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The Weeley Festival. Clacton On Sea . Essex. August 27th-29th 1971.

Weeley Recollections - Part 2

We've had so many lengthy personal responses for this festival we have now had to add yet another page making a grand total of three -but no worries - keep them coming, we will put them on the net !

If you attended the festival it would be great to hear your recollections, memoirs , whatever you want to call them , before they completely fade away- Contact us - and we will add them to the site.

My memories of Weeley were pretty sketchy even after I just left but I can remember Marc Bolan getting heckled, Rod Stewart, Barclay James Harvest and Hackensack . I was then living in a small village outside Southampton with my guy Jeff. We got a lift up from 2 guys that Jeff knew slightly, but didn't hang around with them. We build a little hut on the side of the car for the two of us out of branches, black plastic bin bags and straw. It was pretty cosy and I've still got the photos to prove it! I can't remember seeing any fighting-I'd remember the bad vibes. I've still got my ticket a bit defaced now as it's got some telephone no's and addresses from days gone by, that I scribbled on the back! How do some of you have such brilliant memories? Jeff if your out there anywhere it would be great to hear from you!
Jean from Lancashire

Hello There,
Stumbled on your great site,and it brought back memories, (surprisingly accurate by all the accounts of your contributers). I'm Leo from Tir Na Nog,and myself and Sonny were onstage inviting the entire 20,000 home for tea while the Hell's Angels were getting bashed just behind us. Look me up on leookelly.com. We're still doing gigs together mostly in Ireland, and playing with our own bands.
Sonny's on condell.net.

Love to hear from y'all.

Leo O'Kelly.

Derek Garland

    I was 16 at the time and can't believe that my parents allowed me to go in the first place. I lived in South London and went by myself. I was quite small for my age and was unprepared to pay the full fare for a train ticket from London. However, it was the only way that I was going to be allowed to travel and so I paid up. One thing that I have learned over the years is that good preparation is vital. However, the cost of the fare left me almost penniless and my entire backpack contained a sleeping bag and a packet of biscuits which were gone by time I got there.

    Unfortunately, I did not survive the full festival and returned on Sunday cold and hungry. I spent almost all the time shivering in my sleeping bag and only ventured out for a wee and for a roll and some Tomato Soup as this was all that I could afford.
However, there are a couple of musical moments that will stick forever. The first was the totally surreal atmosphere of being close to dropping off and looking up at the stars while King Crimson played "Devil's Triangle". The second was Mott The Hoople launching into "Ohio".

    The funny thing is that although we look back and say that the organisation was bad, I was at Ozzfest 2002 last weekend and it was worse!!

Del

Hi ,

Just found your site. I and a few friends were at the festival after spending the night in St James park London in plastic bags - no wonder the police moved us on ..any way we get to the festival by train get our tent up only to see it go up in smoke as some daft sod lit a fire in the camp ( the field was full of dry hay ) so we stayed the whole time in the field eating nothing but bread & cheese with occasional swaps for something more exotic......
Main things I remember are getting smacked in the chest by a Hells angel en route to the toilet for no apparent reason apart from the fact that I was where he wanted to be ?? The sound system was fair apart from the faces who wanted to use their own which was pure crap . I thought BJH were really good as I lay looking at the stars with Mockingbird soaring over me ..Great !
Didn't Rory Gallagher (the main reason we came to the festival) do a solo acoustic slot for a group that never turned up ? , he was , as usual par excellence ...the never ending cry of Wally will live with me always .

Trevor Robertson

Here are my recollections from
Weeley. 1971! Amazing!! I was 16 in 1971 and came to Weeley with my mate Colin. I was quite an organised kid and had brought a tent and cooker (which nearly proved my downfall... read on). Looking back without the aid of the Poster, the standout acts for me were Al Stewart, who came on and said'Unfortunately I have only been allowed enough time for one song, but it is quite a long one....' and then proceeded to slay us with Love Chronicles..... pure magic, and Barclay James Harvest who went down a storm and ran out of songs so that they had to do Mockingbird for the second time for their encore! I also remember Marc Bolan coming on and saying 'Hi.... you may have seen me on Top of the Pops!' He was abused horribly for that, but won us over with afantastic set. Poor Marc .... god bless him, one of the true superstars!

I retired to my tent (I seem to remember it being a 24 hour festival, and Colin definitely stayed up late) and next morning decided to warm up some milk on my paraffin stove ... INSIDE the tent.Dur! Needless to say, I spilt some paraffin and nearly met a firey end, as the stove was between me and the door. I was panicking to get out, but good old Col dragged me through the door and someone hosed the tent down, and only my fringe and eyebrows were damaged! Phew! I remember heading for home on the Sunday, or was it Monday, dying for a decent toilet (I just COULDN'T use the pits!) and seeing the massive crowd at the station, we decided to head up-track and clambered into the train before it reached the station. I think they must have put longer trains on for the event... those were the days! I had a fantastic time, didn't see any nastiness between the Hells Angels, but I do remember a few fires here and there (apart from my own one!).

Thanks for the web site!

Hello there, Weeley festival- I was 17 my first time away from home and myself and my friend Anthony Mahon hitch hiked most of the way from Manchester. We had a long walk in I can remember to get there early on the Friday morning. He was the T Rex fan and I worshipped this guy who had been heavily featured on The John Peel saturday afternoon Top Gear show- Rod Stewart! Gasoline Alley was the big album at the time. The Faces appeared on the Sunday evening just before T Rex and they were magnificent! Rod was in his classic pink satin suit outfit and they stole the show. I went to every UK show I could get to after that performance for the next 2 years! I distinctly remember T Rex being heavily booed and some cans thrown at them. I am told an original 5p programme is in the £100.00 bracket now! Other hits of the festival were surprisingly Mungo Jerry who played in the afternoon and Lindsfarne.There were rumours Joe Cocker would appear but he did not show. I can recall great sets by Quo(at the early days of their boogie might) Juicy Lucy,Mott (with Ian Hunter playing the Iron Cross shaped guitar )Barclay James Harvest (early Sat morning) and King Crimson in a very early morning slot. Head,Hands and Feet were also very good. There was also the festival ever present Edgar Broughton Band on friday evening who I loathed but still found myself chanting along to Out Demons Out! A dreadful set by Principal Edwards Magic Theatre and a great set by Hackensack (whatever happened to them?). My first and best ever festival and yes Mum the Spam sandwiches lasted the weekend! Now if only I had kept that programme!!! Brent Cunliffe Left : Shellshocked Hells Angels who had just been turned over by local heavies who were running the concession stalls.

Hi
Just discovered your site - excellent!
As an innocent 17 year old beer-head at the time, I've got fairly vivid memories of the festival. I think I've got the programme and Melody Maker's report (Faces on the front cover with headline"Faces wow Weeley") - I'll dig 'em out and scan a few photos.

The DJ kept playing tracks from the Woodstock album, complete with stage announcements - very confusing hearing of a imminent storm when basking in searing August sun. And what brown acid?
I always thought Wally began his fame at Weeley, but there is some question of him being at the IOW festival. Anyway, it kept us amused at the time.

Barclay James Harvest were very atmospheric in the warm gathering dusk with "Mocking Bird" - they also played it at the end of the set. Well - shame to waste the 30 piece orchestra!

Hi, Myself (aged 15) and two mates Reg (15) and Geoff (16) travelled to the festival from Cannock in Staffordshire.
Geoff and I hitch-hiked down on the previous Monday and spent the week camping at Kirby Cross nearby, and hanging out at the seaside resorts of Clacton,Frinton and Walton, where Geoff managed to buy himself a half of
bitter and a small bottle of cider for me, in some of the pubs. A farmer gave us permission to pitch our tent in the corner of his field next to the railway station and told us to see 'old Jack Wilby' the signal box man when we wanted some water. Jack looked after us all week making us cups of tea and letting us sit in the signal box, where he gave us digestivebiscuits and proudly showed us the framed photo's of his beloved Ipswich Town F.C.that adorned his walls. (Their goalkeeper Paul Cooper was a couple of years above me at school)
We had to duck down if the approaching engine driver was likely to be a nark, "case oi gets the sack" A lot of the local population that we spoke to were quite excited and proud that all these big name pop acts were coming to their neck of the woods.

The toilets were pretty horrendous just a slit trench with a couple of scaffolding poles to squat over and a bit of Hessian material around it to shield your arse from passers by, needless to say we used the woods after
dark instead!
I think it rained a bit during the night I'm not sure, but the site wasn't a mud bath or anything like that. It was here where I first heard the Wally (from Weeley?) call which became popular afterwards.
I've still got the official (folded newspaper) festival programme also half of a ticket.
I think this was really the very last of the 'Shambolic/amateur type festivals' as the Great Western Festival held in '72 at Bardney near Lincoln was very strictly run with massive fences and extra security etc, likewise the following Reading festivals that we went to.
I hope this will be of interest to someone....Happy days indeed !
Col Bennett. 2002

I was 14 and desperate to find out what a hippy festival was like..had met a few psychedelic characters and been reading Oz and I.T. that summer and had been curious about acid since watching the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour when I was 10..just a natural born hippy I guess.

I remember many intense experiences through that night and as the sun came up I felt disorientated and a bit scared. I saw a Hell's Angel crying over his bike which had been smashed up I just left the festival site on my own and hitched home - the fearlessness and the resilience of youth!! - and went home to bed for 2 days. My mother kept coming in and asking me if I was sure I had to the Catholic youth hostel to help out as I had told her these were my plans for the weekend!!
Weeley was the gateway for me towards a different way of living. From there went to first Barsham Fair in Suffolk - MAGICAL - as were later Barshams and Albion..Stonehenge free and others. Lived in an ambulance with my partner then a bus til '84. In recent years I have been to Uni got 2 degrees and now have a 'proper job' ha ha to which I am very committed. In recent years tho 'since 91 have by chance become happily involved with Dance/Party Culture in Norfolk/Suffolk. The seeds of an emerging anarchic awareness of the sanctity of autonomous (i.e. not 'controlled by capitalist interests') celebration of life and love towards the evolution of humankind began in the '60s and 70's and is
STILL OUT THERE. It is part of our great English tradition of dissent and free thinking and if dies through apathy and indifference the spirit of Albion dies too. Dance culture and E were till about 96-97 the descendent consciouness of festivals in the '60s and 70's. The trouble is that anything visionary with purity of intent quickly gets corrupted and rotten. Hard drugs creep in and various crazies sucking it all dry 'til nothing is left but a parody of the magic which once flourished.

Above ; the crowd awakens , dawn on Monday click to see larger version photo © Garry Bodenham

As to Wally myths... I heard that Wally was a guy giving out free acid at one of the early festivals hence the cry 'Wheres Wally' at regular intervals...Also wondered if he was the same Wally Hope who started Stonehenge free in '73 and whose ashes were scattered there in '78,'79? Anyway been great to visit this site if anyone wants to mail me they are welcome as I have sure I there are several kindred spirits out. My mail is lisa@bluart.co.uk. Love and freedom Lisa xx

Martin Cathersides
Hi,
    At the time I was living on Britwell council estate, Slough, Berkshire and attended the Warrenfield Comprehensive School (or Warrenfield State Pen as we used to call it)and as a 15 year old council brat to say that Weeley was a culture shock is an understatement!!!
    The first thing that comes to mind upon disembarking from the train at Weeley station was the rows of chopper motorbikes lined up outside the station, I had never seen anything like this before, it took my breath away. Walking across a field towards the festival site was another revelation, there appeared to be people living in holes in the ground!!!. As I crossed this field I seem to remember the P.A. was playing the Fish Cheer by Country Joe McDonald which was carrying in the breeze across the weirdest field in the country.
    Upon entering the festival site proper I was completely unprepared for the sight that greeted me, it was huge with very,very strange people wandering around, the stage seemed massive. I don't remember actually setting up a camp of any kind (although my friends and I must have done, in the beginning at least).
Edgar Broughton completely blew me away (first trip and I loved it). I often wonder what happened to the chap that seemed to spend the entire set laid out on the floor foaming at the mouth. Status Quo also made a big impact, in fact the Dog of Two Head album was purchased on the strength of their performance at Weeley and was the first "serious" album that I bought (I still have it).

Angels were being carted off in black Marias,hotdog stands upturned and fires lit, I don't remember seeing bikes being trashed. Just before the Quo set an Angel announced that the festival had been taken over by them and that if everybody did as they were told then it would be alright.
   Another memory has just occurred to me and why it should is beyond me, one of the guys from Tir Na Nog announced that his string had broken, why this stays with me I don't know but I guess it adds (however inconsequentially) to the overall picture. I also remember Stuart McKay mashing the remnants of his water melon into the floor whilst my tongue had swollen up from lack of fluid (I've never forgiven him for that). And John Norris who seemed to turn up once in a while looking as if he had managed to shower and sleep in the
best hotel in area, he was always sparkly clean.
One final recollection is the question asked to the crowed by one of the MC's and that is "Why does a brown cow eat green grass and only give white milk?" I' m still waiting for the answer.
Thank you for letting me bore you, all the best
Martin Cathersides.
P.S. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Nick here.

I grew up on the island of Cyprus, where no rock groups ever came to play. I was an avid Melody Maker-Disc-NME reader at the time, reading about all these great bands but unable to see them. In 1971 I was 15 when my parents sent me to Cambridge to take a four-week course in English, which I was already fluent in. I used this opportunity to get off the island and hopefully be able to see some live music. Little did I know I was about to attend a major rock festival! August Bank Holiday was approaching, and my friend Aris asked me if I'd like to go with him to a 3-day open air rock festival. As if I had to think twice! So off we went with the clothes we were wearing, with no sleeping bags and little food. Although there was trouble with the Hells Angels, I wasn't near that and heard about it afterwards. I do remember the 'Wally' chants, which by Monday morning had become very amusing. And yes: the 'toilets' were a long trough at the back of and outside the campground, and they were foul, disgusting and smelly as mentioned too by others! I have no recollection of what I ate and how I ate there, but obviously I'm still alive to tell the story!

We got there and were amazed at the thousands of people already gathered. We claimed a spot in the middle of the field. We bought those cylindrical brown paper bags to get into and sleep in, and were thrilled to be there. All this was on Friday afternoon. I remember hearing Thin Lizzy’s 'The Rocker' on the PA, and possibly Stravinsky’s 'Firebird Suite' before the first band came on around midnight on Friday night. I believe John Peel’s show was broadcast that day, but I could be wrong. Hackensack opened the festival with a rocking set, very good and just the right band at the right time. They were followed by the Edgar Broughton Band, who played a storming set which climaxed with the whole crowd chanting out loud 'Out, Demons Out'! It was magical and very pagan. After that I fell asleep.

Saturday morning I remember walking up close to the stage to see Gnidrolog, who were very good and who played a rocking set. They were heavier than I expected, which for me was a good thing. Juicy Lucy were fantastic too, plugging 'Lie Back And Enjoy It'. Later that afternoon I remember rousing sets from the Pink Fairies (plugging 'Never Never Land') and Status Quo(plugging 'Dog Of Two Head'). Tir Na Nog were pleasant too.

Sunday morning started with a bang for me. I had just woken up and once again made my way through the crowd to the front of the stage to witness Mott The Hoople. They were supposed to have gone on sometime during the night, but delays occurred (for them and other bands too). The crowd was still sleeping, but they played such a raucous set that by the time they finished people were standing up cheering and applauding. I remember a storming 'Walking With A Mountain' and 'Thunderbuck Ram'. At the end of their set, Ian Hunter attacked his keyboard and pushed it over, and Overend Watts (the drummer) demolished his drum set on stage! It was wild! Soon thereafter, The Groundhogs took to the stage, and performed a blistering set comprised mostly of 'Split' and 'Thank Christ For The Bomb'. I was in Rock Heaven!! One of my heroes stood literally a few feet away from me wailing away on his strat- Tony McPhee was superb! And to see Clive Brooks on drums was such a treat too, being an Egg fan as well.

Sunday afternoon saw Lindisfarne perform a good set of folk-rock songs, the highlight being a rousing version of 'Fog On The Tyne' which was or just had been in the charts; it got people to get up and move. Al Stewart's set was pleasant as expected. The Grease Band played a surprisingly solid set of rock music too. Quintessence were ok and very jam-oriented, but didn't make a huge impression on me. Heads, Hands And Feet were competent county rock, with Albert Lee playing some excellent guitar. One of the highlights was surprisingly Mungo Jerry, who asked the crowd to bang on anything they could to make noise. The sound of coke cans and bottles all banging together in unison was wild and got some of the crowd to get up and start dancing. The sun had just come out, and created the perfect setting for them.

Now we're getting to some more of the big names of the Festival. Rod Stewart and the Faces started their performance at dusk, and were magnificent! They were on their way at the time to becoming major superstars with the release of 'Every Picture Tells A Story'. Rod was resplendent in a hot pink satin suit and no shirt I remember, totally flamboyant clothing fit for a star like him. They rocked the crowd good! 'All Over Now', 'Country Comfort', 'Maggie May', 'Every Picture Tells A Story', 'Losing You'-great, classic songs all performed with maximum gusto and flair. Good ol' Rodney!

The rest of the night is a blur. I do remember waking up in the middle of the night on Sunday I believe (Saturday night from what others say) to whooshing sounds (VCS3) coming from the stage. I opened my eyes, saw King Crimson on stage and went right back to sleep with the music blaring away! I could kill myself today for having missed one of the greatest bands the world has ever known. 'In The Court Of The Crimson King' was the first album I ever bought at the age of 14; I knew every note of it by then, and had wanted so much to see them But you have to remember that the music never stopped for almost two and a half days; one could only stay awake for so long before falling asleep. I was offered dope but kindly refused(too naïve at the time). I was amazed to see people smoking ganja next to me and all around, amazed by how long those joints were (I swear they were at least a foot long some of them!). Aris had scored some acid, but I was terrified to take it and flatly refused to get high in any sort of way. I'm glad in retrospect, as I probably would have not had the recollections I do today of that fantastic event that I will treasure forever in my mind and in my heart.
I vaguely remember some of the other bands that performed. Barclay James Harvest played a pleasant set with Orchestra, but I've never been a fan so don't remember much of their show. I vaguely remember hearing and/or seeing Rory Gallagher, Gringo, Caravan and Stone The Crows. What a shame, as I love the Crows and Caravan! I definitely missed Van der Graaf Generator’s set and Stray. I believe Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come never went on stage either, which was a shame as I was in love with 'Galactic Zoo Dossier'.All in all, it was one of *the* highlights of my life on this planet, an event I will treasure until the end of time.
Sincerely,
Nick Jacovides (now 47, living in Boston, MA, USA). NJacovides@aol.com

Hi,
remember this festival very well. As I lived in Brentwood Essex this was a luxury. A fest right in our own backyard. I was 17 and had been to
numerous festivals,so my mates and I decided to go early in the week. The weather was good and we were surprised at the number of people already on site. We set up camp in the cut corn field. Little realising that in days to come this was to be disastrous. Camp fires were all too frequent and coming back from the arena would see tents and cars burnt out. We spent over a week at the festival and were fortunate to only have one close shave with the fires. This still resulted in one Don Brown getting his foot burnt.
The music was ok. Vaguely remember The Faces while I was sitting on the back fence. But the music to me was second place in what was happening outside, sort of background music. The night camps with people you'd never met before sharing porridge from a great big pot. Talking of pot, sharing joints and other substances. So many stoned people, with rolling eyes trudging across this corn field. Remember trying to get in the local pub across the road and gave up 'cos it was so packed.
Yep t'was happy days indeed!!

Regards
Dave Callan

Gee, I was 14!
I saw the full page ad for the festival in the NME. I stared at the long list of performers for days. I had to go! We were so poor at the time that I had free school meals. In order to raise the money for the ticket I sold my free school meal tokens for half their value. I even bought tokens from other free meal kids and then sold them for a small profit. Eventually I had enough money, so I cut out the application form from the ad and sent it off. Getting the ticket through the post was one of the most exciting days of my life. This would be my entry to three days of rock music and heaven.

On the week of the actual concert my mother and sister quizzed me on how much money I had. I had very little, so my sister arranged that I should meet her at lunchtime on Friday at the factory where she worked so she could give me some from her pay packet.
Friday morning arrived. I was alone at home and heard on Radio One that the crowd for the Weeley Festival was building up - so I couldn't wait. I set off immediately. I had no change of clothes, no tent or sleeping bag, and just enough money for the train fare to the site (but not for the return journey).

On getting to the site I spent what little money I had left on buying a copy of Oz magazine. I was now completely broke. I entered the site and sat down at the spot I would occupy for the next three days. Just me, my Oz magazine, my yellow cord suit and my flashy cravat. I felt great.

On that first day some people walked through the crowd tossing out free acid (at least that's what people thought - I don't know, I never got any). Hackensack were the first band on. Because no other band had yet turned up they kept going. They would stop. Exhausted. There would be a little conference, then the singer would announce, in a voice growing more weary with each added song, that there was still no other band to replace them. They played until they had no more songs left to play. I have a memory of them starting when it was still light, but finishing when it was dark.

Quite early on a bloke sat down next to me. I was a little put out at him taking some of my space, but he was a really cool guy and we became friends for the duration of the festival. Whenever he went for food he always shared some with me. I survived on his handouts and the food from the free kitchen (muesli made with water in the morning, bread and jam during the rest of the day and a plastic cup filled with brown rice and vegetables in the evening). Eventually his money ran out, and he too had to resort to the free food kitchen. We met a couple of girls and during Lindisfarne's set we lifted them up on our shoulders and danced around. When my friend let down his girl he asked for a reward, so she kissed him. I did the same thing and experienced my first French kiss. I was shocked and excited.

At some point I saw some Hell's Angels walking through the crowd, just stepping on people. One guy objected. He got very badly beaten. No one else objected. The Pink Fairies were not billed to be on, but had been playing for free outside the festival so the organisers let them have a go on the stage. They put down a wild set. Two drummers.

T Rex were met with boos and tin cans at first. Even though I liked T Rex, I joined in with the mood of the crowd and tossed a tin can which I swear hit Bolan on the knee. Eventually Marc Bolan came to the mic and yelled, "There are some people at the back booing. Well, you can tell them from me to fuck off!"

I got home around tea time to find my mother and sister watching news of the festival on the TV. I sat down with them and watched details of this event I had actually attended being beamed to every home in the UK. I felt like a hero! I felt like a man.

Steve (SilkTork)

As far as the bands go, Quintessence were pretty powerful but what sticks in my mind really was how good the Grease Band (Joe Cocker's sometime backing band) were; I seem to remember they came on toward the fag-end of the festival and played for ages.

Hi There, A friend and myself travelled to "the fest"stopping not far away from the site a few days prior to the festival,we had travelled from Staffordshire. I also recall the stories of an "Angel" death but never heard of any corroboration of the story, however,the ensuing mayhem,bikerwise, caused the loss of tent, by fire,and our meagre possessions,the tent not being one of them, a schoolmates I recall. I witnessed only an iota of the mayhem, people running around etc..as I remember the security was by" Joy Caterers"or perhaps I am getting mixed up with "fests" at Reading or Bardney in Lincs....and of course "WALLY" WAS AT ALL OF THEM!!! CHEERS, Martin Prince. It was fun visiting the website. My best memory of the festival is Mocking Bird by Barclay James Harvest wafting across the crowd on a warm summer night. The screens either side of the stage displayed the usual psychedelic images while an orchestra played. The crowds were appreciative and listened quietly. I lived in Clacton at the time and on other nights with my bedroom window open I could just about hear the music (about eight miles away). I was 24. My aunt and uncle came with me on the Sunday and enjoyed the atmosphere. They were in their late 60s. My 2 year old son also enjoyed it. I used to draw cartoons for the local paper at the time and my offering for that week was very enjoyable to draw. The Bat

Weeley was a long drive from home in the midlands and I recall a crazy "Keystone Cops" driving experience around a service station forcourt in the early hours of the morning on our way there. I remember the stunning performance by Crimson with 21st Century Schizoid Man, a very lively Rory Gallagher and Rod in his pink suit. Oh and being pulled by the fuzz for a car inspection on the way home - something about bald tyres. Slicks give more grip don't they ?!

Rog Harvey

At last I found some information of the Weeley festival on the web, so I can share my memories with others.
In June July 1971 I hitch hiked back from the Middle East. On the road I met a fine English girl named Michele from Liverpool with whom I fell in love. When we had to split up in Brussels she mentioned the Weeley festival as a possible meeting point. And so it happened. My friend Erik and I hitch hiked to Belgium to take the ferry. There we met other backpackers who were refused to enter England because of a lack of money. With hardly any money in our backs and only a sleeping back we looked like tramps. But the night ferry was successful; we arrived in Weeley on Friday and bought a ticket. From bales of straw we built ourselves a sort of shelter as we had no tent.

The atmosphere was good, there were no fighting , as far as I can recall. Campfires and the dry weather caused dangerous situations. We witnessed how an apparently innocent fire grew within seconds and burned down several tents. There was little water available, besides that, most people were too stoned to come into action at all. From that moment we decided not to sleep in our straw shelter anymore and we moved to the festival area on Saturday. We wrote messages and frequently checked the message board to get in contact with Michele, but with no success until Saturday afternoon. Right : One of the Straw shelters, not a good idea !

Erik and I were laying on the ground listening to various groups. Messages were delivered through the p.a system: "Phil, your brother is looking for you, please contact etc." And then the organization announced to stop with these messages unless they were urgent. After a while all of a sudden my name was called through the p.a. system: "Jan is wanted by Michele because she is pregnant. Meet her at the left side of the stage". People around me busted out in laughter and I could not believe my ears. (Does anybody remember this?) Erik assured me it was me: "So go man".
It took quite some time to walk to the stage; I arrived there when Mungo Jerry was on stage. Michele and I got in contact; she said making up a "pregnancy story "was probably an effective way to get through to me. And this worked out.
We went to our spot in the field and enjoyed that afternoon and night from a bit of romance and music, specifically King Crimson and Colosseum.

Jan van den Hoek (age 51)
Zoetermeer, Holland

HI
I chanced across your site, I was at the Weeley Festival and Marc Bolan did indeed announce that if the audience didnt stop shouting abuse he would leave the stage, and he did....but then he returned and sat on a large cushion and, playing solo acoustic guitar he played a few songs and gradually won the audience over, I was not a huge fan of his but I have never forgotten the courage (and the talent) that he showed that day.
A different age when anything seemed possible, I am still involved in music and play in a band called "tab"
Best wishes and thanks for the memory!
David Blunt

Hi All, Stewart Elliott Goldring of Gnidrolog. Thanks for the memories - I can hardly remember that much so I must have been there! [ if you see what i mean.]  Still playing after all these years - so is Colin. Gnidrolog reformed in 2000 to make a new album called Gnosis which has had some nice reviews.
Gnidrolog have a website at www.gnidrolog.com
All the best to everyone who was there.

Stewart Elliott Goldring

Hi,
My Name is Peter Walsh. I attended the Weeley Festival in 1971 with a pal of mine (Mark). At the time I was a big Groundhogs and Rory Gallagher fan (still am actually!!). However, enjoyed all the acts and thought Colosseum on the first night were fantastic. Memories are of Hells Angels' scrapping and Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople) swearing like mad! Groundhogs played a fab set (most of Split) and Rory Gallagher did a great rendition of Sinner Boy.
Also seem to remember a great set by Jon Hiseman's Tempest??
I have recently set up www.vinylswitch.com a website dedicated to people who want to swap vinyl...its great fun!
Best regards
Peter

Barclay James harvest did play at Weeley with Orchestra, my best memory of their set was Mocking Bird it was so damned good, I tracked it down and brought it. it was an amazing weekend, I saw Quo on friday 31st October just gone, my first time since weeley, still rocking!!!

Macca 2003

Bill Greenwell is definitely right - the Wally saga started at the IoW festival the year before.  I was at both, and there must have been a fair number who were, so it's no surprise that the 'WALLY' chant started up again at Weeley.  At the IoW in '70, my fiancee and I were sitting next to a crowd from Yeovil - sometime during (I think) the second day, in a break between bands, one of them said to his mates "Is that Wally over there?", pointing at someone picking their way through the crowd about 50 yards away.  They agreed it was, and started shouting at him "Wally! Wally! Over here mate", etc.  Within a minute, we, and others around, joined in, all shouting "Wally - over here".  Soon, hundreds of people were shouting, and before the next band played, the chorus was taken up by thousands around the arena.  The irony is that our neighbours never got to talk to Wally, because there were so many people shouting out his name from every direction, he (if he even realised it was him they were shouting for) never looked in their direction.  So, as I said, with so many people from '70 IoW going to '71 Weeley, it's no surprise that the "Wally" shouts started again during the more boring moments.
 
Returning to Weeley '71, (first of all, I have to say what a great website this is!) I'm now an old codger of 55, so it's understandable that my memory of it and who played what is growing rather dim.  My fiancee and I drove up from Southampton with two friends from work, a boy and a girl.  The boy fancied the girl, but the feeling wasn't reciprocated - the boy thought it would be a great opportunity to 'move things along' - it didn't work out like that, though!
 
We decided that because it was the height of summer, we wouldn't need a tent, so once we planted ourselves and our sleeping bags in the arena, that was it - we weren't budging until it was over.  And that was a good plan, 'cos we kept a good spot for the entire event, only leaving in ones or twos for food and toilets.  Enough's been said about the toilets already, but that weekend had a few 'firsts' for me, including seeing a girl take a dump!  Another 'first' was the first night, when two of our neighbours decided to make love in their sleeping bag - let me just say she was a very uninhibited (and noisy) girl!
 
But what of the bands?  I remember thinking at the time what an array of British talent had been assembled for us, but I believe there were doubts about the presence of T Rex, Rod Stewart and Status Quo, who had all 'gone commercial'.  Quo soon sorted that one out with a stonking set, and I recall, as many others do, Marc Bolan getting upset, but then coming back and winning the crowd over.  The Faces and Rod were efficient, but not, as I recall, outstanding.
 
With a little memory jogging from your other contributors, I also recall the Groundhogs doing Split (an album I still listen to regularly), and Barclay James Harvest with their orchestra.  The crowd was getting very restless at the delay before BJH, but that was all forgiven once they started their set.  Others I vaguely recall were Edgar Broughton, who got the crowd chanting 'Out Demons Out!' and Coliseum, of whom I was a great fan - old two-horns Dick Heckstall-Smith really blew us away!
 
I also remember a fire or two, but these were dealt with swiftly, and the roar of many motor bikes, when the Angels left in a rush.  Other than that, all I can say is 'I was there', but without too much recall of detail.
 
Thanks again for stirring up the memories!
 
Roger Gray

 I remember the weeley festival as a 16 year old ..it was great, I had forgotten about the toilets but it all came flooding back when I read other people recollections.After a couple of days my mate refused to go!. I had a friend called wally who never went to the festival but it gave him great cred cos everyone (apart from me ) thought it was all about him. I remember the crap P.A. and they kept switching between 2 different sytems both bad. At one point a girl called jenny (what ever happened to her?) climbed into a speaker whilst it was off for a better view, a bit unfortunate for her as it got switched on again whilst she was still inside!. I remember John peel helping out in the Release tent (what happened to them?) and I got a badge that I wore for months at all the local gigs just to look cool. What really stuck in my mind was watching the angels roll in ..all riding down the white line in the middle of the road.. (coool) and then seeing them beat up along with their bikes against a backdrop of smoke and wailing fire engines. Yes I remember the peace and love and somebody nicking my sleeping bag whilst I looked the other way for 10 microseconds.. never did get it back (what happened to that? - it was a green one).

Albatross (yes it's a sea bird?) Dave 

I was hauled off to Weeley by a contact in Release, the drug charity, to check out any potential problems with electrics for them. At the time I was working as the electrician for the Empire Ballroom in London, but was also a volunteer worker for Release. No problems with the single light bulb in the Release tent - but I got press-ganged into being temporary stage manager by someone who I bumped into backstage (I had met them once but cannot remember the name!).

The stage had been setup with a fork lift stage left and a ramp stage right. Two sets of wheeled band stands - one for setup and one for performance. Simple system - band playing, next band ready and third band by forklift. At end of band set the crew (under my orders) pull back band stands, strip cables etc and slide equipment down ramp to waiting vans - next band is rolled into place and starts playing within minutes if they want. Great system..... until the early hours when Edgar Broughton Band finish .
KERCHANGGGGGH ....applause - right lads get that kit away ....down the slope .. Edgar Broughton turns round when trying to do an encore to find no equipment on stage ...whoops. Took bloody ages to push the stuff up the ramp (very slippery).

I left shortly after and hitched back to London to open up the Empire for its Saturday lunchtime "ballroom tea dance" what a contrast!

Jim Pickford Perry

I was 18 years old when I went to Weeley. Three of us went down on the train and then met up with about 10 others of our gang of heads from Sheffield when we got there. I remember one of the lads dropping acid on the journey and then being very impressed by all the signs in St Pancras station saying "Way Out ".

When I got to the site I realised that all my money,return train ticket and festival ticket had been nicked, so I had to borrow to get in and ate nothing for 3 days apart from a mouthful of pizza. However, as I was tripping the whole time, I didn’t really miss the food. We had our flag like everybody else and I remember spending the Saturday afternoon trying to persuade one of our chicks to get into my Crash Bag. I had bought this on the way down – it was a giant brown paper bag with a very flimsy lining of polystyrene foam which broke into ten million pieces when we got inside it, with accompanying rustling noises every time we moved. This was while Mungo Jerry were on. I believe they were singing songs which seemed to be the kind of thing you might hear rugby players bellowing after 20 pints and an away win, i.e. a bit suggestive,nudge nudge,wink wink,say no more. It was so embarassing what with the rustling every time I tried to get going that we gave up and she went off down the front with another girl in order to see Rod The Mod prancing about later on in his pink suit. *

I recall a fire breaking out somewhere in the field in the hot sun and being totally freaked by it. I caught the vibe of panic and was overwhelmed by the desire to get out of the crowd, so I escaped into the field at the back but then realised that I was tripping, 250 miles from home and all my friends were in the middle of a crowd of 100,000 people who all looked the same. So then I had to go through some more paranoia before stumbling across them hours later and by now totally down. Then King Crimson came on and scared the living daylights out of me. I remember shivering with fear most of the night in that bastard paper bag. I recall Quintessence doing their Indian spiritual stuff but it didn’t lift me. I also recall poor T-Rex coming on to chants of "Bolan is a queer, Bolan is a queer, ee-aye-addio Bolan is a queer" from down the front which I think was probably quite good-natured and ironic but he didn’t take it too well. In the whole weekend I only went to that awful slit trench once, looked in and thought that I could probably hang on to it a bit longer.

On what I suppose was Sunday,our group split up to go home – some (the girls) hitching, but one look at the queue made us realise that this was hopeless so I scraped enough money together from mates to get the train to London and then a coach from Victoria back up to Yorkshire. I got separated from my friend in the tube system of course (he fell asleep and just woke up as I had got off – I will never forget his look of terror as he glided out of the station into the yawning black tunnel). I wondered around in the maze of tunnels hearing cries of "Wally,Wally" every now and then and by some miracle met my mate again at the top of the escalator about an hour later. I will never forget my joy in the M1 service station toilets.

Lastly to make the weekend complete, we got thrown off the bus 2 miles from home having not had quite enough for the fare and limped into our home village in disconsolate silence. His weekend had been much more successful – on the Saturday afternoon he "got off " with a chick nearby and he lost his virginity under his Afghan coat and the gaze of 100,000 onlookers. I think the onlookers probably got most out of it. This was my 3rd festival, having done Lincoln earlier on in the Summer (Byrds,James Taylor), beautiful, and one in Krumlin near Huddersfield the year before,when snow (in July) had turned the festival into a disaster area. The next year (1972), we all went to Bickershaw which was quite a lot more fun but it took me a long time to get over Weeley (about 20 years).
* I was amazed that I had remembered that little detail correctly after all this time when I saw one of the pix on this site.

Alan Ibbotson

Updated Jan 2021

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• Crowd,Site and Hells Angels PhotosUPDATED Jan 2021
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• Dick Wolff's diary : New May 2004! Another brilliantly detailed account of life backstage at the festival. Includes site map and Groundhogs photo.
• Geoff Noble's Recollections August 2009
• Lin Bensley's recollections - check this out, most extensive personal account of the festival so far.
• Bill Greenwells Recollections - The highly entertaining account of how a student in an Afghan coat became a key member of the 'security' team
• Weeley Recordings and set lists -Known recordings of the festival -updated , May 2009
• Where's Wally ?-click to find out the origins of this silly chant .
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