Steve Austin relaxes at Reading 1974

   In '72 I managed to see Curved Air and Focus, both brilliant sets; Jo'burg Hawk, Mahatma Kane Jeeves, Quintessence, Stackridge and String Driven Thing. The Three Tons of Joy were everything they were cracked up to be. Either in '72 or '73, Rod Stewart arrived in a bright yellow Rolls Royce. One of the girls working with us in the grocery tent threw herself across the hood of the car and was promptly escorted away by festival security.

   1973 was a great year for backstage banter with the stars. The revamped Lindisfarne were there, along with former band members, now Jack The Lad. So too was Rory Gallagher, Alex Harvey, and others. Gallagher was, in my humble opinion, the '73 festival's luminary. Italy's PFM were great, as were Genesis. Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel played a neverending version of "Come Up and See Me", that had the crowd swaying. I have the GM Records Ltd album that featured selected highlights from the '73 festival. 1974 had the weakest lineup to date, although Chapman and Whitney were superb. At the end of one number, when the band were winding up for the tumultuous last note , Chapman launched his tambourine into the stratosphere, it seemed. It hung there forever before falling to earth again. Chapman reached up and caught it, just as the final note crashed. Perfect timing.Thin Lizzy, Camel and The Sensational Alex Harvey Band get honorable mentions.

     '74 showcased G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars. Gerald Moore was a couple of years ahead of me at high school, in Reading. Actually, his brother, Nick, and I were friends and classmates at St. Annes Catholic Primary School. Gerald never got the recognition he deserved. He pioneered reggae in white circles. I have his 1975 album for Mercury Records, featuring eight original songs, plus a great reggae cover of Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door." 1974 did feature the can throwing incidents. Interestingly enough, we had the most trouble with theft and unruly behavior in the grocery tent in '74. Earlier years had seen the fans very well behaved, courteous and patient; forming queues and waiting their turn to be served.

    '72 and '73 saw our most stoned clientelle. One guy insisted on giving me all his loose change for "....a bag of air, man. I wanna bag of air." I blew up a brown paper bag, twisted the end, and handed it over. Another high guy came in for milk and cereal. We had Cornflakes. Looking at the backs of the cartons, I said, "Do you want the Royal Coach or the Centurian Tank?" He agonized over the decision for a minute, then swore and forced his way back through the crowd to the outside.

    An incident occurred in '72 which illustrates the good behavior of the fans, and how appreciative they were to have access to groceries onsite (Dave had been very considerate in limiting his price markup to a penny or two on selected items). On the Saturday night, with the tent packed, we lost power and were plunged into darkness . Myself and two other kids were working behind behind the counter. Someone yelled out to storm the counter. I was convinced it was about to get really bad. But the crowd, en masse, immediately berated the individual. Order was maintained and everyone was still in their respective queues when the lights came back on, some ten minutes later.

Babe Ruth 1975© R Novell

     So we come to 1975, which was the last Reading Festival I attended. The crowd was huge and mostly out of control. Dave's exclusive rights to the grocery concession ran out after the festival and he had had enough. Of the bands , Yes were obviously the prestige act. They had a fantastic light show and a film projected onto a screen behind the performers. The movie was a kind of fantasy thing featuring, in part, a white horse running through a thunderstorm. Steve Howe's guitar wailed in time with the lightning. Followed by drums and gongs for the thunder. Very impressive.

I liked Babe Ruth, Hawkwind, featuring their dancer, Stacia, Thin Lizzy, of course, Caravan, Heavy Metal Kids, Climax Blues Band, Dr Feelgood and Wishbone Ash. Wally, too, were impressive.

Richard Novell