who
inspired me to delve deep into the magic of the free
festival and who passed away Sept 3rd 2010.
R.I.P.
Roger .....
Meigan
Fayre - Pembrokeshire
August
25-27th 1975.
Meigan is spectacularly
situated, in some of the most beautiful country in Wales, close to the
sites where the Blue stones that were used to construct the circle at
Stonehenge were quarried. Fayres had been held in the area since mediaeval
times , but the first alternative Fayre took place in 1973 ,when 400 attended
at a relatively low key event . In 1974 the weather was not kind and the
site was quickly flooded, which tended to put a damper on procedings .However
, no such problem occurred during the 1975 festival as the weather was
(for once) ideal , three days of hot and cloud free conditions .
The site , a flat field 700 ft above
sea level, was superb , with panoramic views of the surrounding Priscelly Mountains
. The site was kindly donated by a enlightened local farmer, who was probably
not thanked for it by the locals, who are notoriously parochial .
Mindful of how festivals can degenerate into chaos if they become too large,
it was decided to keep Meigan low key, so a select group of people ( those who
were deemed well into the pudding of the counterculture ) were informed of Meigan
by word of mouth , although specific artists were sent a copy of the following
proclamation .
A carefully planned event that conforms rigidly
to a pre-programmed pattern is an impossibility and would inevitably lead
to disappointment. Therefore Meigan Faire will not be heavily structured
and publicized ., but rather spontaneous , organic and flexible. we do
hereby proclaim to artists ,poets, craftsmen, musicians, storytellers
that the third Meigan Faire will take place on the days of 25th, 26th
and 27th July 1975 , to entertain or to amuse .
The declaration was also printed
in Welsh , with a map that gave detailed directions of how to get to the
site from London .
Preparation
for the site began two weeks prior to the 25th and was all done by
volunteers and festival goers. The toilets were dug, two stages and
a lighting rig were erected at opposite ends of the site to minimize
sound spill from one stage to the other. There was a kids playground
and a Punch and Judy stall as well ( surprising at an event like this
, as Mr Punch was hardly politically correct ).
Accommodation was varied and ran the whole gamut from hippie staples
such as Tipi's, inflatables and benders, to Gypsy horse drawn caravans
and even a covered wagon that could have come straight out of the
set of Rawhide .
An
observation tower was erected in the centre of the site ,as well (
of all things ) a sauna, numerous organic food tents with their own
kitchens and ovens baking wholemeal bread. Potters and other artists
created their wares on site and there was a wide range of clowns conjurers
, and other performance artists in attendance.
Musically
the festival was diverse, jams took place that were seemingly endless
, with various stoned freaks conducting mass percussion sessions
that were also attended by the more well known musos from bands
such as Zorch and the Global
Village Trucking Company ( who sadly broke up at the end
of the festival due to a chronic lack of; money, record company
interest , success , whatever ) and the once famous chart topper
Arthur Brown .
Other
bands to play were Under The Sun -
a seven piece soul-funk-psychedelic outfit who hailed from Bath
and another hippie band called Rose Mountain
as well as Chatelet
and local band Mazariba, who were possibly
the best band of the festival.
The
festival was funded by contributions from the stall holders , who
were charged six quid if they hired a tent and collections were
made from the crowd of 4000. The police were relatively laid back,
with quite a few cars being stopped , but rather perfunctorily searched-
no Windsor 74 here thankfully. Very few busts seem to have taken
place especially given the rampant consumption of dope and the profusion
of heads who arrived at the festival in the usual panoply of head
vehicles.
chris church wrote
If
there's anyone in your ken who'd be interested in adding to some recollections
of the Meigan Fayre I'd be happy to co-operate. Meigan was perhaps the
most beautiful and wonderful of all the UK free festivals (1975 - I
think....) It took place in the Preseli Mountains in Pembrokeshire in
west Wales. The preceding days were cold and blowy, but the opening
day was a scorcher (it proved to be the start of the UK 1976 heat wave).
About 1000 people (and
on that first day, almost all of them were incapable due to the huge
consumption of psychedelics. It was the only event I ever went to where
it seemed as if the lysergic state was the normal state to be in). Musically
it was slightly chaotic : Gong were slightly disappointing, Global Village
Trucking Co played one of their less wonderful sets, an inspired duo
called Chatelet were wonderful, and a local crazed hippy band called
Mazariba were completely astonishing (ask anyone who was there!) - even
tho'never heard of before or since. The sunsets over the Irish Sea were
phenomenal too.
Charles
Tyler , who took the lovely colour photos on these pages , was one of the
performers at the festival and he wrote a really nice song about the event
, which you can listen to at his site http://www.soundclick.com/charlestyler
Charles wrote
:
About "Meigan
Fayre (Live)":I wrote this song after attending and performing
at one of the legendary Meigan Fayre's in the Priscelly mountains
in Wales in the early 70s. The Fayre's were classic hippie music festivals
in the fields. Tents and tipi's, long hair and colourful clothes.
The sweet smell of smoke in the air. The Meigan Fayre's were particularly
nice - in a lovely setting and not like some of the huge events held
elsewhere. Apparently the Meigan festival site was where some of the
stones were quarried to build Stonehenge. I performed 'Guruvy Guru'
and 'White Farmhouse' amongst other numbers. My performance of 'Guruvy
Guru' was used in a film of the festival naturally called 'Meigan
Fayre' and directed by Michael Haggiag. This song is my celebration
of the festival.
I have no idea if Michael Haggiag's film of the festival still survives.
I know he tried to get it on the Beeb at the time. He asked me for
permission to use a clip of me playing 'Guruvy Guru' at it. I
was one of the 'casual' performers. The whole event was pretty casual
:). We lost touch in the 70s and I have no idea what happened to him.
cheers,
Charles
Hi
Regarding the Meigan Fayre festivals especially '75, I was there, being a
local at the time, and helped build the main stage ( every day's work starting
only after the consumption of several ceremonial chillums). The observation
tower was the brainchild of a good friend of mine known as "Splinter"
due to his expertise with wood. I'm sure Lemmy (Motorhead) Kilminster played
with his band of the time "Laughing Sam's Dice"
Crosswires
Links
A
new site has been established ( June 2005 ) about Meigan 74-75 and this
is well worth a visit as it has been created by some of those who helped
run the first festivals.
We
are proud of the contribution we have made to Andy Worthington's sociological
history of Stonehenge and the free festival scene in the UK .This
new book gives a fascinating insight into the various counter cultural
obsessions with the Stones and provides a variety of new perspectives
to many of the key events surrounding the Henge such as the Battle
Of The Beanfield and the more recent attempts hold a celebration at
the Stones during the Solstice.
Many, many
thanks go to Roger Hutchinson ,
Big Steve , Roger Duncan, Celia, Will ,
Chazz, Jeza ,Chris Hewitt ,The Fabulous Time Tortoise ,
Peter Piwowarski - ( 70s music site/photos ) Martin S, Steve Austin
,Traveller Dave, Herb, Tim Brighton, Vin Miles, Haze Evans , Noddy Guevara,
Chris Brown, Janet Thompson, David Stooke, Gary Gibbons , Nigel Ayers, Rich
Deakin ,Glenda Pescardo,Justin Warman,Brian F, Steve Bayfield, Kev Ellis, Paul
Seaton and many other minor contributors for their help in providing the archival
material related to these free festivals which has at enabled us to construct
the site .
Any info to add ?-well
don't just sit there , Contact
us
