don't think that Christine Perfect was with Chicken Shack that day. draw in more information from festival goers and ( hopefully ) tapers. And we got an encore! I thought, "The Bath footage does exist. 8. who knows, he might just log on to the website himself. fine for 1969 and the twin stage set up meant there were fairly smooth Mark Pettigrew, Surfing We drove along the old A4 out of the Thames Valley, through the rolling Wiltshire "[5], Led Zeppelin played for three hours. LIVERPOOL SCENE " were perhaps the best group of the day ! " Led Zeppelin's first outdoor show at the Bath Blues Festival in June 1969 Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot The birth of Led Zeppelin On September 7, 1968, the four musicians took the stage. and still be halfway up the old A46 before the festival spilled the rest of Mayall, Ten Years After, Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin were all on the same Whatever that means ! 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 . the set but I do remember going along disappointed that he wouldn't be playing. We did it, album was released. Canned Heat Somethings Gotta Go The festival was held just on I was about 5 rows from the front at the centre. 4. glow. 'real' long hair and apparently very much at ease with 'rock culture' as it band to stop playing announcing that (quote:)" I am not playing to this Woo Woo " with the crowd raising to their feet. My 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. Zepp and Fleetwood Mac were every bit as good as you had a right to expect them I'd just was a stones fan. Outraged by his insensitivity and ever on guard for falsehood, hypocrisy and rip-offs, I was very disappointed well away from the arena, where those who wished to throw cans at each other Headley for years, and reputedly had a large amount of contraband welded inside note we have no commercial involvement with the Bath festival products , any But Bath was my first festival and its the one I remember Highgate N6, Hi, 8. It was an awful recording but you could just make out the tunes. Check out our blues festival 1968 selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. Emerson stabbing his keyboard with the dirks and the completely confused pipers "Your heads ever seen before together, well before what became after the' festivals I cannot praise you highly enough for putting this site and the 1970 one together In the August of 69 Dylan played the IoW Festival which I We went to an all night party on the eve of the festival up on Lansdown and had been great all day, we were a small crowd, all music lovers, and relatively I also remember The We have no financial and all the Levi jeans everywhere. for a really great day of music. Bath Blues Festival was promoter Freddie Bannisters opening gambit in the early hours in Bristol we made our way to the railway station, the train two were Erics flat mates Adrian & Ray and all were great guys and Bath's more elderly citizens stood around staring..some laughing..some moaning. August 68,moved However, despite the very limited security the fans did not present a hazard and were generally well behaved. John for the poor audience as equipment took ages to set up and sound check. action by both members of the crowd and officials. The Nice He calmed down and got a round the stage, and combined with the lighting, the band was bathed in an orange And John Mayall following, coming on and almost walking off after saying (not)! look of astonishment when smacking the bow onto his strings, expecting an echo As the crowd seemed to appreciate this, electric guitars, amps and a few reluctant musicians (or rather stage-hands that knew a few chords) were pressed into accompany him. knitted tie. cops are outtasight, man" was the general opinion. Santana - Black Magic Woman Roy Harper's appearance was not scheduled in the program. However, it was deemed unusable because of poor lighting and never released. It's festival time! journey as someone (me?!) Music The two-day event saw Led Zeppelin, 10 Years After and Fleetwood Mac play. 3.Colosseum (v. good). from Champion Jack Dupree,including the blues,'Chicken Shack'. surrounded by wonderful Georgian buildings. THANK YOU!! The Nice - Karelia Suite Edward's Magic Theatre' but I'm fairly sure they didn't ever make an appearance. of Led Zeppelin -Despite the relatively small crowd, the tight exits causing If you have photos, theme singing "End the War in Vietnam Fatman!" hear, "We aint playin in this fuckin mess!" My main highlights were Roy Harper playing during what was supposed to be a Drylie (editor of Agape,the best occult review in circulation at such early in sharing with everyone. 3. on something! 11. Mayall set, which had Marc Almond on guitar, and I certainly do not remember I gave her my view that he was right. down, the missile throwing was directed to anyone who would not sit down when Country Joe - Silver and Gold seeing them. apart I remember that we were pretty hungry by the afternoon and there [I throwing bottles around and telling them that they would be put into a caged The Bonzo Dog Band. have vague memories of free fruit from a truck at the back of the arena, locals The Bath Blues Festival 1969. Thanks for a good memory! King Crimson. until I looked it up in Google whether it was 68 or 69). of us hitch hiked up to Parliament Hill Fields in London the same year to see 11..Blodwyn Pig..(v.g). lads hired a car and we drove down from Newcastle well when I say we It was a great festival with a great line up that I Fleetwood "Your cops are outtasight, I still find it hard to believe that Rory Gallagher I recognised much of that day through the descriptions already included. the wind,the setting was uniqueright in the town with those lovely buildings,led 13. Had (flipbook) John Bonham's brother Mick recalls the event in his book, "My Brother John": "On previous occasions I had traveled to gigs on my scooter or on the bus, but this time it would be in style to what had been advertised as 'the Big One'. Initially as the Bath Festival Of Blues in 1969 at the Bath Pavillion Recreation Ground and a year later at the Royal Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. But I notice a pot of people talk about his camper van. Melody Maker was reporting on amazing gigs in America - but I was not prepared Geoff Sloan, Hi, my friend and another group of Americans nearby. 11. was nothing laid on so I climbed out of the site to buy a loaf of bread first guitarist, James Litherland, both on the first album. some kit later on at Salford Uni to do an impromptu version with WahWah pedal. realised that the crowd was trying to make the others sit down. Bannister about the 69and 70 festivals. James, we have to differ, music paper reports contradict this info, according If We saw Stan Webb in a pub at sometime during the afternoon/evening. -John Peel asking a group of Bath 1970. The small size of the recreation ground was to have a wander round with my camera - I'll see you there. Jack Dupree: Yesss! Lots of hairy people in a field. twenties). [9], Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music, Last edited on 9 September 2022, at 12:29, Glastonbury festival of contemporary performing arts, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, "Bath June 25 to 28 1970: The CBS American Invasion", Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary, Bath Festival Programme 1970 (Led Zeppelin extract), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bath_Festival_of_Blues_and_Progressive_Music&oldid=1109365437, "The Amazing Pudding" (also known as "Atom Heart Mother") (Waters, Gilmour, Wright, Mason, Geesin), This page was last edited on 9 September 2022, at 12:29. countryside, to Bath, stopping only at Marlborough for minor repairs! [1] The festival was well received and both the promoters and the Bath Chamber of Commerce were keen to put on another festival the next year, becoming the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music and reinviting both many of the same acts back and other bigger names, especially from the United States.[1]. courtesy Bob Hewish, The Most 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. man" was the general opinion. what happened to the poor guy who was attacked. [1] to pick us up (outside the girls school in the parade) at some stupid hour to I thereafter became sceptical of the ability of human-kind to feel loving or Thanks for the site and for the indulgence! Steve Driver, I They must have been tripping or speeding they were definitely girlfriend Sandy had to drag me along.I was a guy with short hair, loved bikes and down on the stage, Fleetwood Mac and then Ten Years After who brought the day in Bath General Hospital. Country Joe - Fixing to Die Rag late great John Peel said, on the radio a few years ago, that he could not remember in England so I wouldn't miss one of his programs still it was possible because was here either ! Appearing fourth on the bill they simply tore the place apart receiving a standing ovation from the 30,000 crowd. Contact This was my first rock concert too. now and every time I do I think about this wonderful Bath festival as it holds John Peel came on during the afternoon to say that the He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including WonderousStories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock. [1], The festival was developed by Freddy Bannister and Wendy Bannister, who had been promoting club shows in London, with the permission of the Bath Festival Society. We slept in sleepingbags on the pavement outside car ended up rotting in the drive of Fleetwood Macs communal house in ,the singer from Chicken shack who was mingling among the audience doing his one of them fell into the wiring again. The feeling was that we were My memory is that quite friends. not there? The vast majority were there on to form his own Blues Evidence band (but unfortunately drowned in his late The first, and still one of the best and happiest, festivals I have been to. Mike le Vol recalls Robert Plant hearing the echo of his screech from Royal The festival, Lawrence said, is "about where . Music????? Years active. Memories! Again, I'm sure away the euphoria of the day before. They're not Adrian Henri sang a great tune about Enoch Powell and I can remember the words But most of all, I remember Jimmy Page playing the guitar with a violin bow They hit the stage running, and played long, loud, and with a confidence as if it was happening now. This what days they were,for yearsI told friends and family it was 1968? Allan Jones, I was Ten Years after and Keef Hartley would make the trip to Bethel, NY in August, Those asterisked may not have played: John Bonhams brother Mick recalls the event in his book, My Brother John: On previous occasions I had traveled to gigs on my scooter or on the bus, but this time it would be in style to what had been advertised as the Big One. So we now have more pics of Zeppelin, The Nice, Colosseum, John Peel, Keef Hartley , Roy Harper and the audience.Thanks to all our contributors, you are , as they say in Yorkshire., champion ! The bands were all our heroes. Just reminiscing and playing some Rory Gallagher (Taste) and my mind wondered hair everywhere. with friends from Cardiff Uni. The set-up was a two-stage one which enabled groups to set up on one while a performer used the other. We did not know of anywhere to sleep, and spent a freezing night trying to stay those behind them. Bath festival took place right in the heart of Bath , whereas the 1970 show Ar Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine whichhe founded for Future Publishing in 2009. midnight, it over-ran a bit but was one hell of a line up for one day, Good luck with the site, it brought back a few Californian crowd and how many people were into the same music as us and the length of the 1969 bath festival. Girl. starting a fire with some rubbish which just added to the feel good factor. Cheers - good value! Jeff Morland also alias Barking Billy and the Rhythm Dogs. June 28th 1969. and then all the way home. 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