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Chorley Folk Festival July Wakes . Charnock Richard . Lancashire. 23-25th July 1976. 15-17th July 1977. |
Ticket courtesy Nigel Cross |
Hi,
I attended both the 1976 and 1977 editions of this short-lived folk festival
with Jo White (where are you now?)
1976:
Friday 23rd July
Mike Harding; 5 HAND REEL (can’t remember who else as we didn’t
get there till 8pm)
Saturday 24th
Poynton Lady Jemmers (Morris dancing troupe); Almanac; Dave Burland; Krysia
Kocjan; Dave Cousins; Bernard Wrigley; Magna Carta; Bill Barclay; Ross McFarlane;
5 Hand Reel; Alan Hull; Kate & Anna MacGarrigle; Hedgehog Pie; John Prine;
Alan Stivell; Jack the Lad
Sunday 25th
Pete Farrow; New Celeste; Dransfield; Bob Pegg; Pete Atkin; Bert Jansch (with
Rod Clements & Pick Withers); Richard Digance; The Chieftains; John Martyn
& Danny Thompson
Five Hand Reel July Wakes Festival 1977 © Chris Hewitt Ozit Records |
5 Hand Reel closed down proceedings on the Friday night and were superb.
The MacGarrigle Sisters were a late addition to the bill and played late afternoon Saturday – they had just released their debut LP and again were magnificent.
John Prine played either before or after them – I had heard a few things by him but he was another gem on this great Festival bill – at the end Steve Goodman got up and they played ‘City of New Orleans’ together.
I remember lots of people getting up and dancing to Jack the Lad and the Chieftains on the Sunday and John Martyn and Danny Thompson closed proceedings on the Sunday night with a magical set – lots of his fabulous improvising echo-plex guitar work. But he ruined the weekend by scribbling an autograph in my girlfriend’s programme that said ‘f*** off John Martyn’!
Yorkshire singer Dave Burland was on early on Saturday and also I think Dave Cousins solo – and I think it was just Bob Pegg rather than Mr Fox (it wasn’t the great line up from 71 with Carolanne Pegg and the rhythm section had gone on to Five Hand Reel by 1976).
What is interesting is that they held another one almost on the same dates (Wakes fortnight was traditionally when Preston factory workers went on holiday)in 1977 – they tried to broaden the appeal by putting Gallagher & Lyle (I think) and Barbara Dickinson on as Saturday night headliners.
Fairport Convention played a real fun set on the Saturday afternoon (Swarbrick/Pegg/Nicol & Rowlands) – Gay & Terry Woods were on the Friday – Hedgehog Pie (acoustic version now including Dave Burland) played early Saturday. Also on Saturday I think - Otway & Barrett!
It rained on the Sunday but the Michael Chapman band were real troopers – Michael was backed up by Keef Hartley (local lad) on drums and Rod Clements on bass – a steamin set.
Later on it stopped raining but was cold – Leo Kottke and then Country Joe MacDonald closed the Fest and both were great in their own way – Kottke was then at the height of his career – a master guitarist – MacDonald rallied the crowd, playing his trombone and doing old favourites like the Fish cheer, ‘’Save the Whale’ and ‘the man from Athabaska’.
1977
Friday 15th July
Gay & Terry Woods; 5 Hand Reel (again didn’t get there till late)
Saturday 16th
Mary Asquith; Noel Murphy; Hedgehog Pie; Almanac; Bothy Band; Tim Rose; Ross
McFarlane; Fairport Convention; Otway & Barrett; Barbara Dickson; Gallagher
& Lyle
Sunday 17th
Tannahill Weavers; Paul King Band; Keith Christmas; Michael Chapman; June
Tabor; Alan Hull’s Radiator; Rab Noakes; Leo Kottke; Country Joe MacDonald
Highlights of 1976 were 5 Hand Reel on the Friday with the whole site dancing
or so it seemed! The MacGarrigles were totally enchanting – their debut
LP had just come out and they must have played most of it including ‘the
swimming song’ and ‘Talk to me of Mendocino’; John Prine
was excellent and at the end of the set he asked Steve Goodman to get up and
they sang ‘City of New Orleans’ which was fabulous. On Sunday
Bert Jansch was pretty good I seem to remember but the real highlight was
the closing set from John Martyn and Danny Thompson – me and my girlfriend
were already huge fans and even though JM scribbled ‘fuck off’
in my girlfriend’s programme when he signed it, it was a terrific way
to end any festival with all those echo-plex notes reverberating around the
arena.
1977
Gay & Terry played beautifully on the Friday – on Saturday the organisers
obviously hoped to attract more people by billing MOR giants Gallagher &
Lyle and Barbara Dickson to play but it didn’t work out; this was no
chicken and chips in the basket kind of audience! Fairport in their Bonny
Bunch of Roses incarnation played a splendid and highly entertaining set at
the end of the afternoon; ditto John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett with their
folk punk; Sunday the weather was appalling it rained till about 8 in the
evening – however Sunday had some of the best music of both Wakes festivals
– Michael Chapman with Rod Clements on bass and local boy Keef Hartley
on drums turned out some tough fiery rock’n’roll including a fine
version of Booker T’s ‘Soul Limbo’; but it was the two yanks
who stole the show – it was cold but Leo Kottke of ‘6 & 12
String Guitar’ and ‘Mudlark’ fame played a stunning set
that kept people fascinated even in the freezing cold – and Country
Joe was the perfect closer for 77 – Joe knows how to work a crowd (remember
him at Woodstock?) and he had us up on our feet with ‘The Fish’
cheer, ‘Fixing To Die Rag’, the great ‘Man from Athabaska’,
played his trombone and did the rousing ‘Save the Whale’. Nothing
like an old Berkeley radical to shake things up
Best
Nigel Cross
Barbara Dickson July Wakes Festival 1977 © Chris Hewitt Ozit Records |
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