1971. Again he was amazing. I've seen him a
few times since and he's never let me down. Another point. The full
title of the Donovan song is Rikki Tikki Tavi and can be found on
Open Road, a great album that includes"Celtic Rock". Wish
I could find it on CD.
Hey, I keep going back
to your site and finding things. Hawkwind played in the car park in
the early hours of Saturday morning certainly. Didn't actually see
them but heard them. Re: Posters. I certainly remember seeing the
left one on a public hoarding (approx 4ft x 2.5ft.). It's the first
thing I saw about the festival. Re: Joe Jammer. They opened the festival
and were followed by Formally Fat Harry. I did see John Mayall's band
but can't add anything to you skit. I do remember waking about 5.00am
on the Sunday morning and sticking my head up through the couple of
feet of mist that covered the ground to see Canned Heat setting up.
It was then bizarre to see heads popping up through the mist all around
the site. Those were the days. Damn the Night Assemblies Bill. Once
again I've enjoyed the site and put it on my favourites. Thanks for
reading my ramblings.
Regards
Chris
Queen
Hi,
I have just found your
site and thought you might want my memories. PARTIAL RECALL. - The
Bath Festival 1970. In June 1970 I was temporarily a 16 year old full
on Hippie. I could be found most nights at one of the many
rock venues of the period, (The Marquee club, The Speakeasy, EEL Pie
Island, The Temple etc.). I was a temporary Hippie because I had just
left school and had some free time before starting my apprenticeship
with BOAC on the 10th of August.
I recall reading
a Rolling Stone article on the death of rock music during the train
journey to Castle Cary. As I walked onto the festival site the Maynard
Fergurson Band were playing and the sun was shining from a patchy
sky. I had arrived with nothing but the clothes I was wearing, £10
and my ticket to the festival. Later on the rain came and one of three
most excellent and kind Mexican guys,(they were Canned Heat fans),
sitting nearby, gave me a blanket and sheet of polythene. I also remember
that the only food I ate that weekend, was some bread and strong Cheddar
cheese distributed, (thrown), free from the back of a lorry. The Keef
Hartley Band , Colosseum, Pink Floyd, Canned Heat, Frank Zappa, Santana,
Flock and Led Zep were excellent. After the Zep set I walked to the
station, got on a train ( eventually ) and got ripped off of my watch
by the ticket collector at the London end of my journey. On my arrival
home my by then evil stepmother went spare and insisted that I change
my clothes and have a bath immediately....I can now appreciate that
this was probably not an unreasonable reaction.
Anyway, that festival was a defining experience for me.....
Thanks for
a wonderful site.
kind regards
Dave.
I was at 1970
Bath. I am an American living in Seattle, my daughter of 16 who attends
the local punk festivals recently asked me if I've ever been to a
rock festival. My two friends and I were bicycling through England,
long-haired hippie philosopher types, and we happened onto the 1970
bath rock festival one week before it opened.
"Big Tree" who stood nearly 7 feet tall, bearded and at
least 400 lbs enticed us to help set up tents with the bait of free
admission, stage passes and all the Taunton our bellies could hold.
The latter did it for us three 17 year old kids, and we worked feverishly
setting up tents. We ended up setting up microphones and amps for
Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. Unfortunately, I was too stoned to appreciate
it... but vague memories keep popping back into my head. The greatest
moment for me was Country Joe's haunting Jean Deprez, a Robert Service
poem which I have since memorized.
Ed
Nudelman
Hello
Just a line to say what a great site this is for a magic time. I travelled
home on the 29th which was my 18 th birthday. I was beginning to think
that I had imagined going as this was never touted around like the
Isle of Wight festivals. No film or festival albums appeared, I was
gutted. My recollections are hazy ( its age dont ya know ).
Zeppelin were great but a bit dodgy at the end, Donovan doing an acoustic
set as a filler much to the crowds delight, then doing an electric
set much to the crowds annoyance.
Canned Heat great, Fairport who I had seen loads of times- anyway
magic- and the Byrds brilliant set under bad condiotions, I'm sure
there was some iffy stuff but thankfully time has dimmed them and
it remains 3 days that will live with me forever. Thanks for the effort.
Aprodrops
I'd just
like to point out that contrary to your comment on the Frendz magazine
review of the 1970 Bath Festival, Formerly Fat Harry (featuring Fish
member, Bruce Barthol) most definitely did perform. In fact they played
TWICE. On the Friday night before the festival they played a brilliant
free set on the back of a flatbed truck outside the festival site.
The following morning, they played again on the main stage. They were
either first on, or second after Joe Jammer. No doubt about it!
Best wishes
David Hall
Hi
This is the first time I have checked back on my festival history
and lo and behold as I checked up on the Bath festival 1970 up you
cropped again.It certainly seems to be a labour of love for you.Thanks
a lot for doing it .Its brilliant.
I have nothing extraordinary to add to 1970.All the things you mention
are typical I imagine.The timings going to pot was a bummer.We were
in our tent knackered when Pink Floyd came on. As yourself we were
not too bothered as we were seeing them regularly.We slept through
the acts after that. Enjoyed
Donovans later unscripted appearance and particularly remember Its
A Beautiful Day.It must be the violin thing sticking in the mind.
There was certainly some very hot weather at times. I fell asleep
Sunday afternoon and woke up with half my face pale and damp and half
my face beetroot red and blistered. Not too clever as at that stage
I had still not left HM forces and was due on duty the day after.No
one could work out how in those days of love and peace we could wander
about in kaftans and beads at festivals but still be in the Army.
Believe you me we were playing at the game of soldiers.It gave us
the chance to go travel and go to festivals.I spent several years
in Germany at Dusseldorf which in those days was right on the touring
map and I saw dozens of stadium concerts in Dusseldorf and Essen.My
eldest daughter heard Led Zeppelin about three weeks before she was
born and to this day has excellent musical taste.
Sorry for the ramble.It is just great to talk about those halcyon
days.
Cheers for now
Des Murray
The great
(almost) forgotten festival...but not by those of us who were there.
It was the first time I realised there were other people dressing
like me----doing the same things too!!
The girl I hitchiked there with was definitely in the top five best
looking local goddesses and probably still is, Where are you now,
Judy Mckenzie?
One tab of acid at midday meant much of it is a haze, Taste playing
Spanish Caravan is etched on my brain, only flashes from then on in
until ending the day in Bath General Hospital. Sorry Jude.
The locals were provincially hostile.."no hippies" signs
in the local shops , for Chrissake it was only for a few hours and
a one off.
We did it,
All the blessings,
Andy Thompson......Cardiff.
For certain
Pink Fairies played outside the venue, I saw them. Cannot add to Hawkwind
though..
Andy
Mitchell
Here
they are in all their glory- The Pink Fairies playing free at Bath.
Photo© Terry Farebrother
Hello
GW,
Found your site while Googling to find out whether I'd seen Santana
at Bath without remembering it.
Wonderful archive, thanks to you and all the other contributors for
it. They brought back the occasion so vividly, I almost felt damp.
(John Peel said in the mid-70s that there should be campaign medals
for all who survived festivals which had shocking conditions. As far
as I remember, his mooted Star Of Bath was the equivalent of a VC,
with the Bickershaw Medal not far behind).
I journeyed from Preston with my pal Paul Simons and 2 other lads
in a Fiat 500....comfort be buggered, let's just get there! I must
have been the only person to arrive at Bath with a tie on, having
set off at Friday lunchtime in my office clothes.
I most vividly remember the rain, but there was some hot sun (at least
during Zappa, whatever it was like on the stage). The only food I
remember having over the weekend was chunks of Cheddar cheese, slabs
of bread and apples which were sold together on a paper plate at an
as-then exorbitant price.
The highlight for me was the Floyd, and I'm sure Atom Heart Mother
was announced as The Amazing Pudding. Am I the only one who remembers
a nude male ballet dancer during AHM? And definitely a real dancer,
not some stoned nutter. I agree with all who said Johnny Winter, Led
Zep and Colosseum were superb. Re the Byrds, I remember it as being
more like 3am when they came on, and full daylight (5.30?) when they
finished. I wasn't a big fan before but was convinced by the time
they finished. Thanks Paul for forcing me to stay awake.
Happily I've not lost my music mania and now go to gigs and festivals
with my kids - but not in a tie!
Rgds
Andy
Wright, Voorschoten,
Holland
Many years later
I have great memories of the Bath festival,the rain and the way the
sun burst thro' the clouds.I was walking home on Friday night in Dumfries
Scotland and a bunch of my friends bundled me onto a bus and told
me we were going to Bath to a music festival ,what a fantastic time.I
was amazed at the number of old friends I bumped into in a crowd of
over 150,000 people.
Years later living
in California and being affiliated with the music industry I became
friends with a lot of the musicians that played on that day it's funny
how life plays out.It was the most memorable music event in my life..walking
into the little pub in Sheppton Mallet for a pint of scrumpy..the
local Hells Angels giving us rides thro the traffic jams..staying
away from the brown acid..the colorful tents selling everything and
anything 60;s..waiting in a line 2miles long with Gary Irving, Mike
Waller and Johnny Mulaney for fish and chips only to get up to the
window 3 hours later and find out he was sold out..so tired and out
of my mind on the bus back I tried to jump off because I thought there
was a gorilla driving the bus ..ah well that's another story..a lot
of the guys I went with are gone now,Bobby, Brian,Tunch and more ..33
years later I get chills when I hear goin' up country..
all the best
John
Lockhart U.S.A. via
[Scotland forever]
was there with
my mates, (all from Newcastle) one of which was a student photographer.
Will check with with him for any pics !
Brings back memories. Yeah it did RAIN left my old 2 man US
army tent there...
Thanks
Lawrence
Just discovered
your site and enjoying a huge trip down memory lane. The
Pink Fairies played outside the festival site on the back of a flatbed
lorry. I saw them play and was told that I had missed Hawkwind.
A stand out for me was Donovan. We sat there and wondered who the
hell was
murdering the shit out of Donovan songs, only to hear at the end of
the set
it was Donovan himself.
During Steppenwolf I found myself stood next to an American fan who
was
wearing a tie dye boiler suit and psychedelic wellies. He found Steppenwolf
to be "far out" I think he was the first American I'd met
and Zappa's Who
Needs The Peace Corps just kept coming into my head.
Not seen any mention yet of the "swimming pool" with the
Matey in it and the
entrepreneurs selling Marvel milk powder boiled in a tin can over
an open
fire when hypothermia was beginning to set in.
I'd hitched down from Liverpool and on our way back we were on the
hard
shoulder of the M6 on the Wednesbury turn off and just making a paste
sarnie
when a diplomatic car stopped and asked if we knew the way to Liverpool.
I
kid you not! I persuaded the driver it would be easier if we showed
him and
we were given a lift with some South American dignitary and his wife
who
were going to a meeting at the Town Hall.
They never batted an eye as two long haired, wet, and somewhat whiffy
individuals joined them in their car for the remainder of their journey.
I'll get back to the site. I'm enjoying the read.
Frank Keegan
Recollections -
Fairport Convention
This was the first time I had seen Fairport Convention. I knew
of them because I was a regular reader of Melody Maker, but the Leige
and Lief album had passed me by. I loved John Mayall, Keef Hartley,
Colosseum, The Who, soul music, Jethro Tull etc.
They sang Matty Groves that day. I know they did, because the
two lads sitting in front of me (who must have seen them before,
probably with Sandy Denny singing) made a comment like ' if I
hear them play that bloody Matty Groves again, I'll go crazy'
I was intrigued!! Indeed they did play it and I was hooked. I
loved their sound especially the drums and bass. I wasn't a
folk music fan, but this stuff rocked along very nicely.
As a result, when I got back home to Hungerford, I went out and bought
the Full House album. I enjoyed their music for the next 20
years until Dave Swarbrick left the band. Oh, happy days!!
I also met Alexis Koerner that day in the queue for food.
Still have all the pictures in my head, never to be forgotten.
Kind regards
Keep on rockin'
Jim Stewart
Formerly Fat Harry
led by Bruce Barthol the ex bass player of Country Joe &
the Fish who also juggled played I think on the friday night and then
on
Saturday early on in the morning as did Joe Jammer. Manashandra played
once
on Friday night I am not sure if this spelling is correct and cannot
remember anything about them. There was also a guy who came on several
timesand played organ and sang with the name John Paul Jones.
As we went in the entrance there was a guy with a huge bottle of "Acid
"
that he was tipping into anyones mouth that wanted it, it apparently
was
made in the Labs at University College London University. I have no
idea if
it was or how good it was.
Dave Bird
Like your site
(brings back the memories!), but I get redirected to an "error
message" page when I try to download the video though. Are they
still there?
Don't remember the rain at all now (funny how time dims memories
of the less pleasant bits!).But surely I'm not imagining prancing
around on the first evening, joining-in with the Edgar Broughton Band
(on a small side stage) and hundreds of others, singing "Out
Demons Out"?
Regards,
Dave Lindley
Coming to you from Worsley, in the Duchy of Lancaster
Hey,
writing from San
Diego California
I was at Bath 1970
travelled there w/ Flock..
they were friends from the neighborhood
nice site thanks for keeping it going
see and talk to Jerry every now and then
he's playing with dixie dregs and doing work studio work..
take care..i have no tapes of show..audio or video
Barry in La Jolla, CA..
The Angels were
from Bristol and some of them were tough. Most of them were not. One
of the leaders was called "Bear". They were up by the front
of the stage on the left while Led Zeppelin was playing. I was grooving
ans boogeying with everyone. I remember Plant singiing the oldies
medley and in particular, "whole lotta shakin' goin on".
This was cool, and I was right up in front of the crowd. The Angels
were mellow. I didn't get any bad vibes
Later, I went to a pub in Bristol where a lass named Mary kept
smiling at me. She told me she had watched me dancing at the concert,
and I found myself in her bed later. It was she who told me about
Bear in the morning, for she was Bear's woman. I got out of there
as fast as I could.
I met 3 Swedish guys at the festival and hitched a ride to Pamplona
with them for the running of the bulls.
I will always cherish my memories of that summer and that fest was
a highlight.
Peter
Bartlow
hi
i almost flipped when i found your site on the bath rock festival
in 1970. the part about the hell's angels caught my attention immediately.
we were 2 amercian girls who had landed in london a day before the
festival started and had no idea it was going on. but we saw a poster
for it and decided to hitch hike
out to bath having no clue how far away it was. we were picked up
by this motorcycle group and we rode with them for about the last
30-40 miles into the festival. my friend was freaked out as she was
from a small town in pennsylvania. but i grew up in nyc down the block
from the nyc hell's angels so they didn't bother me at all (maybe
i was just very young and stupid..this is entirely possible!). there
were about 30-40 guys in this group and the best part about them was
that they rode us to the very front of the site without having to
deal with the miles of traffic lined up to get in.
they were not
the hells' angels if i remember correctly. i knew what the hell's
angels ensignias/jackets
looked like as i saw them daily at home. these guys were very nice
to us and we didn't feel threatened at all. of course there might
have been lots of motorcycle gangs there, but i am so glad to find
this reference on here as no one believes this story when i tell them.
thanks for all your great site info. i wish i had something to contribute
but i took only one picture and it was so far from the stage that
you can't see santana on it at all.
keep up the good work.hope that you find that video cause there are
at least 150,000 people who'd want to see it!
deezee
Just found your
web site. Brings back a few memories for this old fart.
Four of us drove down to Bath from Merseyside in my Ford Escort. Me,
Philip (Cozzer), Monty and his girlfriend Glynis. Traffic was terrible
as we approached the showground. We eventually arrived and pitched
our tent just outside the main field. We came without tickets and
bought half price tickets from one of the many "sellers"
at the gates. The dog eared tickets looked as though they had already
been sold 100 times before ! I don't know how much money the promoters
lost, it must have been tens of thousands.
I remember the weather was mixed and we sheltered under plastic sheets
from the rain but I can't recall it being too cold. I don't remember
very much about the music. I remember Jimmy Page in a long coat looking
like a country yokel. I remember Donovan going on and on and on, repeating
some songs as he ran out of material waiting for the next band.
Johnny Winter sticks in my mind most. When he came on stage Monty
was unconscious and I had to wake him so he would not miss a great
performance.
I remember a guy crawling out of a small tent in front of us muttering
"F***ing hell man, what a blowout!"
Geoff now in Australia.
Went to the festival
with 2 friends Alan Williams and Tim Llewellyn. We had tickets £4.00
which included a bus from Cardiff, we arrived late on the Friday night
and waited at a gate for the morning to come. Some kind person came
and pushed the fence down and we just went in and found a tent and crashed.
We got sorted on the Saturday morning and found a place about 80 yards
in front of the stage right in the middle. We waited along time and
then Donovan came on he kept us all going and I can't understand why
anyone can be critical as he was great. We were pretty naive as far
as these sort of things go and I remember we bought some pot and
were trying to burn it in silver foil, why I don't know, but someone
gave us some papers and showed us what to do and on came Johnny Winter
- what a revelation I couldn't believe anybody could play that well.
Other highlights were Canned Heat and all the other West Coast groups
which we had all recently discovered, Santana and Flock who I had heard
on the sampler album "Fill your head with Rock" still got
it now and play it often. I recall a group of Americans in front
of us drinking "Doctor Pepper" out of a giant cool box, we
thought it must have been some kind of beer as they all appeared to
be very drunk it's amazing what you learn later in life. Steppenwolf
were great and I crashed halfway through Pink Floyd.
We went back to our tent at about 4 in the morning (we'd marked it -
we were very clever) to find a young couple doing what came naturally
but we were so tired we just crashed and they were still there in the
morning. It was pretty tidy weather on the Sunday - got very sunburnt, going
for a pee was disgusting and enforced constipation was the name of the
game. Sometime in the afternoon I went for a walk looking for food and
chanced upon a mobile fish and chip van coming into the site. I
ran behind that van for what seemed miles and was first in the queue.
I wonder if that was the same van mentioned in one of the earlier e
mails. The rain came on the Sunday and our bus was scheduled to leave
at 11.00pm and when we heard that the Moody Blues were to scared to
play in the rain we went.
My friends crashed at my house that night I think my mother and father
couldn't really believe the state on us but she made us a giant cooked
breakfast which I'll always remember. Thanks for the site- it brought
it all back. Good luck to everybody.
James
Your
site is fantastic. It's brought back lots of memories. I was 16 at
the time. Me and a friend (also called Alan) lived in Southend-on-Sea,
Essex. We both had Satuday jobs, but got the afternoon off work. My
father gave us a lift to London where we naively caught the train
to Bath...It was the Bath Festival wasn't it? On arriving, with several
hundred others, we all pilled out of the station to walk to the festival.
We had know idea how far it was, and there was no sign of any 'shuttle'
transport...So we started walking...We actually managed to hitch a
lift with a guy who was also on his way there. As we got nearer the
roads became unpassable due to traffic congestion. We got out and
walked the last two or three miles. When we arrived we went straight
into the 'arena'. We had a tent but were more interested in seeing
the bands...Johnny Winter was just starting...Early hours of Sunday
morning. We then stayed awake and saw everything from that point,
although we left after the Byrds, as the Moody Blues weren't going
to play, and we weren't really intrested in Dr. John. We were both
Led Zeppelin fans primarily, but this was a fantastic introduction
to all the American stuff. Our first festival...I had been to free
concerts in London's Hyde Park (Rolling Stones and Blind Faith). My
first festival, but not the last. I went to the Isle of Wight in 1970
also, and many, many more since. I'm just preparing now for the V-Festival
in Chelmsford this year...It's not the same though. Come to think
of it, it's nothing like the old days.
Alan
Hi,
Finding your site took me back years! Wonderful, keep it up.
I remember spending the first part of Bath ‘70 in a “man
sized” poly bag to shelter from torrential rain.
Other memories, Zappa’s Hot Rats being played to death –
I still rate Peaches en Regalia as one of my all time greats, then
the great man himself playing leaning into a gale.
Also Hisman’s drum solo and much much more.
Regards
Peter Whitehead
Hi,
I was up in the attic of our house the other day, and I came across
my original copy of the 1970 Bath Festival Program, the covers a bit
tatty but otherwise its in reasonable condition.
This got me thinking about whether there was anything on the internet
regarding that great weekend, and i came across your site... absolutely
brilliant, so many great memories, screaming F.U.C.K. instead of F.I.S.H.
in the early morning singing along with Country Joe, Led Zeppelin, Pink
Ffloyd, all great stuff, and the not so great stuff like getting hit
on the head with an orange for standing up, and the rain.
It was such a fantastic weekend.......
I have since been back up into my attic and found some photographs which
are attached, there are some others, but I havent been able to put my
hands on them yet.
Im afraid, I cant tell you who are on stage, and the camera was only
a very cheap one, but hey I was there and they have brought back some
great memories.
The Hells Angels..... I watched as one guy came over both barriers and
took someones hat from the crowd, some time later the chap went into
the enlosure to retrieve his hat, but all he got was a beating.
During a spell of rain, some people had put some tables or something
across the two barriers and were sheltering underneath, someone decided
that they could get a better view by standing on top of these tables
and started dancing, with that, the whole lot collapsed onto the people
underneath...
I could go on and on, but suffice to say your site and the discovery
of my old program has evoked some wonderfull memories, and I hope that
some day, they will put a film together or even just an audio recording
of the weekend.
Regards
John
Griffiths
Four or five us
drove down to the Festival from London. We heard it was going to rain
so stopped at a small village on the way and bought a few yards of
builders clear plastic. Our food supply for the weekend was a 3lb
block of cheese which got increasingly sweaty! I don't remember eating
anything else. It was an out of time experience, going to sleep like
sardines in the middle of the field, with the plastic wrapped round
us listening to bands. Donovan played loads in the next afternoon
as heavy traffic stopped other groups arriving.
Sadly, we had to leave just as Led Zeppelin (who I really wanted to
hear) were getting into their set - our mate had to go to work early
the next day back in London.
Completely memorable as an overview but as to the musical details-
I wish I really could bring a clear sound picture of hearing Pink
Floyd and all the other groups who I have enjoyed in the intervening
years. Must have worked by osmosis.
Jud
Bath Festival, Shepton
Mallet, 1970.
This may be the 'forgotten' music festival, but musically it must
have been one of the best. In the summer of 1970 I was 19 and it was
my summer to rediscover England, a country I could only just remember
after many years away. This consisted of hitch-hiking round the youth
hostels and buying Melody Maker every week. I soon had a ticket for
'Bath', as it was called, at the huge sum of ten pounds as I recall.
I have no memory of any difficulty hitchhiking to Shepton Mallet,
though I do remember it was a long haul on foot from Shepton Mallet
to the actual site itself. I remember arriving and seeing tents already
set up for occupation. That was a good place to start and meet a few
people, but later I sat next to a delightful American couple near
the front for most of the later concerts.
All
cool people dig "Ski "Yoghurt . Hippies, if you want to
be cool, then eat Ski! as used at the infamous Bath Festival
©
Thomas Henry
The main problem
was finding food. I wasn’t prepared to miss any music, or give
up my prime site near the front, so I remember surviving on chocolate
and tea. The American couple next to me were afraid they would break
out in spots. I was feeling somewhat lonely next to them, and shamelessly
tried to chat up a young lass in a floppy hat sitting next to me on
the other side. She, quite understandably, didn’t want to know
the smelly object that I probably was, and the friendliest thing she
said to me was 'Don’t DO that'. Oh well.
When the rain stopped
play, I was clinging to the railings, looking and feeling like a drowned
rat when a smarmy journalist passed by between the railings and the
stage with a camera. 'Look at the stage', he said. I relentlessly
looked at him. He took the photo anyway. The next day, someone showed
me my photo on the front page of 'The Sun' newspaper. I didn't feel
particularly proud of this at the time.
In the process of re-discovering England, I had mainly come to see
the English acts, Fairport and Mayall with Peter Green. I was not
disappointed. And the sound quality was excellent. Anyway, this is
the order in which I remember the gigs, which, although musically
accurate, I can see now is not the order they really occurred. Between
waking and sleeping, notions of time were vague anyway, at best, and
with the years…. But this is how I have always remembered how
things unfolded, and it seems silly to change that now I know from
this site what the real timeline actually was.
It’s a Beautiful
Day: I had always liked 'White Bird', something of an anthem to West
Coast hippiedom. To hear them play it as the sun shone on the crowd
was one of my happiest and most joyous memories of the festival. Before
their final number, the violinist said 'All I can say is, if you see
a pill, take it'. This caused much debate in my tent about whether
this was just plain irresponsible, or damn good advice. As if his
words had conjured him up, a rich American (it wasn’t so common
to see an American in England then) dressed up like a medieval king
in colourful red and purple satins and velvets, with elf boots and
felt hat, wandered our way handing out LSD, and popping it into the
mouths of us poor English who stood open mouthed to receive it, as
though receiving communion. Some did, some didn’t. I didn’t,
too scared. Ah those were the days…free acid for all, that was
socialism. It may have been at this point that someone said they had
seen the Pink Fairies, a comment which, in my naïveté,
I misunderstood. At about this point I left the tent, not to return,
the music was just too good.
Led Zeppelin: I
had never been a Led Zep fan, and therefore stood near the back for
this one. They played a blistering set, with the long coat and violin
bowed guitar, and great use of delay, it was truly impressive. At
the end of the set, I noticed a boy no more than a lad standing next
to me still in school uniform mouthing 'Led Zep, Led Zep' as though
he’d been hit over the head by a plank and stunned. In a way,
I suppose he had. There was then a mini exodus, which meant it was
time to move down to the front for the serious business of listening
to music.
Fairport Convention:
I was of course sorry not to be seeing Sandy, and was worried about
just how good this lineup would be. I needn’t have worried.
They were everything you could possibly wish for from the classic
Full House crew. Thompson sang Matty Groves and Tamlin. Swarb played
the Hen and the Four Poster, Dirty Linen. A triumph, this was musical
paradise. (I see there is some good 1970 footage on Youtube, and also
a good Dirty Linen from 1971 Glastonbury Fayre, which gives a flavour
of what we saw). At the end, Swarb said he had a hells angels announcement
to make and asked for the hells angels to drive them home.
John Mayall: I
moved right up front and hung on the railing for this one. Peter Green
was something of a god with our crowd. It seemed like Mayall got the
Hard Road lineup back together for this one-off reunion, and what
I saw must have been one of their great classic concerts. Green played
his socks off, not really in Hard Road or Fleetwood Mac style, in
fact more rock than blues. I remember staring up at him in awe.
Photo©
Terry Farebrother
Donovan was not
on the bill, but helicoptered in as the Moody Blues couldn’t
play (which was fine by me), and my American neighbours said they
were 'ape about Donovan' Once on stage, he shouted 'I’ve been
re-born', and failing to get much response from the audience, said
it again. It sounded like the same old stuff to me I’m afraid,
though he had a nice line in backing singers. Played what he called
Celtic Rock, but I have to confess that at that time I didn’t
even know what real Celtic music sounded like.
Steppenwolf: This
was the hell’s angels moment, and they shouted for Born to be
Wild of course. The band was worth much more than that though. They
replied 'That’s our last song', and some angels were intelligent
enough to say 'Don’t do it then' . This was really great rock,
by a seriously underrated band. When they finally burst into Born
to be Wild, the hells angels at the front went berzerk. And who didn’t?
Canned Heat: Vague
memories of an endless "On the Road Again", but not much
else. Ditto for Coliseum, vague memories of Hiseman’s drum solo
only, which is curious as my best friend Paul was a diehard Hiseman
fan and knee drummer. Flock: vague memories of crazed violin solos.
Frank Zappa just seemed to be the wrong man in the wrong place at
the wrong time. Throwing tambourines into the audience and singing
Happy Together just didn’t help. Pink Floyd: As night fell,
they did it all, dry ice, light show, choir, everything. Great stuff,
but somehow I just didn’t really care, don’t know why.
