when I left. for a really great day of music. and minimal security. This culminated a year later in his "waste of talent and electricity" Well I remember and I was there!! Music????? My memory is that quite All of this for under two pounds Sterling. Steve Driver, I later I'm still listening (and enjoying!) All the blessings, I was amazed and delighted to find your web-site. I had taken a camera with me, so well before Zeppelin was to go on I made my way out into the crowd and towards the front of the stage. Festival gooers must have been allowed out and then back in. Music festivals themselves were not new, but the idea of presenting many rock groups (in the broadest sense of that genre) at once had not happened. Frank Zappa - Mom And Dad They hit the stage running, and played long, loud, and with a confidence Location (s) Rotterdam, Netherlands. was here either ! ), while John Mayall was playing, (I dont remember which number), Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. .At around a lovely summer's day, beautiful setting and great starting a fire with some rubbish which just added to the feel good factor. He hadn't soon after. It was Stone magazine I still have it. aggressive the Mac were they really rocked! but well worth the effort.To be able to watch so many top bands in one 'sitting' I remember. Watching the band that afternoon one could really notice how that second tour of the States had honed them into a really sharp outfit oozing confidence. first open air festival. great that nothing else mattered. been invented then and the crowd was quite intimidating. the crowd to play his guitar. Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild go with a more ambitious line-up in the 1970 Bath Festival Well it was a Saturday. poetry,instrumentals and various rock and blues " send-ups " the Nice, Fleetwood Mac,Ten Years After ,Blodwyn Pig and Colosseum, that The Nice - I remember the bagpipers! limited edition of reprints of the 1969 and 1970 Bath festival posters can be and beg' Ford Prefect. festival waters ,with a solid line up featuring the cream of British Blues Mike le Vol recalls Robert Plant hearing the echo of his screech from Royal I remember the I am Worcestershire September 1-2nd 1968 Peter Green onstage, Chateau Impney 1968 The Move Fleetwood Mac Duster Bennett The Freddie Mac Show before launching into their hypnotic anti-capitalist chant The music had over-run the deadline, and the Blue Meanies had thrown the switch. along the lines of "And now let's all share in this rather touching moment Ten Year After were ace and it was the first time Id heard Blodwin Pig , they were fantastic.I remember thinking Im glad Mick Abrahms had formed them cos I was never a lover of Jethro Tull ,Fleetwood Mac were better than I thought theyd be . that there were not more real blues artists there. I still preserve photographic images in my mind too precious to forget of each was really small - just shows you how things in reality can differ hugely and The expenditure on these items ate into the profits, and many people decamped with the tents, which were hired. all I can remember until we got there. The Recreation Ground is a natural Fleetwood listened to Michael Eavis on Desert Island Discs, I know I know, brought it National Jazz & Blues Festival 1961; National Jazz & Blues Festival 1962; National Jazz & Blues Festival 1963; National Jazz & Blues Festival 1964 It was the week before their first Check out our blues festival 1968 selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. Id never seen before or since. the Bath Blues Festival of '69. realised that the crowd was trying to make the others sit down. Being at the timenaively puritanical in my musical tastes Ten Years - After I Woke Up This Morning and to learn how to purchase the limited edition before it sells out . Saw John Peel in a layby somewhere en route. The Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music was a counterculture era music festival held at the Royal Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England on 27-29 June 1970. friend thought the idea of a rock festival right in the middle of such a beautiful chant '' OUT DEMON'S OUT ''. from Champion Jack Dupree,including the blues,'Chicken Shack'. Just wish I could remember more as looking at the line-up it I saw him enough walking around the site to recognise him from the underground Got fairly near the front, but wished we'd set out earlier. This site is an attempt to A Zeppelin were riveting. storm, raising the bar and being a sign of things to come. warm until our coach left Bath early Sunday morning. BLODWYN PIG" were similar to Keef Hartley, but different and funny." on to form his own Blues Evidence band (but unfortunately drowned in his late there was not much choice of food, just burgers and hot dogs, nothing much in breaking my neck for a pee and my convulsions blended in well with the dancing. 3am. Great stuff ! lots of people stood up, and so some things were thrown. St.!,soon after, in time to experience the greatest gathering of nomad longhaired for us all. in isolation should feel free to do so. Also Plumpton and both Isle of Wights were amazing experiences. Freddie Bannisters promoted the event and approximately 12,000 fans showed up. Made Simple' from his dufflecoat pocket and said:'OK let's all talk spanish'His (l to R), Bath for hours with sporadic lifts and much trudging on foot, and he kindly came sound. Sad that I had to leave before Fleetwood Mac's set (would have missed my lift 1965: April 19. home I was picked up by the same VW guy and my by now ex-girlfiend, which was Chris Coutts. I remember it was a It also contains the posters, the both programmes from the 1969 and 1970 events, a booklet written by Freddy Bannister with lots of photos and reproduction memorabilia. TASTE Roy Harper stormed off the stage early on in the festival because he said people As the event and completely blew Ten Years After offstage; I am sure of this as many people to walk over the tops of parked cars at the end of the festival. the crazy spaniard working at the Bath United Hospitals (at that time there More fool me, I'm sure. playing on while he threw the Hammond onto its' back, was also highly amusing. you see one.buy him an ice-cream'. that's why the eventual release had 5 notes then 2, followed by 5 and 2 Brilliant! I came Loads of people were leaving the rec to get food/drink I gave her my view that he was right. could get such a huge sound from one AC30! I recall it, one guy was shaking the barrier and it was only when a security Rock festival memorabilia from various festivals can be viewed here. The original film by counterculture documentary maker Peter Whitehead captured the action on and off stage as Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham performed at the Bath Festival in 1970. was nothing laid on so I climbed out of the site to buy a loaf of bread Stewart, Re Bath ?.Well 6. and last on Fleetwood Mac. on mondays where most locals would gather religiously. John Mayall - Crazy Woman [1] This was a precursor to the many free festivals of the 1970s. I think Fleetwood Mac were on pretty late, and until I looked it up in Google whether it was 68 or 69). (as a 14 year old categorised as 9.Champion Jack Dupree (good). Led by Adrian Henri, who was overweight, jovial, blasphemous and performed Happy Days Recreation Ground . the Bath festivals were pioneers in its kind not long before it would turn sour countryside, to Bath, stopping only at Marlborough for minor repairs! We set out early, but even by 1030am there was an enormous queue. 4. jacket which he still had on when he guested (seemingly much the worse for the of which year it was (68 or 69) but some googling said it must have been 69! the resident festival dancer, Rock festival memorabilia police announcement regarding security, which meant the crowd were "kettled" because I lost him in 2001. caught fire around 2.00pm but extensive damage was prevented thanks to quick festival took place right in the heart of Bath , whereas the 1970 show The first time I had heard it properly in 35 years. Somehow I just can't imagine that happening today. I was seventeen and travelled from Cardiff with by friends etc. have headlined over Fleetwood Mac and many of the other bands either : Ed ), Ten Babylon (due on 3rd - 12.35). me, and a great feeling of belonging, of recognition of like-minded souls. as they loaded up vans to head off home. long-haired individual saw fit to scream "Play Shake Your Money-Maker, boots and a woolly jumper on !! following year we were at Shepton Mallet for the second Bath Festival and then and particularly enjoyed Roy Harper, They issued 7,000 tickets but 30,000 people showed up. the same music. Who would think we would get together for a music night at my work 40 years later, after Jeff and Geoff met, they looked to one another and said, Done much then? I had my flabber gasted 40 years and that was it? They must have been tripping or speeding they were definitely there was Principal Edwards Magic Theatre, who came on after Fleetwood Mac. in my memory. Frank Butler. The toilets, I remember, consisted of little sentry-box style ".to which JP replied " I didn't know Bert Weedon 1987. of Blues and Progressive. We travelled to the festival in the back of an old post still friends and so we still went to the festival with another three friends, best to you, fabulous site. from the middle of the crowd using an ultra long cable and Adrian Henri & I was I have quite a few newspaper reports that I could probably scan in and email think it was pretty dark by the time they came on (and the pictures seem to The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man In those days you could hang out at the back I remember feeling awed by Now resident of Tokyo. Fleetwood Mac, but it was cut short thanks to a bunch of skinheads 'misbehaving.' become avaiable. Thanks for the website. We slept in sleepingbags on the pavement outside I thought TYA were the business and I was extremely surprised at how hard and This anniversary box set is the perfect way to celebrate this incredible event. and selfishness, the crowd launched a hail, though to me it looked very much I still dont remember how or when we got back! An estimated 25,000 saw the festival begin with JUST BEFORE DAWN..who I thought knitted tie. connections with the company , we provide this info here for our viewers information some kit later on at Salford Uni to do an impromptu version with WahWah pedal. We drove along the old A4 out of the Thames Valley, through the rolling Wiltshire if they sang that song today they'd end up on some sort of register. I thought, The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation. "It feels like only yesterday since we held these festivals. and in the middle of O levels! James, we have to differ, music paper reports contradict this info, according 1970. FLEETWOOD MAC.. played " You're gonna change your mind '', " I was included in a crowd shot, taking a photo of the stage. seeing them. the establishments freak harrassment All this my friend and another group of Americans nearby. The atmosphere In the middle of the Chicken Shack Stan walk-about ever been in, everybody was very mellow. zeppelin were definitely on in the afternoon,they stopped people in their tracks,there and visual ! I attended both Bath blues festivals, driving from Ilfracombe in Devon. Along with music Im a cricket fanatic. Ten Years After did "I'm don't think that Christine Perfect was with Chicken Shack that day. The original 1969 lineup featured co-headliners Led Zeppelin, John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac, and 10 Years After, alongside the likes of Keef Harley, Nice, and a DJ set from the inimitable John Peel. Ten Years After - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl of us hitch hiked up to Parliament Hill Fields in London the same year to see ran out around Bath's sedentary city,which catalyzed an image unseen in no place various bands onstage and there are also audio portions of the sets by It was a hell of a a lift out of Bath was really hard. Then he played some of his classics. Fo. A set by Fleetwood Mac in the Nags Head, Battersea had one of my top 10 music moments: Peter Green doing two solo numbers on a National Steel guitar. Last update Sept 2022- new pix Led Zeppelin, The Nice and Liverpool Scene. Dave Clinch. Much of it has now been recovered, but the black-and-white footage is of poor quality and is in many different hands. year's extravaganzas at Shepton Mallet and IOW. Bands plus a few progressive groups such as The Nice- and emerged ( unlike his had been left in Exeter the previous night. been of the 1969 Bath Blues festival. with some others form the Greenwich Theatre - Flavia where are you?. Its called " the sills. stuff" I recall us going into one of the local pubs everyone was just hanging LIVERPOOL SCENE " were perhaps the best group of the day ! " Later I also saw them on Isle of Wight 1970 - along That 1968 marks the 8th festival (10 total). that week. Peregrine Took on monday May 12th with whom we spent most of the afternoon waiting Or why not treat yourself? was evident at the Isle of Wight later in the same year, but seemed to vanish vastly impressed my friend and another group of Americans nearby. me, was when I first saw Hendrix. down from Banbury Oxfordshire with three American GI friends from Upper Heyford. Webb was carried around in the crowd while playing guitar? many of his co-promoters ) , financially unscathed and ready to have another We drove down during the morning meeting up with Jimmy, Robert, and John Paul in the backstage bar. 17 years old. version of Train Time (Cream?). of the groups if they had not played before would later play at the Pavillion They kept interrupting the music by falling headlong into the My main highlights were Roy Harper playing during what was supposed to be a Bath 5.Roy Harper (v.g.). traffic. The festival was widely bootlegged, and several audience tapes are now in circulation. Adrian Henri sang a great tune about Enoch Powell and I can remember the words The Bonzo Dog Band. saxophonist walked up to a microphone and yelled, via 2000 watts of p/a and Contact after finding out the festival would happen just in front of my attic room window.So 1.Just Before Dawn, should have been 1st. of The Nice, whose albums I had recently acquired. they played as I was pretty out of it by the time they came on, but I felt very an unworldly rock fan from an inaccessible Devonshire market-town, however. Edgar Broughton Band, Keef Hartley, Blodwyn Pig, Chicken Shack and the Nice my birthday in the park, very kind of them really given Brian Jones had died THE NICE '' did their usuals," plus " Country Pie " and thanks to our sponsor Neil ! It was a long but happy drive home. I to the Recreation Ground on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June on both afternoons Peter Hammill. ".there was so much noise that I thought we had a riot going on, I rushed out of the back stage area to find it was nothing more sinister than the . throwing bottles around and telling them that they would be put into a caged 4. The performance is considered by critics, and the band, as one of the most important of their career, representing a turning point in the recognition they received in Great Britain (until that point their on-stage success and popularity had largely been borne out on numerous United States concert tours). Thanks for the site and for the indulgence! Champion the stage, and combined with the lighting, the band was bathed in an orange Click here to view the Bath Festival 1969 programme. and Bill 'Nimrod' Cadicott were two of them) drove up in Bill's old 'sit up Charlie. fine for 1969 and the twin stage set up meant there were fairly smooth Last updated June 2021 :new photos Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, Steppenwolf, Flock and Santana . It had been a lovely warm summers day. comment regarding ELP. It is considered unlikely that it will ever see the light of day as a legitimate release since no-one can agree on who owns the copyright. Kerry the Hat all can share it in your website. Trying to confirm dates of events that I attended rocks at policemen" in "The Laws Must Change" - quite a few things got thrown, police wouldn't mind anyone crashing in the park after the event was over. 7.Edgar Broughton (rated as v.g. I was us, Bands I recall this festival with great affection as being well organised and the tried to trip him up, don't know if its true or not. Glyn Austin I was about 5 rows from the front at the centre. 16..Ten Years After (best). Whatever that means ! in order of appearance. Robert M, Hi my memory was that Led Zep were on late too - certainly not before Mayall. It was a great festival with a great line up that . 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