back in my day we had PROPER festivals...

Dandontdare · 28 April, 2009, 04:10:53 PM

I've been wallowing in nostalgia lately since I rediscovered this old flyer and clipping from my first ever festival in 1984:

The 'special guests' on Monday were Marillion, Phil Lynott's Grand Slam, The Pretenders, Midge Ure and Alvin Lee. Oh and Doctor and the medics (pre their big hit when they were more punky) were on before the Damned. I've given up trying to enthuse my workmates about this mightily impressive line-up, as many of them are too young to have heard of most of these names. *sigh* 8-)

SamuelAWilkinson · 28 April, 2009, 04:21:18 PM

Holy wowzers! My gran lives in Nostell village! You never would suspect the place of having played host to an evil sex cult nowadays.

Bouwel · 28 April, 2009, 04:59:18 PM

Hmm.
Never went to any music festivals as a 'youth'. I do remember being dragged along to a local 'rush bearing' festival by a rather nice cove I was dating at the time. I think the best way to describe the experience is to imagine Children of the Corn organised by middle-class Conservatives. I didn't even get a roll in the hay (rushes?) out of it. Oh well.

-Bouwel-

Tanky · 29 April, 2009, 09:10:45 AM

QuoteAnyone else enjoy the festival circuit before they all had photo-IDs, security fences, cashpoints and police caravans, and before tickets cost about the same as a small car?

I kinda got the arse end of it, being a teenage crusty in the early 90s, but yes I do! Castle Morton, Torpedo Town, free fests and raves up and down the coutry. There were even several great parties that sprung up around protests (The anti-CJB march in London and the ANL rallies for example) By that point of course there were a lot of police caravans and all the crap that inevitably went with them, so I guess I missed out on the best bits! Since, I've probably been to just about every 'organised' festival going and had just as good a time. Glastonbury was great until the mid 90s when it all went horribly wrong, after that Reading was where it was at - Reading 98 remains my favourite weekend away ever. These days there's something on every weekend in the summer and we're spoilt for choice- if you have the dollar. This year Booga + I narrowed our holiday choices down to Rebellion or Download. We chose Download as it's actually cheaper at £160ish per ticket than a weekend in a B+B in Blackpool + tickets + beer! I ask you is that any way to run a punk festival?!

QuoteIf you've ever seen the Levellers...

Certainly have, back in the day. They just played down here last week. At £20 a ticket.

Tx

Peter Wolf · 29 April, 2009, 10:00:06 AM

I went to Glastonbury 3 times .I think the last time was in 1995.I dont bother with festivals any more as everything is corporatised .Glastonbury was ruined by thieves who stole from your tent and all my cash was stolen once and i was gutted because i lost a Tag Heur watch by a water tap in the green fields at glastonbury.

I cant see myself going to another festival.I went to the 02 festival last year which was a non camping festival but it was awful but at least i didnt have to pay to go in.

House of Usher · 29 April, 2009, 10:34:46 AM

Nope. Never, ever been tempted. Pop festivals have very little appeal for me. I'd rather watch Glastonbury on the TV.

But if I were to go, I certainly wouldn't take a Tag Heuer watch with me, or anything else I couldn't afford to lose.

On another note, it really does the image of the police no good that so many of them are just scum, plain and simple.

Buddy · 29 April, 2009, 10:56:31 AM

Quote from: "House of Usher"Nope. Never, ever been tempted. Pop festivals have very little appeal for me. I'd rather watch Glastonbury on the TV.

But if I were to go, I certainly wouldn't take a Tag Heuer watch with me, or anything else I couldn't afford to lose.

On another note, it really does the image of the police no good that so many of them are just scum, plain and simple.

Was thinking something similar about the watch (not that I would ever own a Tag Heuer watch... my cheap one tells exactly the same time) and who leaves cash in a tent! At a festival!

Oh.. and I've never been to a festival.. If I wanted to wallow about in mud, drink too much, get food poisioning, not see bands, loose my shoes/pants/both and spend too much money to actually get there I can do all that in my muddy back garden (except the too much money bit.. my garden is free for me!)

Dandontdare · 29 April, 2009, 03:36:22 PM

Quote from: "Tanky"I kinda got the arse end of it, being a teenage crusty in the early 90s, but yes I do! Castle Morton, Torpedo Town, free fests and raves up and down the coutry. There were even several great parties that sprung up around protests (The anti-CJB march in London and the ANL rallies for example)

Castle Morton was legendary - I was supposed to go to that but for a reason that eludes me now could not make it. I think this was the event when hippy-type festivals first began mutating into that frightening (to the Powers That Be) entity known as the Rave Party. As for the CJB , I recall several great "Kill the Bill" demos - they may not have been festivals, but always had a damn good party afterwards! This was the bill that made it illegal for 3 or more people to dance to "repetetive elrectronic music" without asking the police permision - typical heavy-handed overreaction to a youth phenomenon that they did not understand.

vzzbux · 29 April, 2009, 08:40:43 PM

I did monsters of rock many times in my youth which were great even Ozfest once or twice. But now it's download, a rock festival with the prodigy headlining, go figure.

V

Jim_Campbell · 29 April, 2009, 10:11:46 PM

Hah ... we of the Gothic persuasion have this sussed. No shivering in muddy fields for us! Oh, no - we overrun a picturesque English seaside town twice a year, book out all the available B&B and self catering accommodation months in advance and, by virtue of holding the event at the beginning and end of the holiday season, make a substantial contribution to the local economy.

On top of that, as a result of all being terribly middle-class and well-behaved, we're made disarmingly welcome by the overwhelming majority of the locals. A few years back, the mayor of Whitby turned up at the Elsinore pub (unofficial heart of WGW) to welcome the Goths to the town. This year, the local paper was running an 8-page supplement celebrating the event.

It's all terribly civilized ... :-)

Cheers

Jm

Peter Wolf · 29 April, 2009, 10:47:31 PM

I drunk the most Scrumpy i have ever drunk once at Glastonbury which was 14 pints in an afternoon.I passed out in the end and woke up 3 hrs later and felt fine.

I have never drunk anywhere near that amount since.

I couldnt stand not washing so i washed under a cold tap .I had to camp up next to the oreenfields and always camped under the same tree each time .Lower down in the main festival was just unpleasent as it was just like a crowded sea of tents and too hectic.The cash wasnt left in the tent but it was left by the fire.Earlier the same evening i did catch someone going through my tent so i asked them what they were looking for and then told them that they were looking in the wrong tent.It was good for finding things as well that had been dropped as i found a small plastic coin bag with various substances in that someone had dropped.

I never went when there was mud and rain.

I enjoyed it there but would never consider going again because it has become a commercialised cliche of itself plus that stupid mad rush and credit card hotlines for overpriced tickets when in the old days if you didnt have a ticket it was still easy to get in even if you had to buy a wristband from someone outside for a tenner.

It was an amazing sight at night as it was like a completely autonomous city.Its what i imagined a post apocalyptic settlement to be like.

Dandontdare · 29 April, 2009, 11:01:03 PM

Quote from: "peterwolf"in the old days if you didnt have a ticket it was still easy to get in even if you had to buy a wristband from someone outside for a tenner.

At one Glastonbury some enterprising child (who looked young enough to qualify as free if accompanied by an adult) who'd slipped off his wristband and was renting it to people for a fiver a time. He'd walk an adult through the gate, take it back and go out to try again. Little git had more money on him than me!

Peter Wolf · 29 April, 2009, 11:19:27 PM

Quote from: "dandontdare"
Quote from: "peterwolf"in the old days if you didnt have a ticket it was still easy to get in even if you had to buy a wristband from someone outside for a tenner.
At one Glastonbury some enterprising child (who looked young enough to qualify as free if accompanied by an adult) who'd slipped off his wristband and was renting it to people for a fiver a time. He'd walk an adult through the gate, take it back and go out to try again. Little git had more money on him than me!

House of Usher · 30 April, 2009, 03:08:49 AM

Quote from: "peterwolf"Its what i imagined a post apocalyptic settlement to be like.

Whereas I imagine a post-apocalyptic settlement would have more cannibalism, rape, dysentery, starvation, firearms, amputees, burn victims, and cats and dogs turning on spit-roasts over campfires. Not quite as romantic as Glastonbury.

Peter Wolf · 30 April, 2009, 07:42:38 AM

Quote from: "House of Usher"
Quote from: "peterwolf"Its what i imagined a post apocalyptic settlement to be like.
Whereas I imagine a post-apocalyptic settlement would have more cannibalism, rape, dysentery, starvation, firearms, amputees, burn victims, and cats and dogs turning on spit-roasts over campfires. Not quite as romantic as Glastonbury.

Of course you would expect to see what you have described if you were walking around in it but i was talking about what it looked like from a distance.