Weeley festival recollections part 2.

We've had so many lengthy personal responses for this festival we have now had to start another page -but no worries - keep them coming, we will put them on the net !

If you attended the festival it would be great to hear your recollections, memoirs , whatever you want to call them before they completely fade away. Contact us and we will add them to the site.

My memories of Weeley were pretty sketchy even after I just left but I can remember Marc Bolan getting heckled, Rod Stewart, Barclay James Harvest and Hackensack . I was then living in a small village outside Southampton with my guy Jeff. We got a lift up from 2 guys that Jeff knew slightly, but didn't hang around with them. We build a little hut on the side of the car for the two of us out of branches, black plastic bin bags and straw. It was pretty cosy and I've still got the photos to prove it! I can't remember seeing any fighting-I'd remember the bad vibes. I've still got my ticket a bit defaced now as it's got some telephone no's and addresses from days gone by, that I scribbled on the back! How do some of you have such brilliant memories? Jeff if your out there anywhere it would be great to hear from you!
Jean from Lancashire

Hello There,
Stumbled on your great site,and it brought back memories, (surprisingly accurate by all the accounts of your contributers). I'm Leo from Tir Na Nog,and myself and Sonny were onstage inviting the entire 20,000 home for tea while the Hell's Angels were getting bashed just behind us. Look me up on leookelly.com. We're still doing gigs together mostly in Ireland, and playing with our own bands.
Sonny's on condell.net.

I was 16 at the time and can't believe that my parents allowed me to go in the first place. I lived in South London and went by myself. I was quite small for my age and was unprepared to pay the full fare for a train ticket from London. However, it was the only way that I was going to be allowed to travel and so I paid up. One thing that I have learned over the years is that good preparation is vital. However, the cost of the fare left me almost penniless and my entire backpack contained a sleeping bag and a packet of biscuits which were gone by time I got there.

Unfortunately, I did not survive the full festival and returned on Sunday cold and hungry. I spent almost all the time shivering in my sleeping bag and only ventured out for a wee and for a roll and some Tomato Soup as this was all that I could afford.
However, there are a couple of musical moments that will stick forever. The first was the totally surreal atmosphere of being close to dropping off and looking up at the stars while King Crimson played "Devil's Triangle". The second was Mott The Hoople launching into "Ohio".

The funny thing is that although we look back and say that the organisation was bad, I was at Ozzfest 2002 last weekend and it was worse!!

On the Wally front: this was an IOW invention, without a doubt. It was a running joke carried round the festivals - I remember people at Lincoln referring back to the IOW. And it was certainly started by a hapless soul looking for his mate Wally. The crowd enjoyed disorienting him by yelling "Wally!" or "Over here!" Probably the Friday, possibly the Saturday.

Just found your site. I and a few friends were at the festival after spending the night in St James park London in plastic bags - no wonder the police moved us on ..any way we get to the festival by train get our tent up only to see it go up in smoke as some daft sod lit a fire in the camp ( the field was full of dry hay ) so we stayed the whole time in the field eating nothing but bread & cheese with occasional swaps for something more exotic......
Main things I remember are getting smacked in the chest by a Hells angel en route to the toilet for no apparent reason apart from the fact that I was where he wanted to be ?? The sound system was fair apart from the faces who wanted to use their own which was pure crap . I thought BJH were really good as I lay looking at the stars with Mockingbird soaring over me ..Great !
Didn't Rory Gallagher (the main reason we came to the festival) do a solo acoustic slot for a group that never turned up ? , he was , as usual par excellence ...the never ending cry of Wally will live with me always .

Here are my recollections from
Weeley. 1971! Amazing!! I was 16 in 1971 and came to Weeley with my mate Colin. I was quite an organised kid and had brought a tent and cooker (which nearly proved my downfall... read on). Looking back without the aid of the Poster, the standout acts for me were Al Stewart, who came on and said'Unfortunately I have only been allowed enough time for one song, but it is quite a long one....' and then proceeded to slay us with Love Chronicles..... pure magic, and Barclay James Harvest who went down a storm and ran out of songs so that they had to do Mockingbird for the second time for their encore! I also remember Marc Bolan coming on and saying 'Hi.... you may have seen me on Top of the Pops!' He was abused horribly for that, but won us over with afantastic set. Poor Marc .... god bless him, one of the true superstars!

I retired to my tent (I seem to remember it being a 24 hour festival, and Colin definitely stayed up late) and next morning decided to warm up some milk on my paraffin stove ... INSIDE the tent.Dur! Needless to say, I spilt some paraffin and nearly met a firey end, as the stove was between me and the door. I was panicking to get out, but good old Col dragged me through the door and someone hosed the tent down, and only my fringe and eyebrows were damaged! Phew! I remember heading for home on the Sunday, or was it Monday, dying for a decent toilet (I just COULDN'T use the pits!) and seeing the massive crowd at the station, we decided to head up-track and clambered into the train before it reached the station. I think they must have put longer trains on for the event... those were the days! I had a fantastic time, didn't see any nastiness between the Hells Angels, but I do remember a few fires here and there (apart from my own one!).

Hello there,
Weeley festival-I was 17 my first time away from home and myself and my friend Anthony Mahon hitch hiked most of the way from Manchester. We had a long walk in I can remember to get there early on the Friday morning. He was the T Rex fan and I worshipped this guy who had been heavily featured on The John peel saturday afternoon Top Gear show-Rod Stewart!
Gasoline Alley was the big album at the time.
The Faces appeared on the Sunday evening just before T Rex and they were magnificent! Rod was in his classic pink satin suit outfit and they stole the show. I went to every UK show I could get to after that performance for the next 2 years!
I distinctly remember T Rex being heavily booed and some cans thrown at them. I am told an original 5p programme is in the £100.00 bracket now!
Other hits of the festival were surprisingly Mungo Jerry who played in the afternoon and Lindsfarne.There were rumours Joe Cocker would appear but he did not show.
I can recall great sets by Quo(at the early days of their boogie might) Juicy Lucy,Mott(with Ian Hunter playing the Iron Cross shaped guitar)Barclay James Harvest(early Sat morning) and King Crimson in a very early morning slot.Head,Hands and Feet were also very good.
There was also the festival ever present Edgar Broughton Band on friday evening who I loathed but still found myself chanting along to Out
Demons Out! A dreadful set by Principal Edwards Magic Theatre and a graet set by Hackensack(whatever happened to them?).
My first and best ever festival and yes Mum the Spam sandwiches lasted the weekend!
Now if only I had kept that programme!!!
Brent Cunliffe

Hi
Just discovered your site - excellent!
As an innocent 17 year old beer-head at the time, I've got fairly vivid memories of the festival. I think I've got the programme and Melody Maker's report (Faces on the front cover with headline"Faces wow Weeley") - I'll dig 'em out and scan a few photos.

The DJ kept playing tracks from the Woodstock album, complete with stage announcements - very confusing hearing of a imminent storm when basking in searing August sun. And what brown acid?
I always thought Wally began his fame at Weeley, but there is some question of him being at the IOW festival. Anyway, it kept us amused at the time.

Barclay James Harvest were very atmospheric in the warm gathering dusk with "Mocking Bird" - they also played it at the end of the set. Well - shame to waste the 30 piece orchestra!

Hi, Myself (aged 15) and two mates Reg (15) and Geoff (16) travelled to the festival from Cannock in Staffordshire.
Geoff and I hitch-hiked down on the previous Monday and spent the week camping at Kirby Cross nearby, and hanging out at the seaside resorts of Clacton,Frinton and Walton, where Geoff managed to buy himself a half of
bitter and a small bottle of cider for me, in some of the pubs. A farmer gave us permission to pitch our tent in the corner of his field next to the railway station and told us to see 'old Jack Wilby' the signal box man when we wanted some water. Jack looked after us all week making us cups of tea and letting us sit in the signal box, where he gave us digestivebiscuits and proudly showed us the framed photo's of his beloved Ipswich Town F.C.that adorned his walls. (Their goalkeeper Paul Cooper was a couple of years above me at school)
We had to duck down if the approaching engine driver was likely to be a nark, "case oi gets the sack" A lot of the local population that we spoke to were quite excited and proud that all these big name pop acts were coming to their neck of the woods.

The toilets were pretty horrendous just a slit trench with a couple of scaffolding poles to squat over and a bit of Hessian material around it to shield your arse from passers by, needless to say we used the woods after
dark instead!
I think it rained a bit during the night I'm not sure, but the site wasn't a mud bath or anything like that. It was here where I first heard the Wally (from Weeley?) call which became popular afterwards.
I've still got the official (folded newspaper) festival programme also half of a ticket.
I think this was really the very last of the 'Shambolic/amateur type festivals' as the Great Western Festival held in '72 at Bardney near Lincoln was very strictly run with massive fences and extra security etc, likewise the following Reading festivals that we went to.
I hope this will be of interest to someone....Happy days indeed !
Col Bennett. 2002

I was 14 and desperate to find out what a hippy festival was like..had met a few psychedelic characters and been reading Oz and I.T. that summer and had been curious about acid since watching the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour when I was 10..just a natural born hippy I guess.

I remember many intense experiences through that night and as the sun came up I felt disorientated and a bit scared. I saw a Hell's Angel crying over his bike which had been smashed up I just left the festival site on my own and hitched home - the fearlessness and the resilience of youth!! - and went home to bed for 2 days. My mother kept coming in and asking me if I was sure I had to the Catholic youth hostel to help out as I had told her these were my plans for the weekend!!
Weeley was the gateway for me towards a different way of living. From there went to first Barsham Fair in Suffolk - MAGICAL - as were later Barshams and Albion..Stonehenge free and others. Lived in an ambulance with my partner then a bus til '84. In recent years I have been to Uni got 2 degrees and now have a 'proper job' ha ha to which I am very committed. In recent years tho 'since 91 have by chance become happily involved with Dance/Party Culture in Norfolk/Suffolk. The seeds of an emerging anarchic awareness of the sanctity of autonomous (i.e. not 'controlled by capitalist interests') celebration of life and love towards the evolution of humankind began in the '60s and 70's and is
STILL OUT THERE. It is part of our great English tradition of dissent and free thinking and if dies through apathy and indifference the spirit of Albion dies too. Dance culture and E were till about 96-97 the descendent consciouness of festivals in the '60s and 70's. The trouble is that anything visionary with purity of intent quickly gets corrupted and rotten. Hard drugs creep in and various crazies sucking it all dry 'til nothing is left but a parody of the magic which once flourished.

Martin Cathersides
Hi,
    At the time I was living on Britwell council estate, Slough, Berkshire and attended the Warrenfield Comprehensive School (or Warrenfield State Pen as we used to call it)and as a 15 year old council brat to say that Weeley was a culture shock is an understatement!!!
    The first thing that comes to mind upon disembarking from the train at Weeley station was the rows of chopper motorbikes lined up outside the station, I had never seen anything like this before, it took my breath away. Walking across a field towards the festival site was another revelation, there appeared to be people living in holes in the ground!!!. As I crossed this field I seem to remember the P.A. was playing the Fish Cheer by Country Joe McDonald which was carrying in the breeze across the weirdest field in the country.
    Upon entering the festival site proper I was completely unprepared for the sight that greeted me, it was huge with very,very strange people wandering around, the stage seemed massive. I don't remember actually setting up a camp of any kind (although my friends and I must have done, in the beginning at least).
Edgar Broughton completely blew me away (first trip and I loved it). I often wonder what happened to the chap that seemed to spend the entire set laid out on the floor foaming at the mouth. Status Quo also made a big impact, in fact the Dog of Two Head album was purchased on the strength of their performance at Weeley and was the first "serious" album that I bought (I still have it).

Angels were being carted off in black Marias,hotdog stands upturned and fires lit, I don't remember seeing bikes being trashed. Just before the Quo set an Angel announced that the festival had been taken over by them and that if everybody did as they were told then it would be alright.
Another memory has just occurred to me and why it should is beyond me, one of the guys from Tir Na Nog announced that his string had broken, why this stays with me I don't know but I guess it adds (however inconsequentially) to the overall picture. I also remember Stuart McKay mashing the remnants of his water melon into the floor whilst my tongue had swollen up from lack of fluid (I've never forgiven him for that). And John Norris who seemed to turn up once in a while looking as if he had managed to shower and sleep in the
best hotel in area, he was always sparkly clean.
One final recollection is the question asked to the crowed by one of the MC's and that is "Why does a brown cow eat green grass and only give white milk?" I' m still waiting for the answer.
Thank you for letting me bore you, all the best
Martin Cathersides.
P.S. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

I grew up on the island of Cyprus, where no rock groups ever came to play. I was an avid Melody Maker-Disc-NME reader at the time, reading about all these great bands but unable to see them. In 1971 I was 15 when my parents sent me to Cambridge to take a four-week course in English, which I was already fluent in. I used this opportunity to get off the island and hopefully be able to see some live music. Little did I know I was about to attend a major rock festival! August Bank Holiday was approaching, and my friend Aris asked me if I'd like to go with him to a 3-day open air rock festival. As if I had to think twice! So off we went with the clothes we were wearing, with no sleeping bags and little food. Although there was trouble with the Hells Angels, I wasn't near that and heard about it afterwards. I do remember the 'Wally' chants, which by Monday morning had become very amusing. And yes: the 'toilets' were a long trough at the back of and outside the campground, and they were foul, disgusting and smelly as mentioned too by others! I have no recollection of what I ate and how I ate there, but obviously I'm still alive to tell the story!

We got there and were amazed at the thousands of people already gathered. We claimed a spot in the middle of the field. We bought those cylindrical brown paper bags to get into and sleep in, and were thrilled to be there. All this was on Friday afternoon. I remember hearing Thin Lizzy’s 'The Rocker' on the PA, and possibly Stravinsky’s 'Firebird Suite' before the first band came on around midnight on Friday night. I believe John Peel’s show was broadcast that day, but I could be wrong. Hackensack opened the festival with a rocking set, very good and just the right band at the right time. They were followed by the Edgar Broughton Band, who played a storming set which climaxed with the whole crowd chanting out loud 'Out, Demons Out'! It was magical and very pagan. After that I fell asleep.

Saturday morning I remember walking up close to the stage to see Gnidrolog, who were very good and who played a rocking set. They were heavier than I expected, which for me was a good thing. Juicy Lucy were fantastic too, plugging 'Lie Back And Enjoy It'. Later that afternoon I remember rousing sets from the Pink Fairies (plugging 'Never Never Land') and Status Quo(plugging 'Dog Of Two Head'). Tir Na Nog were pleasant too.

Sunday morning started with a bang for me. I had just woken up and once again made my way through the crowd to the front of the stage to witness Mott The Hoople. They were supposed to have gone on sometime during the night, but delays occurred (for them and other bands too). The crowd was still sleeping, but they played such a raucous set that by the time they finished people were standing up cheering and applauding. I remember a storming 'Walking With A Mountain' and 'Thunderbuck Ram'. At the end of their set, Ian Hunter attacked his keyboard and pushed it over, and Overend Watts (the drummer) demolished his drum set on stage! It was wild! Soon thereafter, The Groundhogs took to the stage, and performed a blistering set comprised mostly of 'Split' and 'Thank Christ For The Bomb'. I was in Rock Heaven!! One of my heroes stood literally a few feet away from me wailing away on his strat- Tony McPhee was superb! And to see Clive Brooks on drums was such a treat too, being an Egg fan as well.

Sunday afternoon saw Lindisfarne perform a good set of folk-rock songs, the highlight being a rousing version of 'Fog On The Tyne' which was or just had been in the charts; it got people to get up and move. Al Stewart's set was pleasant as expected. The Grease Band played a surprisingly solid set of rock music too. Quintessence were ok and very jam-oriented, but didn't make a huge impression on me. Heads, Hands And Feet were competent county rock, with Albert Lee playing some excellent guitar. One of the highlights was surprisingly Mungo Jerry, who asked the crowd to bang on anything they could to make noise. The sound of coke cans and bottles all banging together in unison was wild and got some of the crowd to get up and start dancing. The sun had just come out, and created the perfect setting for them.

Now we're getting to some more of the big names of the Festival. Rod Stewart and the Faces started their performance at dusk, and were magnificent! They were on their way at the time to becoming major superstars with the release of 'Every Picture Tells A Story'. Rod was resplendent in a hot pink satin suit and no shirt I remember, totally flamboyant clothing fit for a star like him. They rocked the crowd good! 'All Over Now', 'Country Comfort', 'Maggie May', 'Every Picture Tells A Story', 'Losing You'-great, classic songs all performed with maximum gusto and flair. Good ol' Rodney!

The rest of the night is a blur. I do remember waking up in the middle of the night on Sunday I believe (Saturday night from what others say) to whooshing sounds (VCS3) coming from the stage. I opened my eyes, saw King Crimson on stage and went right back to sleep with the music blaring away! I could kill myself today for having missed one of the greatest bands the world has ever known. 'In The Court Of The Crimson King' was the first album I ever bought at the age of 14; I knew every note of it by then, and had wanted so much to see them But you have to remember that the music never stopped for almost two and a half days; one could only stay awake for so long before falling asleep. I was offered dope but kindly refused(too naïve at the time). I was amazed to see people smoking ganja next to me and all around, amazed by how long those joints were (I swear they were at least a foot long some of them!). Aris had scored some acid, but I was terrified to take it and flatly refused to get high in any sort of way. I'm glad in retrospect, as I probably would have not had the recollections I do today of that fantastic event that I will treasure forever in my mind and in my heart.
I vaguely remember some of the other bands that performed. Barclay James Harvest played a pleasant set with Orchestra, but I've never been a fan so don't remember much of their show. I vaguely remember hearing and/or seeing Rory Gallagher, Gringo, Caravan and Stone The Crows. What a shame, as I love the Crows and Caravan! I definitely missed Van der Graaf Generator’s set and Stray. I believe Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come never went on stage either, which was a shame as I was in love with 'Galactic Zoo Dossier'.All in all, it was one of *the* highlights of my life on this planet, an event I will treasure until the end of time.
Sincerely,
Nick Jacovides (now 47, living in Boston, MA, USA). NJacovides@aol.com

Hi,
remember this festival very well. As I lived in Brentwood Essex this was a luxury. A fest right in our own backyard. I was 17 and had been to
numerous festivals,so my mates and I decided to go early in the week. The weather was good and we were surprised at the number of people already on site. We set up camp in the cut corn field. Little realising that in days to come this was to be disastrous. Camp fires were all too frequent and coming back from the arena would see tents and cars burnt out. We spent over a week at the festival and were fortunate to only have one close shave with the fires. This still resulted in one Don Brown getting his foot burnt.
The music was ok. Vaguely remember The Faces while I was sitting on the back fence. But the music to me was second place in what was happening outside, sort of background music. The night camps with people you'd never met before sharing porridge from a great big pot. Talking of pot, sharing joints and other substances. So many stoned people, with rolling eyes trudging across this corn field. Remember trying to get in the local pub across the road and gave up 'cos it was so packed.
Yep t'was happy days indeed!!

Gee, I was 14!
I saw the full page ad for the festival in the NME. I stared at the long list of performers for days. I had to go! We were so poor at the time that I had free school meals. In order to raise the money for the ticket I sold my free school meal tokens for half their value. I even bought tokens from other free meal kids and then sold them for a small profit. Eventually I had enough money, so I cut out the application form from the ad and sent it off. Getting the ticket through the post was one of the most exciting days of my life. This would be my entry to three days of rock music and heaven.

On the week of the actual concert my mother and sister quizzed me on how much money I had. I had very little, so my sister arranged that I should meet her at lunchtime on Friday at the factory where she worked so she could give me some from her pay packet.
Friday morning arrived. I was alone at home and heard on Radio One that the crowd for the Weeley Festival was building up - so I couldn't wait. I set off immediately. I had no change of clothes, no tent or sleeping bag, and just enough money for the train fare to the site (but not for the return journey).

On getting to the site I spent what little money I had left on buying a copy of Oz magazine. I was now completely broke. I entered the site and sat down at the spot I would occupy for the next three days. Just me, my Oz magazine, my yellow cord suit and my flashy cravat. I felt great.

On that first day some people walked through the crowd tossing out free acid (at least that's what people thought - I don't know, I never got any). Hackensack were the first band on. Because no other band had yet turned up they kept going. They would stop. Exhausted. There would be a little conference, then the singer would announce, in a voice growing more weary with each added song, that there was still no other band to replace them. They played until they had no more songs left to play. I have a memory of them starting when it was still light, but finishing when it was dark.

Quite early on a bloke sat down next to me. I was a little put out at him taking some of my space, but he was a really cool guy and we became friends for the duration of the festival. Whenever he went for food he always shared some with me. I survived on his handouts and the food from the free kitchen (muesli made with water in the morning, bread and jam during the rest of the day and a plastic cup filled with brown rice and vegetables in the evening). Eventually his money ran out, and he too had to resort to the free food kitchen. We met a couple of girls and during Lindisfarne's set we lifted them up on our shoulders and danced around. When my friend let down his girl he asked for a reward, so she kissed him. I did the same thing and experienced my first French kiss. I was shocked and excited.

At some point I saw some Hell's Angels walking through the crowd, just stepping on people. One guy objected. He got very badly beaten. No one else objected. The Pink Fairies were not billed to be on, but had been playing for free outside the festival so the organisers let them have a go on the stage. They put down a wild set. Two drummers.

T Rex were met with boos and tin cans at first. Even though I liked T Rex, I joined in with the mood of the crowd and tossed a tin can which I swear hit Bolan on the knee. Eventually Marc Bolan came to the mic and yelled, "There are some people at the back booing. Well, you can tell them from me to fuck off!" He got some cheers, and some more boos for that. The crowd became more appreciative after he'd done his cross legged pixie stuff. The booing stopped and he got warm applause at the end of the set.

Rod Stewart stole the show with Maggie May which he introduced as a song about an aging Glaswegian prostitute.
I remember all the Wally chanting: "Give me a W..."
"W!"
"Give me an A..."
"A!"
Until:"
What's that spell?"
"Wally!"
"What's that spell?"
"WALLY!"
I remember announcements from the stage: "Don't drop the purple acid - it's bad!" An announcement which it seemed traditional to give at every festival - if it was a joke, it seemed in poor taste if you'd just taken some!
I slept inside the music arena, but had to go outside for the toilets and the free food. On leaving you were given a ticket which you had to hand back to get back in. As the festival progressed they seemed to run short of tickets so they started to give people tickets torn in half, then torn into
quarters, then just little bits from the corners.
I remember Mungo Jerry's set, and I think I can remember others, but it's mostly a blur. I remember waking up in the middle of the night to hear either King Crimson or Van Der Graff Generator.

On the Monday morning my festival friend woke me to say that girls had split, and that he was splitting too. I left with him, but lost my new friend at the crowded station. I managed to get on the train without a ticket, then hitched back home from London. I remember a huge line of hitch hikers on the M1 - something like 1/4 of a mile.
I got home around tea time to find my mother and sister watching news of the festival on the TV. I sat down with them and watched details of this event I had actually attended being beamed to every home in the UK. I felt like a hero! I felt like a man.

It was fun visiting the website. My best memory of the festival is Mocking Bird by Barclay James Harvest wafting across the crowd on a warm summer night. The screens either side of the stage displayed the usual psychedelic images while an orchestra played. The crowds were appreciative and listened quietly. I lived in Clacton at the time and on other nights with my bedroom window open I could just about hear the music (about eight miles away). I was 24. My aunt and uncle came with me on the Sunday and enjoyed the atmosphere. They were in their late 60s. My 2 year old son also enjoyed it. I used to draw cartoons for the local paper at the time and my offering for that week was very enjoyable to draw.

A friend and myself travelled to "the fest"stopping not far away from the site a few days prior to the festival,we had travelled from Staffordshire. I also recall the stories of an "Angel" death but never heard of any corroboration of the story, however,the ensuing mayhem,bikerwise,caused the loss of tent,by fire,and our meagre possessions,the tent not being one of them,a schoolmates I recall. I witnessed only an iota of the mayhem,people running around etc..as Iremember the security was by" Joy Caterers"or perhaps I am getting mixed up with "fests" at Reading or Bardney in Lincs....and of course "WALLY" WAS AT ALL OF THEM!!!

Weeley was a long drive from home in the midlands and I recall a crazy "Keystone Cops" driving experience around a service station forcourt in the early hours of the morning on our way there. I remember the stunning perfromance by Crimson with 21st Century Schizoid Man, a very lively Rory Gallagher and Rod in his pink suit. Oh and being pulled by the fuzz for a car inspection on the way home - something about bald tyres. Slicks give more grip don't they ?!

At last I found some information of the Weeley festival on the web, so I can share my memories with others.
In June July 1971 I hitch hiked back from the Middle East. On the road I met a fine English girl named Michele from Liverpool with whom I fell in love. When we had to split up in Brussels she mentioned the Weeley festival as a possible meeting point. And so it happened. My friend Erik and I hitch hiked to Belgium to take the ferry. There we met other backpackers who were refused to enter England because of a lack of money. With hardly any money in our backs and only a sleeping back we looked like tramps. But the night ferry was successful; we arrived in Weeley on Friday and bought a ticket. From bales of straw we built ourselves a sort of shelter as we had no tent.

Erik and I were laying on the ground listening to various groups. Messages were delivered through the p.a system: "Phil, your brother is looking for you, please contact etc." And then the organization announced to stop with these messages unless they were urgent. After a while all of a sudden my name was called through the p.a. system: "Jan is wanted by Michele because she is pregnant. Meet her at the left side of the stage". People around me busted out in laughter and I could not believe my ears. (Does anybody remember this?) Erik assured me it was me: "So go man".
It took quite some time to walk to the stage; I arrived there when Mungo Jerry was on stage. Michele and I got in contact; she said making up a "pregnancy story "was probably an effective way to get through to me. And this worked out.
We went to our spot in the field and enjoyed that afternoon and night from a bit of romance and music, specifically King Crimson and Colosseum.

Jan van den Hoek (age 51)
Zoetermeer, Holland

HI
I chanced across your site, I was at the Weeley Festival and Marc Bolan did indeed announce that if the audience didnt stop shouting abuse he would leave the stage, and he did....but then he returned and sat on a large cushion and, playing solo acoustic guitar he played a few songs and gradually won the audience over, I was not a huge fan of his but I have never forgotten the courage (and the talent) that he showed that day.
A different age when anything seemed possible, I am still involved in music and play in a band called "tab"
Best wishes and thanks for the memory!
David Blunt

Hi All, Stewart Elliott Goldring of Gnidrolog. Thanks for the memories - I can hardly remember that much so I must have been there! [ if you see what i mean.] Still playing after all these years - so is Colin. Gnidrolog reformed in 2000 to make a new album called Gnosis which has had some nice reviews.
Gnidrolog have a website at www.gnidrolog.com
All the best to everyone who was there.

Hi,
My Name is Peter Walsh. I attended the Weeley Festival in 1971 with a pal of mine (Mark). At the time I was a big Groundhogs and Rory Gallagher fan (still am actually!!). However, enjoyed all the acts and thought Colosseum on the first night were fantastic. Memories are of Hells Angels' scrapping and Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople) swearing like mad! Groundhogs played a fab set (most of Split) and Rory Gallagher did a great rendition of Sinner Boy.
Also seem to remember a great set by Jon Hiseman's Tempest??
I have recently set up www.vinylswitch.com a website dedicated to people who want to swap vinyl...its great fun!
Best regards
Peter

Barclay James harvest did play at Weeley with Orchestra, my best memory of their set was Mocking Bird it was so damned good, I tracked it down and brought it. it was an amazing weekend, I saw Quo on friday 31st October just gone, my first time since weeley, still rocking!!!

Bill Greenwell is definitely right - the Wally saga started at the IoW festival the year before. I was at both, and there must have been a fair number who were, so it's no surprise that the 'WALLY' chant started up again at Weeley. At the IoW in '70, my fiancee and I were sitting next to a crowd from Yeovil - sometime during (I think) the second day, in a break between bands, one of them said to his mates "Is that Wally over there?", pointing at someone picking their way through the crowd about 50 yards away. They agreed it was, and started shouting at him "Wally! Wally! Over here mate", etc. Within a minute, we, and others around, joined in, all shouting "Wally - over here". Soon, hundreds of people were shouting, and before the next band played, the chorus was taken up by thousands around the arena. The irony is that our neighbours never got to talk to Wally, because there were so many people shouting out his name from every direction, he (if he even realised it was him they were shouting for) never looked in their direction. So, as I said, with so many people from '70 IoW going to '71 Weeley, it's no surprise that the "Wally" shouts started again during the more boring moments.

Returning to Weeley '71, (first of all, I have to say what a great website this is!) I'm now an old codger of 55, so it's understandable that my memory of it and who played what is growing rather dim. My fiancee and I drove up from Southampton with two friends from work, a boy and a girl. The boy fancied the girl, but the feeling wasn't reciprocated - the boy thought it would be a great opportunity to 'move things along' - it didn't work out like that, though!

We decided that because it was the height of summer, we wouldn't need a tent, so once we planted ourselves and our sleeping bags in the arena, that was it - we weren't budging until it was over. And that was a good plan, 'cos we kept a good spot for the entire event, only leaving in ones or twos for food and toilets. Enough's been said about the toilets already, but that weekend had a few 'firsts' for me, including seeing a girl take a dump! Another 'first' was the first night, when two of our neighbours decided to make love in their sleeping bag - let me just say she was a very uninhibited (and noisy) girl!

But what of the bands? I remember thinking at the time what an array of British talent had been assembled for us, but I believe there were doubts about the presence of T Rex, Rod Stewart and Status Quo, who had all 'gone commercial'. Quo soon sorted that one out with a stonking set, and I recall, as many others do, Marc Bolan getting upset, but then coming back and winning the crowd over. The Faces and Rod were efficient, but not, as I recall, outstanding.

With a little memory jogging from your other contributors, I also recall the Groundhogs doing Split (an album I still listen to regularly), and Barclay James Harvest with their orchestra. The crowd was getting very restless at the delay before BJH, but that was all forgiven once they started their set. Others I vaguely recall were Edgar Broughton, who got the crowd chanting 'Out Demons Out!' and Coliseum, of whom I was a great fan - old two-horns Dick Heckstall-Smith really blew us away!

I also remember a fire or two, but these were dealt with swiftly, and the roar of many motor bikes, when the Angels left in a rush. Other than that, all I can say is 'I was there', but without too much recall of detail.

Thanks again for stirring up the memories!

Roger Gray

I remember the weeley festival as a 16 year old ..it was great, I had forgotten about the toilets but it all came flooding back when I read other people recollections.After a couple of days my mate refused to go!. I had a friend called wally who never went to the festival but it gave him great cred cos everyone (apart from me ) thought it was all about him. I remember the crap P.A. and they kept switching between 2 different sytems both bad. At one point a girl called jenny (what ever happened to her?) climbed into a speaker whilst it was off for a better view, a bit unfortunate for her as it got switched on again whilst she was still inside!. I remember John peel helping out in the Release tent (what happened to them?) and I got a badge that I wore for months at all the local gigs just to look cool. What really stuck in my mind was watching the angels roll in ..all riding down the white line in the middle of the road.. (coool) and then seeing them beat up along with their bikes against a backdrop of smoke and wailing fire engines. Yes I remember the peace and love and somebody nicking my sleeping bag whilst I looked the other way for 10 microseconds.. never did get it back (what happened to that? - it was a green one).

I was hauled off to Weeley by a contact in Release, the drug charity, to check out any potential problems with electrics for them. At the time I was working as the electrician for the Empire Ballroom in London, but was also a volunteer worker for Release. No problems with the single light bulb in the Release tent - but I got press-ganged into being temporary stage manager by someone who I bumped into backstage (I had met them once but cannot remember the name!).

The stage had been setup with a fork lift stage left and a ramp stage right. Two sets of wheeled band stands - one for setup and one for performance. Simple system - band playing, next band ready and third band by forklift. At end of band set the crew (under my orders) pull back band stands, strip cables etc and slide equipment down ramp to waiting vans - next band is rolled into place and starts playing within minutes if they want. Great system..... until the early hours when Edgar Broughton Band finish .
KERCHANGGGGGH ....applause - right lads get that kit away ....down the slope .. Edgar Broughton turns round when trying to do an encore to find no equipment on stage ...whoops. Took bloody ages to push the stuff up the ramp (very slippery).

I left shortly after and hitched back to London to open up the Empire for its Saturday lunchtime "ballroom tea dance" what a contrast!

I was 18 years old when I went to Weeley. Three of us went down on the train and then met up with about 10 others of our gang of heads from Sheffield when we got there. I remember one of the lads dropping acid on the journey and then being very impressed by all the signs in St Pancras station saying "Way Out ".

When I got to the site I realised that all my money,return train ticket and festival ticket had been nicked, so I had to borrow to get in and ate nothing for 3 days apart from a mouthful of pizza. However, as I was tripping the whole time, I didn’t really miss the food. We had our flag like everybody else and I remember spending the Saturday afternoon trying to persuade one of our chicks to get into my Crash Bag. I had bought this on the way down – it was a giant brown paper bag with a very flimsy lining of polystyrene foam which broke into ten million pieces when we got inside it, with accompanying rustling noises every time we moved. This was while Mungo Jerry were on. I believe they were singing songs which seemed to be the kind of thing you might hear rugby players bellowing after 20 pints and an away win, i.e. a bit suggestive,nudge nudge,wink wink,say no more. It was so embarassing what with the rustling every time I tried to get going that we gave up and she went off down the front with another girl in order to see Rod The Mod prancing about later on in his pink suit. *

I recall a fire breaking out somewhere in the field in the hot sun and being totally freaked by it. I caught the vibe of panic and was overwhelmed by the desire to get out of the crowd, so I escaped into the field at the back but then realised that I was tripping, 250 miles from home and all my friends were in the middle of a crowd of 100,000 people who all looked the same. So then I had to go through some more paranoia before stumbling across them hours later and by now totally down. Then King Crimson came on and scared the living daylights out of me. I remember shivering with fear most of the night in that bastard paper bag. I recall Quintessence doing their Indian spiritual stuff but it didn’t lift me. I also recall poor T-Rex coming on to chants of "Bolan is a queer, Bolan is a queer, ee-aye-addio Bolan is a queer" from down the front which I think was probably quite good-natured and ironic but he didn’t take it too well. In the whole weekend I only went to that awful slit trench once, looked in and thought that I could probably hang on to it a bit longer.

On what I suppose was Sunday,our group split up to go home – some (the girls) hitching, but one look at the queue made us realise that this was hopeless so I scraped enough money together from mates to get the train to London and then a coach from Victoria back up to Yorkshire. I got separated from my friend in the tube system of course (he fell asleep and just woke up as I had got off – I will never forget his look of terror as he glided out of the station into the yawning black tunnel). I wondered around in the maze of tunnels hearing cries of "Wally,Wally" every now and then and by some miracle met my mate again at the top of the escalator about an hour later. I will never forget my joy in the M1 service station toilets. Lastly to make the weekend complete, we got thrown off the bus 2 miles from home having not had quite enough for the fare and limped into our home village in disconsolate silence. His weekend had been much more successful – on the Saturday afternoon he "got off " with a chick nearby and he lost his virginity under his Afghan coat and the gaze of 100,000 onlookers. I think the onlookers probably got most out of it. This was my 3rd festival, having done Lincoln earlier on in the Summer (Byrds,James Taylor), beautiful, and one in Crumlin near Huddersfield the year before,when snow (in July) had turned the festival into a disaster area. The next year (1972), we all went to Bickershaw which was quite a lot more fun but it took me a long time to get over Weeley (about 20 years).
* I was amazed that I had remembered that little detail correctly after all this time when I saw one of the pix on this site.

As i remember it the problem Marc Bolan T-Rex had was because the main stage amplification packed up and it was nearly daylight when they eventually got on. So they just had their own amps and PA and kept asking if we could hear at the back. I was about two thirds back. then about half way through the set they got the main amps going and finished on a high.
He was the last act and then it was pack up and trudge to the railway station. I know it was midday before we got on a train.
Len Searle

Hi,
Just thought I'd put my "twopenn'th" in regarding the Weeley Festival.

Firstly I don't think the weather could've been better, my lasting music impression was Barclay James Harvests' "Mocking Bird". I was mesmerized, 'course that could have been "herbally"enhanced, but all the same it was a great set. Thankfully, I saw very little of the "Angels battle", unfortunately I couldn't escape the "bathrooms", very unnerving taking a leak while some geezers "straining one out" at shoulder level whilst reading a book.

I even managed to get lost but, unlike that moron Wally, I just settled down with a couple of tasty females and made the best of it.
By the time I left I was stoned, got my rocks off, had a suntan, and had memories of a blinding festival, all in all a great time.

I did, however, try for a repeat performance at Lincoln, between the cold and rain plus The Beachboys, anyone else go? You have my sympathy.
Cheers

Steve Stocker

Starting from playing in a band and roadying between gigs (which of course was a lot) a friend and I met David Simons a radio 1 DJ who managed Fairfield Parlour, we loaned him a small PA and he said if he could return the favour he would try and help. We were punting Manfred Manns’ WEM system around whilst maintaining it for him. We were approached by the promoters to supply for the festival and duly accepted but, didn’t have a big enough system. Dave Simons knew Jim Marshall, get the picture?

After a meal with Jim at his local restaurant he decided what great promo for his gear, and got Ken Flegg his then designer to come up with 40 channels of mixing due to the fact that was the size of the orchestra with Barclay James Harvest. A complete system was put together by Marshall products just for the gig. The system was just larger than normal mildly flared 4x12 columns with celestion horns and drivers, a multitude of 250 watt power amps, also first time use. The picture you have on your site shows a large Kelsey and Morris system under raps which was only going to be used by some of the bigger bands, Rod Stewart etc. However when it was hooked up it was not powerful enough and complaints came from the back that people could not hear, we coupled it up to our system as well which saved the day. Still most people I talk to have no idea where Weeley is let alone anything about one of the best festivals I ever had the pleasure of mixing. You just have a view of the back of my head on your first from stage picture on the archive, I have a very similar shot with my dog standing on the front of the stage.
.
Phil Hearn

Hi
I just came across your site about the Weeley festival in 1971.
Great site and very thought provoking.
I found it after watching a recent programme on BBC East that looked back to the festival.
As you say, it has been largely forgotten, not least by me!

I went with my mates, but only by accident as somebody's grand parents lived in Weeley and we used to go up there quite a lot. I was 18 and had just completed my 'A' levels whilst trying to maintain my social round of Cooks Ferry Inn on Monday nights, the Marquee Club on Tuesdays and sometimes the Albert Hall on Thursdays, plus whatever was on at the weekend of course! All supported by a job on Monday and Wednesday evenings after school.

To be honest, I don't remember much about it after all this time beyond a few images of tall towers, wheat, fires, massive holes in the ground full of shit, and the sound level. I do remember some poor bastard falling in a shit pit and nobody moving to help him out.

The only music I can remember clearly was Barclay James Harvest. Somebody else recalled that they took a long time to set up, during which time several fights broke out in the crowd, but their set was magical. I remember the orchestra. Later of course they started using Mellotrons(?). I remember them being at our college and they were nowhere near as good.
I smoked much to much to remember any more. It was pretty much a haze after the first day.
Guff

Weeley.
I can remember the Wally incident starting and the comments about some unfortunate wandering about, with his mates shouting Wally, then every one joining in sound about right to me. What no – one as mentioned, the last time I read through the comments, was that Barclay James Harvest took forever to set up, the main reason was they were performing with an orchestra and Woolley Wolstenholme kept sending messages.
So the announcer would say I have a message from Woolley apologising for the delay, and of course at the sound of Woolley a massive chorus of Wally would erupt.
Also I remember at the railway station to go home and there was a very large crowd pushing on to overcrowded trains. One rather hairy individual tried to climb through a carriage window and a policeman shouted something like come here woolly, and of course a massive cheer of Wally went up again.

What can I say, I have just found this site and it has triggered memories galore. I ended up in the group photo of the album 'Nods as good as a Wink'. It was a blast that year first concert I went to ,I was 18, I went with a crowd inc my boyfriend of the time russell, we had a tent by the stream which we used to wash and drink from! on the night of Trex snd Faces I got speaking to a reporter from NME and... managed to get into the big marquee at back of stage and meet Marc Bolan and...Rod Stewart, the guy from NME was interviewing them, I stayed chatting with them for ages, the Faces were there also and I got chatting to Kenny Jones and found out I went to school with his cousin Madeline, those were the best days, hot, passionate and sticky.
Brilliant website, hope they do another weeley ,I would go, I pass the site often on my way to Frinton. with love
Patsy

Weeley was the best (and last) Festival I went to until Glastonbury 2004 - I think the toilets put me off festivals for a long time. As you're asking, here are my memories for what they're worth.

The journey there:

This was the first long journey (from Slough) I did on my newly and amateurishly customised Royal Enfield bike and true to form it broke down somewhere outside Colchester. I'd been pushing the bloody thing through the wilderness for about an hour when what must have been a combined Hells Angels chapter of 50-60 bikes passed by. As an ex-mod a frisson of fear went through me. Memories of Windsor Hells Angels, Squaddies from the castle garrison and extreme violence I suppose. Anyway they turned round and came back. "Got a problem mate? Don't worry, we'll sort you out" That's what I expected anyway but they didn't mean what I thought they meant. I was physically picked up and sat on the bonnet of their van, a joint was stuck in my unprotesting mouth and my bike disappeared behind a wall of leather, denim and patches. When they stepped back the joint was finished, the bike was fixed, and off they went, leaving me trembling but grateful. Next time I saw them they were making their way into the festival en masse, riding over any poor sods who were so out of it they didn't hear the bike engines or cries of "Outta the fucking way you tosser" and similar greetings. Nice one guys!

WALLY!
It did start at Weeley, no doubt. A stage announcement was made along the lines of "X, can you go to the car where Wally's got your drugs" That's when we all started baying for Wally and it became the catchphrase of the festival.

Toilets:
After I saw one guy miss the trestle and plunge into the stinking ooze below I joined other festival goers using a nearby onion field. OK at first but as the piles grew bigger (and smellier) even that was pretty risky. A mate and I (hi Ed) eventually set up our tent next to the railway line and used the tent and a big metal dinner plate to do the unmentionable. The results were lobbed over the fence onto the railway line!

Odd incidents:
This was the period when acid was everybody's favourite experiment and I was no exception. Strange events resulted. Despite my babbling confused state (or possibly because of it!) I was sent off to get some burgers for our crowd of about 7 or 8 guys. I was led back by helpful strangers 2 hours later with one doughnut and no money! During the trip (for the doughnuts) I remember seeing a poster on the surrounding fence which featured two policemen. I stood and stared at it for a few seconds, presumably trying to understand its relevance and inner meaning (we were into that sort of thing in those days). Its inner meaning became very clear when one of them turned to his mate and commented on my state of mind. They had a special peephole so they could watch the assembled throng enjoying itself. In those days we say the feds/pigs as the enemy and it didn't do my karma (we were into that as well) any good at all.

I saw about 20 Angels run into what might have been a food tent on the hillside or slope to the left of the main arena followed by a similar number of policemen. The tent bulged, swayed and generally rocked about like a Tom and Jerry cartoon fight and the Angels all came running out again. The police followed a short time later but at a slower pace - I don't think the local constabulary were fully prepared for the weekend. Not like nowadays at all.

Didn't they issue free giant brown paper bags for people to sleep in? In those days, along with my mates, I travelled light, no change of clothes, no camping gear apart from a sort of Wendy House tent (see "toilets" above)and I think that people-sized paper bags were someone's solution to the cold nights. I could be wrong on that due to my altered state of consciousness but I know it happened somewhere and Weeley's the best candidate.

There was one freak near us ('freak' was a status we all aspired to so I'm not being un-PC) who was seriously affected by Monty Python's Viking/Spam sketch and between songs he could be observed leaping about and shrieking "Spam, I want Spam" and suchlike. One of our group had a tin of pork luncheon meat, similar to Spam, and decided to help the guy out. He levered this lump of unpleasant pink goo out of the tin and lobbed it in the Spam fanatic's direction. Spot on, right on the side of the guy's head from about 20 yards. It sort of exploded everywhere in a pink haze (think Purple Haze but stickier). The poor man must have thought is was some kind of misguided message from God! It shut him up though.

Music:
Most of Weeley is just a blur of happy times and sounds - I know the lineup was excellent but as I said, altered states of consciousness can't really differentiate between music and your general surroundings: to be honest I could have been sitting up a tree in Swindon and wouldn't have noticed the difference!

I think I remember waking up at what must have been about sunrise on Sunday (?) to the sound of Rory Gallagher's acid clear guitar and thinking I must be in Heaven. A memory of Arthur Brown being chased around the stage by some sort of enormous inflatable (I saw him about a month ago and he's still amazing, even without the burning hat and the makeup). Marc Bolan coming on to a fairly hostile reception but turning the crowd round in about 15 minutes - an excellent performance. That's it on the music front.

In fact, that's it on the fact front. I hope this is of some value to your site. Feel free to use this but if my e-mail address is published, for anyone who recognises the name, it's not me it's someone who looked like me at the time OK!

Dave

This is probably of no interest to you about the weeley pop festival of 1971, but it is a clear vision that sits in the back of my mind to this day, I was the tender age of seven well six and three quarters .

My family were on our way to our annual holiday to Walton on the Naze in Essex when I remember seeing a mass of motorcycles on the A12 ,as I would my big brother was a greaser!, then as we approached the roundabout where you turn off to weeley ,I remember a big banner saying pop festival, my sister being thirteen an "hip" seemed to know all about it jumping up an down in the back of my fathers "1952 MG y "model tourer (an old banger for those days) there were loads of hippies walking towards the site, my father getting white knuckled ,saying it wouldn't of been allowed in his day and mother saying they need a good wash.

The next day ,I remember my mother saying there had been trouble at weeley I don't know why but this particular annual holiday stands out in my head.

Hi.
I remember Weeley really well. I was 16 at the time and got a lift to the site in a friends dads ice cream van. paid a quid for a ticket from a Hells Angel. I don't know if was genuine but it seemed to be and it got me in. I arrived after the trouble between the piemen and the Angels. Mungo Jerry were on, and I promptly lost sight of the guy I arrived with. I heard later that he went home.
Weeley was not Britains answer to Woodstock, it was far better. Yes there were a few commercial bands on, but suprisingly they were quite enjoyable.

Some of the best moments for me were when Al Stewart sang the whole of Love Chronicles with the wind making strange noises through the speakers. Waking up to King Crimson. And then there was Barclay James Harvest, who I think came on before Al Stewart,. They must have had a full orchestra behind them to make such an amazing sound. I remember Maggie Bell, Groundhogs, and a few others, but the highlight for me personally, was when Lindisfarne came on and got a poor reception at first. People were drifting away, and I stood up and waved a peace sign (yeah kind of embarrassing now, I know). They spotted it and did the same back. the next thing I knew, the whole bloody crowd stood up and did the same. The strange thing is, I still don't know if I ever really liked Lindisfarne.

Of course we've had other excellent festivals in Britain, but for me, Weeley stands out as the best festival that Britain has ever seen. It had some of the best music at the time and one of the best atmospheres of any festival I've been to.
John Porter-Weiss

Hello,

What a great great site you've got!

I just wanted to let you know that on one of the Status Quo Weeley pix that I found at this link http://www.argyro.net/amap/Weeley.html it is clearly visible that Rick Parfitt plays an acoustic guitar and Rossi uses a capo at the 5th fret.In the early 70's they used these instruments for the tune Gerdundula.It is the pic where they are seated.Okay before you think I am out of my mind to bore you with this information, let me explain why:
In 1985 I got an audiece recording of the Quo Weeley performance from a dutch guy (I'm dutch too) who told me he got it from another dutch guy who said he recorded it himself. Anyway, there is not a track on the tape which features acoustic guitar and Gerdundula definately isn't on the tape.Therefor I believe that the recording does not contain the whole Quo concert.Not all that important, it just surprised me to see a pic of Quo playing the afore mentioned song.

Have you got any information on the person who made available the original(master) recording or actually recorded it? who knows there may be more people who did taping at Weeley!

Keep up the good work!

Cheers,
Raymond

August 27th 1971 Weely Festival, Clacton on Sea
I turned up for The Weely Festival later that summer a fully-acclimatised, battle-hardened muso, with my own tent and cooking equipment, (which nearly proved to be my downfall... read on) and friend Colin. Looking back the standout acts for me were Al Stewart, who came on and said 'Unfortunately I have only been allowed enough time for one song, but it is quite a long one....' and then proceeded to slay us with Love Chronicles..... pure magic, and Barclay James Harvest who went down a storm but ran out of songs, so that they had to do 'Mockingbird' for a second time for their encore! I also remember Marc Bolan coming on and saying 'Hi.... you may have seen me on Top of the Pops!' He was abused horribly for that, but won us over with a fantastic set. Poor Marc .... god bless him, one of the true superstars!

I remember heading for home on the Sunday, or was it Monday, dying for a decent toilet (I just COULDN'T use the pits!) and, seeing the massive crowd at the station, we decided to head up-track. We clambered into the carriage which was sitting outside the station! I think they must have put longer trains on for the event... those were the days!

I had a fantastic time, didn't see any nastiness between the Hells Angels, but I do remember a few fires here and there (apart from my own one!).
They are my (unreliable) memoirs, (as Clive James put it) and I'll put some more thoughts down later. Oh I wish I still had my festival diary. The A to Z of obscure pub-bands of the seventies! It could have been a best seller!
Cheeeers
Trevor

Have read through the web site peoples memories of weeley 1971,some are absolutely crystal and others I have simply no recollection.

The four of us from Rugby warwickshire,Clive Ambler,Paul Barnacle,Nigel Dale and myself Eddie Wright (sadly John Bridgewood couldn't make it) arrived by coach to Clacton then got the bus to Weeley. We were 16 and had just finished the O levels.

The things I do remember:-

Hackensack opened the festival with a rendition of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Fairfield Parlour were definately there playing early Sat morning.

Between T.Rex and the Faces, Al Stewart was given a 20 minute slot and played Love Chronicles-possibly the best applause of the weekend.

Marc Bolan complained the monitors were not working and he could not hear himself. After much heckling from a hostile crowd because he was commercial and had 'sold out' he won all round with a great set including jeepster.

Barclay James Harvest and the Orchestra playing particularly Mockingbird were Fantastic.

The rumour was rife all weekend that Joe Cocker was to appear with the Greaseband. He did not.

I have absolutely no recollection of Rory Gallagher.

Cans of coke at 10p were a 'rip off'

The latrines were as bad as everyone describes.

Acid was 50p a tab.

On the Friday night the girl in front of us started talking to a guy who sat alongside us.During Edgar Broughton they got into a sleeping bag and did not re-emerge till monday morning!!

I thought Wally was a local character from Clacton with a Religious slant. He was adored by the Weeley crowd.

Stray and their light show closed the proceedings in the early hours of Monday morning.

Elaine Thompson from Rugby was also there but did not see her -mores the pity- she wanted to marry Rory Gallagher !!!

A fantastic festival and to this day have not met anybody who was either there or had heard of it. Was it all a dream?????

Personal favourite Colloseum.Dick Heckstall-Smith R.I.P.

Interesting site

I notice that nearly all your contributors regarding the Weeley Festival were visitors, whereas I was an innocent eighteen year old who lived in Clacton at the time - and still live in the area. My involvement had been because some of my family had connections with the local Round Table, so I was there as a volunteer doing my bit for charity.

From a music point of view the only thing I saw was Rod Stewart and the Faces and was able to get right at the front of the stage, they were fantastic - the right kind of music for the event and at the top of their form. They were then followed by T-Rex, and it seems that none of your contributors have clear recollection of what happened.

Sure, they came on stage to jeers and boos which Marc Bolan tried to 'appease' by saying "Hi I'm Marc Bolan, you may have seen me on TV" (you have to remember that when he was booked he was only known to regular listeners of John Peel, by the time the festival started he had appeared on Top of The Pops with a hit record (the underground music equivalent of the kiss of death!)) Back to the story: this comment did not endear him to the crowd only creating more and louder jeering, so he had another go at calming matters by saying "If you don't like it Fuck Off!" so me and many others did exactly that.

As many have stated the organisation was terrible, the fact that me - as I say an innocent teenager - was given the job in the admin tent of issuing back stage passes ! I remember a rambling conversation with a King Crimson roadie (I was and still am a big fan) about giving him passes for 'groupies' - I imagine he was out of his head on something and I was just being a serious teenager!

Two incidents stand out, an impromptu press conference with the organisers fending off critical questions because they had paid the Angels to do the security. Worst offender was some guy from the Daily Express wonderfully overdressed for the occasion (trendy suit, shiny mud-free shoes), who badgered away as if he was Mr Perfect and would have just told them to go away. When a friend of mine arrived I told him in a loud voice what the Express guy was up to and got a filthy look for my trouble! The other was when the thing was over I returned to the site to help with the clear up, and the guy the Round Tablers had taken on to organise things - I think his name was Colin King - was in a huge flap because he was told there was a warrant out for his arrest.

I still have a copy of the official programme and various tickets, another Web site is trying to sell such items for £50 to £70 a throw.

Lastly a minor point, one of your photographs is captioned -

Knackered fans at Clacton Bus station

but actually shows people outside the White Hart pub in Weeley, I know because I tried to sit on the pub lawn and got thrown out!

Regards

Mike

Just discovered your most entertaining website. Yes, I was there at the Weeley Festival, very young, 14 or 15 years old, with my school chum Tim. Two well-scrubbed grammar-school boys who, looking at some of the other memories on the site didn’t do it properly at all. For a start we stayed with Tim’s aunt in Pinner the night before and she drove us to (I think) Kings Cross Station, rather than us hitching directly from the Vale of Evesham. Then we didn’t do any drugs or even have a drink. I think I subsisted on Harvest Fruit Pies (remember them?) all weekend and this frugal existence served me well as I didn’t need to have a Tom Tit all weekend, good news considering the horrendous facilities. Tim however went (like the bear of legend) in the woods and on return reported that it "was like Fairyland". "How like Fairyland?" I questioned. "Well, there are turds hanging from all the branches of trees", he replied. Perhaps Tim’s picture of Fairyland is different to yours.

Anyway, I will never forget standing up to stretch my legs around 3.00pm Saturday and turning around to see the perimeter fence knocked down and scores of people seemingly streaming away to the horizon. Musically the highlights for me were Rory Gallagher, Status Quo, Colosseum and the awesome Faces who turned in one of the greatest rock & roll sets I have ever witnessed. And of course Wally; the memory of getting off the train on Monday morning with hundreds of ‘heads’ and Kings Cross Station echoing to the continual refrain of "Wally! Wally!" will remain with me into old age. Blue skies, great music and an all-round good vibe; the Weeley Festival was top and although we don’t see each other all that often, Tim & I are still chums…

Love
Martyn D.

The first big outdoor festival was Weely. Hard to describe how I felt but again let me explain. I probably had no stereo player and even less access to the mono record player. Parents and brothers would have always been at home and to play say Rory Gallagher would have been impossible. I had started to collect records but money was also limited.
So a young lad at Weely, King Crimson strike up – Jesus I must have been blown away, even now 21st Century schizoid man is incredible.The album sleeve was something else as well when I later bought Court of the Crimson King. The lights and atmosphere of expectation were unbelievable. Barclay James I remember played with an orchestra. It must, just must have been incredibly amazing and it’s a pity like most things that are that good it can’t be repeated. The point is that this would have been the first time I heard a lot of the bands who played there, T Rex and Rod Stewart being the exception. I believe then that a band toured to announce their presence unlike now when there is so much media coverage. To conclude, Weely so many incredible bands so much, atmosphere, and such an impact, I was hooked on festivals that in spite of bad sanitary conditions and rumours of the fighting were so insignificant as to not figure at all.

I have just fallen on this site and I am amazed that your map indicates where the fence was broken and that is exactly where we were outside the original border in a hay field - 17 at the time with long hair ( old Cliches ) but true - first festival and can remember most of the bands - T Rex will always stand out - booed on - cheered off - and Barclay James doing Mockingbird which seemed about 3 hours long. The Kennington Oval festival was only a few weeks away which featured many of the same bands - Halcyon days that I now tell my son of.
Thank you
Ron Cornell
Lenwade
Norfolk

My lasting memory, which may have scarred me for life, was a visit to the loo, where I was unfortunate enough to witness some poor individual being pushed into the trench. I don’t imagine he had many friends after that. He didn’t so much swim but rather went through the motions! I remember going back to the site on the Monday evening to see the mountains of rubbish left behind, but give the organisers their due, it was all cleared up as if nothing had ever happened. I have ventured back down Weeley Church Lane several times over the years since the festival. Not least of which to attend funerals for members of my family who are buried in the graveyard. It is hard to believe that an event of such a scale took place in such a sleepy village, and my children who happily attend the V festival every year, cannot believe it could have ever happened.
Best regards,
Steve Box

Hi,
My name is Sam Crowe, I have an interesting request of you, and if it cannot be fulfilled then it is quite an interesting story!
It regards a certain photo of my father, who attended Weeley in 71', I assume this is the year as it seems appropriate to his age and I am unfamiliar with other years when the Weeley Music Festival would take place! Also he is a huge fan of the Small Faces who I believe played that year?

Anyway he attended the festival and in a drunken state..(and probably other intoxicants given the times!) with his friends doesnt remember much of the festival except the bands.
What he does remember he regails to me frequently and insists I listen to all the Bands, who I also enjoy.

Now, Many years later my Father received a letter from an old friend who didnt go to that festival, didnt even know m,y dad was there or it had happened. This chap happened to be an engineer and had been posted in Israel or somewhere in the middle east and had been there for a few years when he went past a junk stall in a market or something like that, spying an english book he picked it up. It was a photo book, so probably big and flat, or it could have been a actual book, he is unsure what his friend said.

What he does recall is that his friend said that at this random market in the middle of sand-covered nowhere in the far ends of the world this book had beneath the front cover a picture from Weeley music festival. It had a flag flapping in the breeze (US or UK, Unkown at the moment!) in the background with a hairy rocker stood in front of it.

This rocker happened to be my father! you can imagine the suprise they both got! the friend finding the picture was as suprised to see my father as he was to hear about it, so far from home plus he had no idea the picture was taken.

I was wondering if you have ever seen/heard of this book, be it a picture book or an actual book on festivals, or just the book that happened to have a picture from weeley, that happened to contain my father stood in front of a flag, which sounds like an epic picture!
I have been trying to track this book down for many years, it would be a perfect gift and I would like to keep a copy of it myself to show the kids some day of their rocky grandads past! if you can be of any help I would be eternally grateful!

My father back then was quite slim build, short if stood, perhaps wearing sunglasses, perhaps not! Black hair and beard usually distinguishing feature but sometimes he had it shaved down to stubble, given his preferance! being a festival im guessing maybe stubbly at least, his hair was quite long most of the time, between quite under his ears to shoulder length.

Given the quality of my description and the pictures quality im guessing this would be hard, but he was adamant he was stood in front of a flag and it was someone who would be quite recognisable to someone who knew him! if you know of this book, or even any other book on Weeley at this time let me know!

Thanks Hugely!!!
Rock on
Sam