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Last updateFeb 2024 -new images of the Dead onstage
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Bickershaw
. Lancashire .U.K.
Friday May 5th to Sunday May 7th 1972.
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On all sides one was treated to the sight of muddied stoned hippies
negotiating their way across the site. Needless to say there were many
casualties.
This was in fact , the worst aspect of an enjoyable festival. The Bickershaw Festival , financed by three Manchester business men, and run by Jeremy Beadle , local whizz kid, was the usual mixture of good and bad. The local farmer went to milk his cows and found they were all dry, some one had got there before him On the credit side there were plenty of facilities for the freaks- large dormitory tents dotted around the site, some firewood and polythene , plus a range of entertainment aside from the music , which included the Electric Cinema tent , theatre groups , an aerial display with six bi planes , fireworks plus assorted high divers, fire eaters ,acrobats and high wire bikers. So on that level it was possible to have a fairly comfortable time despite the rain . |
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Biggest
bummer of the weekend was the security
force, yes, those deformed thugs who managed
to turn Weeley
into a scenario for a gangland movie were
out in force and generally making their presence
felt. If you're going to have a paying festival you need security
but is it really necessary to hire a bunch of illiterate
gangsters whose only answer to any question
is " do you want a smack in the head mate
?
" One guy even admitted that he couldn't tell whether a pass was
valid or not as he couldn't read.......
There were numerous incidents , especially around the stage , of people
being beaten up and
harassed,
which is something you don't need.
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The organisers were greedy
, a fact made obvious when it came to concessions
.
There were at least two cases of concessionaires being overcharged
by at least 100 pounds. The exclusive hamburger
concession was sold to to at least three
people: one guy was forced to
raise his prices from 20p to 30p when a
gang of heavies from another hamburger
consortium threatened him . In addition to
that there were at least twenty food tents
on the site, a trifle unnecessary for 30,000 people.
Thank you Andy Dunkley for playing such nice sounds all weekend. Despite many rumours the local police were cool . According to Release there were about 30 drug busts, a few drunk and disorderleys and unknown charges against 18 Hells Angels who were busted on the way there. There were hundreds of uniformed police out to deal with traffic and any emergencies and probably half a dozen drug squad officers wandering around the site. The only good thing about the busts was the that the police had set up an instant legal aid and analysis system which meant that all those arrested were dealt with immediately and did not have to come back to court at a later date to have their case heard. the average fine was about 20 pounds although three people were remanded for psychiatric reports . The only large police operation came when 100 uniformed guys went through the site looking for a lost three year old child.. No doubt they caused a few cases of acute paranoia but there were no busts. Unfortunately Release's relationship with the police was better than with the promoters whose cheque for their fee for their services bounced. Add to that the fact that they had no electricity provided and food vouchers for their staff of volunteers and doctors failed to materialize and all this despite the fact that Release had offered some of the festival promoters the use of a bad trip tent to get their heads together. However, the White Panthers liberated a number of crates of beer, juice and other useful items to keep the wheels oiled . Thanks lads. |
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Aside from these hassles was the music which was generally of very high quality despite a somewhat ineffective PA .The stage , designed by Ian Knight of Roundhouse fame . cost 9000 pounds to build and was probably one of the most effective yet, reducing band changeover time to a minimum. On either side of the stage there were large platforms backed by screens so most people who wanted could get a fairly close look at the bands. On the screens there were light shows and close-ups of the bands in action, an advantage if you were sitting a fair way back. The local people flocked on the site to see the hippies at play and were by most accounts very friendly ; the Frendz staff even had a drunken knees-up with a bunch of them during the last few numbers of The Dead's first set and it was a toss up as to who was screaming for more louder when they'd finished playing . Power to the jam butty ! |
Bickershaw
was
not the bummer it might have been . Jeremy
Beadle has announced that they lost
60,000 pounds . Underground
press hacks wandered the crowd in a
suitably damaged condition . Many were to
be seen looking for earthworms
in the ground- at least I presume
that's what they were doing .
But the people
got it on . Hippies have a remarkable talent for surviving
in all weathers, under all conditions and
still enjoying themselves,
which is the only reason that things stayed
together. . Video
freaks got good tape of the
Dead and others- more of that in future issues.
The
Music
Fridays musical entertainment was pretty tepid apart from our old
mates Hawkwind(
Dikmik
gets the Frendz nomination for spaced oddity
of
the festival ) while Nik
" Thunder Rider
"Turner ties
with Dr John
and Zoot Horn Rollo
for the best dressed freak
who blew a cosmic note or two. Otherwise the poor sods in the
audience had to content themselves with anything
from miserable folkies
like Jonathon Kelly
to the equally feeble Wishbone
Ash. However, if you could stay
awake during all this mediocrity , it was
worth it all just for a glimpse of the immaculate Dr
Jon Creaux and his nine
piece band . Here is a real
showman , dressed in white top hat and tails,
his beard studded with silver pins , throwing Gris Gris glitter everywhere.
He made Leon Russell
look like Edmundo Ross.
The Doctor took his band , complete with horn
section, hotshite
drummer and two little
yummy gospel wailers - through the tightest
changes imaginable , playing lead guitar
on the stuff like " Walk on Guilded Splinters
" and unbelievable piano on the rest including "Twilight
Zone " , "Glowing
" and a great selection of R&B killers like "
Let the Good Times Roll " and "Iko
Iko ". It was all good show
biz voodoo, but don't think he isn't capable
of the real thing
.
| Saturday saw a morning of jazz which Frendz intrepid rock and roll reporter slept through . I awoke to hear Maynard Ferguson blowing his paunch out on "McArthur Park" and promptly fell asleep. An afternoon of folk failed to inspire me - Linda Lewis did her usual cutesy act ,the Incredibles were a trifle too precious for my liking , whilst Donovan did a "Greatest Hits " act which was nice. He might also be very precious but at least he's professional about it . Rock appeared in the form of boogie beast Captain Beyond a new American band who play the same old licks over and over and go nowhere fast. Tell ya , these guys are so hip they even do a 25 minute drum solo. Sam Apple Pie were a surprisingly good rock and roll band , while Cheech and Chong gave the kids some light comedy relief.Family played their usual set- a few hot licks and broken mike -stands, while the Kinks disappointed. Ray Davies - more effeminate and camp than ever ( camp in the Noel Coward rather than the Alice Cooper sense) as well as being pissed as a newt- led what was essentially a mediocre live rock band through a boring set. Doing numbers like the "Banana Boat Song " and " Baby Face ' didn't help matters much either and an encore of " Hootchie Cootchie Man " was nothing short of farcical. |  |
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Country
Joe was good, no more, no less and he left
the stage for the New Riders of the Purple
Sage who played a two hour set packed with
goodies
. Buddy Cage
on pedal steel and Spencer Dryden
on drums really stood out but this is a unit , now totally independent
of the Grateful Dead's
assistance. Nice harmonies , nice music , nice songs, what more could you
ask for ?
When Garcia and drums took the stage, the whole thing became a real festival . Everything was together and the Dead played for five hours maybe more. Fireworks exploded, freaks danced and the band went through every change conceivable . A beautiful "Dark Star" and a sizzling Pigpen work out on "Good Lovin" might be considered stand outs but really it was all music flowing like river . At 1am the Frendz collective slid off the planks , fell into the truck and hit the road south whistling "Casey Jones" and snorting boiled sweets |
| This page is a homage to the festival
and those who attended. If you were there and want to share your experiences
or have photos, tapes then contact me
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If you have any info regarding the festival please get in touch Contact us
Updated May 2023
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