The first festivals
Woodstock Music & Arts Fair
When and where: August 15-17 1969 on a dairy farm in the town of Bethel in upper state New York.
Numbers: Over a million and a half people arrived but only 500,000 or so remained for the whole three days, and less than a quarter of those were bona fide ticket holders (the original cost of which was $18). Masses of people descended upon White Lake, shutting down every roadway for a 20-mile radius and creating the third largest city in the entire state.
Who played: 30 top names including The Who, Joe Cocker, Grateful Dead. Hendrix played out 8:30am-10.30am to a mere 30 to 40 thousand people on Monday morning.
Isle of Wight Festivals 1968-1970
When and where: August 31 1968, Godshill Festival, Hayles Field.
Numbers: About 10,000 people.
Who played: John Peel was the compere. 14 bands played, including T-Rex and The Pretty Things.
When and where: August 29 -31 1969, Wootton Festival, Isle of Wight.
Numbers: 100,000+. Bob Dylan's audience included John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Jane Fonda, Elton John and Cilla Black.
Who played: Bob Dylan, Mighty Baby, Eclection, Bonzo, Gypsy, Blonde On Blonde, Family, Free, The Who, Fat Mattress, Joe Cocker, and The Band.
When and where: August 1970, Afton Festival, Isle of Wight.
Numbers: Half a million attended the five-day event. The Melody Maker headline ran 'Five Days That Shook The World'.
Who played: The festival was Jimi Hendrix's last UK appearance. The line-up also included The Who, Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis, Free, Taste, Family, Jethro Tull, and The Doors.
Still going: There was a revival last year, the first to be held on the island since the 1970 event featuring the last live performance by Jimi Hendrix. Details of the 2007 event can be found in our UK festivals in June section.
Glastonbury
When and where: September 19, 1970, Worthy Farm, Glastonbury.
Numbers: From a few oddbods to 12,000 in the early days, and then up to 100,000 ticket-holders and countless fence jumpers.
Early on: The day it was announced that Hendrix had died, leaving a small sombre crowd. The Kinks were supposed to headline but called off ill, instead T-Rex played for £500. The next day Andrew Kerr decided to rent a room from Michael Eavis and began to organise the Glastonbury Free Festival (known as The Glastonbury Fayre) for June 20-24, 1971.
Over that year Worthy farm became a drop-in centre for eccentrics and hippies. 12,000 visitors turned up, including Bowie, Traffic and Fairport convention. The festival lasted a week and the toilets were simply holes in the ground covered with wood.
Getting official: 1979 - The first official Glastonbury Fayre, attended by 12,000 made a massive loss by charging too little and spending too much. Michael Eavis then relaunched the Glastonbury Festival as the Glastonbury CND Festival, and later joined with Greenpeace in their place.
Still going: Absolutely, with 140,000 ticket holders and 40,000 staff. Despite the ups and downs in health and safety, the success of the new fence means Glasters is going ahead.
Roskilde
When and where: Inspired by the earliest festivals and youth gatherings, such as Isle of Wight, Woodstock and Thy, the festival wave hit Denmark in 1971. Early that summer, festivals were held in Randers, Nyborg and Hillerxd, and in late August the "SOUND FESTIVAL" took place in Roskilde.
Numbers: Approximately 10,000 per day.
Who played: About 20 bands. The festival was managed rather haphazardly and tried to please everybody by offering a little bit of everything - folk, jazz, rock and pop music.
Still going: Yes, but after tragedy many new rules have been put into place.
Print this page
Mail this page to a friend 