© John MacDonald

We have several eyewitnesses - Paul Rhodes , who provideth this info .....

Hello,

I remember going to a one-day free festival on Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, near Duddleswell, sometime in the early seventies, probably 1971-2. Has anyone else ever come up with this one?

It was quite a small affair, and I seem to remember a band called the Musketeers playing, and possibly Brinsley Schwarz. I'm afraid I can't be any more specific as the memory is hazy!

All the best,

Paul

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Hiya.

Fascinated to see these pics of the Harmony Farm festival and I can add a few more names to them. We lived in Crowborough and remember Gary (who took the pics). He hung out with us while he was staying in Crowborough during the summer. Some of these pics were published in the local paper and I still have the press cuttings. I remember he took his camera everywhere and I have some great photos he took of me.

The unmistakable guy laying on his side on the ground with fag in one hand is Nick Willis - a well known face around Crowborough, I am sitting just behind him, but I am also the girl sitting hugging her knees in another pic. Nick and I are still together after all these years and we still visit Crowborough occasionally to see members of Nick's family.

Standing by the Happy Trips sign next to Steve White wearing the crochet waistcoat is Merlin South. Polly Perkins who was in the local band Ongle (later Sussex) sadly died about a year ago. One person who I am sure was there, but seems to be missing from the pics is Chris 'Lurka' Young. We did keep in touch with him for quite a few years and went to his wedding, but have now lost touch.

There were two festivals in this area not sure if this was the first or second one. I also recall that there was not a great deal of music happening - not that it really seemed to matter!! Can't really remember which bands were supposed to be playing, but did think the Pink Faires were there.

Ah those were the days !!

Jenni Clark

Gareth Tynan, who has kindly provided us with all these nice photos- has these recollections.....

Harmony Farm, Nutley 1971
I was visiting Crowborough and went to the Festival with a group of friends, some of whom set up a rescue station for those on Bad Trips.
The sign for the rescue station is visible on the photos “Happy Trips”.

I can’t remember much about the music except there was not much. There were problems with the equipment possibly because of the rain.

I spent a lot of my time helping the crew at the rescue station pacify one girl about my age (19) who was on a bad trip and hallucinating (she was horrified about something). I remember it so well because later she came by and spent a lot of time trying to acquire LSD.

I only took a few pictures as most people just spent their time waiting for something to happen, I was also careful that no one had incriminating evidence visible in my pictures.

Late in the evening just before it got dark we lit fires and listened to some music, at this time a couple came along, moving to the stage to dance, and as the music stopped again, they stopped at the fire (left) to keep warm. I think we waited a while and then packed and left.

My next pictures on the film are from the Crowborough Carnival and Bonfire (Second Weekend in September). This could have been the same day/evening as the film only shows the torch procession. I do remember one of my friends who had worked on the rescue station asking me to accompany him as he was going to take LSD before watching the fireworks,

I saw no point in taking drugs or smoking (I was into intergalactic meditation). The time accompanying my friend was a most interesting experience as he described his feelings, the colours and taste he was experiencing.

The field/site itself was probably between Nutley and Duddleswell, because it was on the edge of Ashdown Forest (which we crossed from Crowborough), and not in the village of Nutley. These towns/villages are in East Sussex and the Kent Sussex border is only a few miles away.

Gareth Tynan

Hi there ,

I lived in nearby Crowborough and was fifteen at the time.I went to Harmony Farm and remember sleeping out and it was quite cold for a summers evening ,mind you I only had a tee shirt and jeans on .I used to have several posters for this festival which are long since lost and I don't think that it named any bands but it certainly listed a macrofood tepee.

The location was Whitehouse Farm which is on the Nutley road as you turn off the Duddleswell road.The music wasn't great, it was only a small local happening, compared with bigger events that I attended in the 70s. I remember a plethora of bands from the big festivals at Lincoln ,Weeley ,Windsor and Reading. The only ones I recall from Harmony Farm were Amon Din who were either first or second on . Hawkwind , I note were thought to have played here but this is not so, Huw Lloyd Langton and Dave Anderson former Hawkwind space cadets were in this band and they played the best set there.

Der Pink Fairies © John MacDonald

Der Pink Fairies © John MacDonald

Hi, I was 16 at the time and myself and a friend Nigel went to this local festival as we were living not far away in Hildenborough Kent,

We both loved The Pink Fairies and still do. I recall the rain, The Pink Fairies ,Stackridge, the Hari Krisnah guys.

My friend Nigel got on the Pink Fairies stage and with a camera took a great picture behind Twink and his drumkit looking out onto the audience, plus one of a Fairies guitarist wearing a Harmony Farm T-Shirt which I also bought.

Up The Pinks,

Chris Gurr.

Hi there

Great to see the pictures of the field that was Harmony Farm. I had no idea where it was except it was the south of England. I had been at Weeley Festival working on the free food kitchen and heard about a free gig called Harmony Farm. I have no idea how I got there I may have hitched or got a lift. I was a few days early and there were just a handful of people and no stage.

Over the next few days the staging arrived – just scaffold poles and timber as I remember. I helped put the stage together and helped get some of the equipment onto the stage, I remember it was pouring with rain on the night. I am pretty sure Stackridge played and possibly the Pink Fairies but I also think some bands didn’t turn up.

In the picture there is an old ambulance which I think had been painted brown and had been at Weeley. I had no money but every night people cooked flat bread which we must have ate with a veg curry or something, and there was always something to smoke.

After the gig I went hop picking to earn some money. Great days , I just wish I remembered more!

Alan Delliston

Great pics. Thanks!
I hitched down the A22 from Lingfield.... Spent my last few coins on some fried rice at the food tent and spent most of the afternoon crowd watching. The music was kinda forgettable and the wait between bands was long I recall. As I remember it, Stackridge was supposed to play but didn't cos their roadies got busted...

Paul Birdseye

More Pink Fairies © John MacDonald

At this late date/advanced stage of memory fade/cardiganship I really have no idea which of the Harmony Farms it was, but you can add The Portsmouth Sinphonia (?) to the list of performers for one or the other. I am pretty certain of that since the Farm was probably the only festival I ever managed to get any sleep at – and the Sinphonia ‘playing’ Richard Strauss's “Also Spracht Zarathustra” is, I can assure you, the most unsettling way to wake up.

To tie it all together, this was the one at which The Pink Fairies played. Also there? I seem to recall Hawkwind at least trying to play – a problem shared by other bands. But it was fun (sort of).

Ah, happy days. And best wishes to Cowboy, Pooh, Mick, Suzanne (oh, where are you now), Jo and all the other wonders of the time who might still be around!

Peace, Love, Luck and Every Happiness to you all!
Mike (Prof) McRory-Wilson

Not sure why or how but just came across the page about Harmony Farm festivals. I went to both - somewhere I still have the poster for the first which stated " For the nicer kind of freak ". It was indeed organised by Tun Wells Arts lab. The first was nearer crowborough on the Ashdown forest - funnily enough I still go to the site as its full of magic mushrooms at the right time of year ! The second was in Nutley right next to the A22. At the first there were lots of PA problems but Stackridge and Amon Din both def played - I bought my first ever draw there - a quid bought over an eighth of good Nigerian weed. It rained heavily then went really sunny later.

The second was better organised music wise - Brinsley Schwarz and the Fairies amongst others including a band called Bastard which later morphed into the Damned !!! I know - I promoted them in 73 at a local free gig.

They were both beautiful events - my first festies. I am proud to say that 40 years later I have never paid to go to a festival but have been to many playing or bunking in. I'm now a university lecturer so that strong acid didnt do too much harm.
Thanks for the great memories,
D

I went with a mate from School, Barry Edwards, who met some of his mates. I remember the names Alan Cox, Andy (Maclain?), his girlfriend and maybe Louie.

Can't remember a lot to be fair; yes a lot of waiting around waiting for something to happen, someone's roadie getting busted (I have always thought Hawkwind's who didn't play) and the macrobiotic food which some hippie guy kindly bought me so long as I was telling the truth... 'you got no money'.

One thing I did think I recalled though was that a band called Bastard played who I always assumed were an early version of Motorhead due to the Hawkwind connection.

That's all.

PD

Hi
I was in a band called D'Artagnan who played at the Nutley Harmony Farm Festival (I see a former correspondent remembered us as the 'musketeers!) There were big gaps between bands due partly to rain and Amon Din/Duul taking ages to set up. Bands I remember were Open Road..Donovan's backing band, Unicorn, who later had an album out produced by Dave Gilmour, a jamming band called Savannah and others hanging around waiting to play from Stackridge, Pink Fairies and a number of 'ethnic' percussionist drum people who had frequented a number of previous festivals. We ended up going on last and as the previous bands had played dreamy meandering styles of music it provided a contrast as we were hard rock.

Trying to be modest here but we went down a storm and ended up closing with a hurried version of "walk on Gilded Splinters" which pleased the aforementioned drummers no end as they came on stage and played with us. Hawkwind's roadie (whose name escapes me) also joined in and it was great. The band was Pete Davies:lead guitar, Dez Eldridge:bass, Dick Gardner: drums, and myself : rhythm guitar and vocals. The only write-ups I saw following this were a tiny bit in the MM and number of local papers described how our "powerful guitar licks" had wowed the crowd. Have attended numerous festivals since (including Windsor 1972/4) but have never played at another though have done loads of gigs of varying standards. Those were fab times and I was really pleased to find this site. Bloody well done!

David Foster-Smith

Der Pink Fairies © John MacDonald

Brinsley Schwarz © John MacDonald