Titus writes:
As
one of the 1500 people who attended the very first Glastonbury Music
Festival of 1970, I am having a bit of a change this week from my usual
emphasis on an artist (e), or a band. I have to say that the Festival
was less memorable at the time, but has obviously risen to iconic status
in the ensuing years.
As
a 21 year old, I could barely afford the £1 ticket entry, as my weekly
salary was around a tenner. I distinctly recall mailing a £1 postal
order to the Festival organisers, and my mate Pete (who I think later
became a Jehovah’s Witness) and I duly set off in my 1963 Mini on 18
September 1970. We were told that the Festival didn’t open until the
day after, so we settled for an uncomfortable sleep in the car, after
being guided to a car park by one of the volunteers.
This,
the first festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton was called the 'Pilton Pop,
Blues & Folk Festival'. Farm Owner and Organiser Michael Eavis had
attended a previous Festival at the Royal Bath & West Showground
in Shepton Mallet three months earlier. This was called ‘The Bath
Festival of Blues & Progressive Music’, where Led Zeppelin,
Jefferson Airplane, Frank Zappa, Santana, Canned Heat, Colloseum,
Steppenwolf, Fairports, John Mayall with Peter Green (wow!), Pink Floyd
& Pentangle amongst others all played – and wouldn’t you just know
it, I attended that too!
Looking
back, it was an astonishing line up and certainly rivalled the Isle
of Wight event of August 1970. Michael was so impressed with the Bath
event, that he took it upon himself for him and his wife Jean, to
organise their own event, and they provided free camping and free milk.
The Kinks were supposed to be the headline act, but leader Ray Davies
apparently fell ill and produced a sick note – I don’t know how true
this is! With fellow headliners Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders
also backing out, both acts were replaced by Tyrannosaurus Rex, or T.
Rex as they later became. Others playing were the Pink Fairies,
Quintessence, Keith Christmas, Al Stewart, Steamhammer. All of these
acts performed really well, as I recall. I’m going to search the
archives to see if any original recordings remain (if indeed any one
did any recording).
On
a personal level, having attended three similar events before this, I
found the facilities there very Spartan and uncomfortable, the food
unplentiful, the toilets disgusting and the sole stage seemed to be made
from scaffolding and plywood.....but at least I can say “I was
there”. I remember saying to colleagues on my return to work on the
following Monday, that it was “alright but I doubt whether there’ll be
another one”. How wrong was I.
Fast
forward 54 years and the Festival has gone from strength to strength,
and has become a major event in the UK calendar. There hasn’t been such
an event EVERY succeeding year but certainly most years, and it is
attended in modern times by around 200,000 people. This figure in
itself, requires the organisers to provide security, water, electricity
& food, which must all comply with Health & Safety
legislation. When I was there and since, many revellers have left
behind their litter, and latterly their tents, which volunteers have to
deal with, in order to help restore the place to a working farm.
Incidentally,
it was thought that the 1970 title of the event was a little onerous,
so the 1971 show was entitled ’Glastonbury Fayre’. 1971 was also the
birth year of The Pyramid Stage, which – not TOO many folks know this -
was a one-tenth replica of The Great Pyramid of Giza, built from
scaffolding and metal sheeting.