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Updated July 2012

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The Reading Rock Festival. Richfield Avenue.  Reading  August 25-27th 1978.

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View From The Mud Headliners were The Jam ( who moaned about the sound system throughout -ultimately with Weller declaring that '..someone had stitched them up'!!!) - Status Quo ( we went and made a campfire!!) and Patti Smith (brilliant!) a strange mix, other acts included Sham 69 - with a bizarre Steve Hillage taking the stage with them. John Otway was as eccentric as ever !           David Birch

I remember Spirit were amazing and Status Quo were pants.
I remember enjoying Foreigner ( what a guilty pleasure that seems now ) and I remember Patti Smith being just amazing.

My first festival it was.
Slept in a mark 3 Cortina for 3 days.  Can't imagine it now.
Thanks for the memories.
 
         Steve Davies

Hi there,
Nice to see so many memories of these festivals - keep up the good work! Just to add to them: I was at Reading 1978, and Slade definitely weren't. Patti Smith was the headline on the Sunday night - a surprisingly good, tight, set. I adored Spirit at the time, and was delighted to see them live. I remember a chap next to me calling out for 'Looking Down', which I thought was pretty hard-core of him as it wasn't released until their live album appeared later that year. I missed the Friday (and didn't see any evidence of violence), but I thought the Saturday & Sunday were a very good way to see a lot of bands quickly (it was my first festival, y'know).
Cheers,
          Jeremy Walton

Lindisfarne © Stuart Alexander

Hi
As I remember it Jimmy Pursey shouted out ‘ let’s see some action’, that’s when all the skinheads jumped onto the stage and kicked shit out of everything and Jimmy started to cry.
By the way there were lots of skins on the first day getting pissed on scrumpy, throwing up and laying on the ground, several people gave them a friendly boot for being twats. I remember one guy getting beat up by about six skinheads earlier in the day, then getting a motorbike chain and wading into a group of skins later.
It was warm because me and my mate Phil slept in our sleeping bags outside under the stars.
Patti Smith was fantastic as were the Jam, Bethnal, John Ottway and Chelsea. Saturday nights bands were shit.
Very big thanks to ‘Sally Army’ for soup tent as we spent all our money on booze, (as any self respecting 17 year old would).

Gary Rogers

Pursey was totally hacked off with the aggro and it must have been overwhelming performing in front of around 15,000 people on the Friday.
 
It was my first proper gig, me and a mate camping, aged fifteen, miles away from parental control.  It was magical, I had already fallen in love with Sham 69 and found it amazing that Jimmy Pursey would spend most of the day hanging around with us idiots.  He was, and remains, a really genuine bloke, always accessible.

Reading '78 was one of the best experiences in my life, mainly because of the great performance of Sham 69 a brilliant live band who always gave 100%
 
Peter Stitt

Great site - great memories!

I was at Reading in '78 and '79 and remember it as a great festival with a mix of top-name performers as well as up-and-coming and, frankly, unknown acts. It also offered a good mix of musical genres which was not always the case in later years.

The Jam were disappointing for reasons well recorded elsewhere.

       Of the other acts on Friday, the Pirates were brilliant. How a simple rock'n'roll band can get a cynical festival crowd jumping on the first afternoon I don't know - but they managed it. And I remember the following year some time in the afternoon they played a short clip of their '78 performance on the video screen - and even that got a tremendous crowd reaction!

      I'm sorry, but Patti Smith was awful. The music wasn't too bad if you like power ballads, but my God, didn't she go on? What was that about a long tarmac road stretching off into the distance? We listened to her whine for a while then started building human pyramids. Actually attracted a small but amused audience of similarly unimpressed festival-goers.

     On the Sunday TRB got people singing "Glad to be Gay" - and this was 1978, remember. John Otway was special; when his microphone packed up (he was halfway up the scaffolding at the time) he simply cupped his hands and shouted... I always liked Squeeze as a band, good musicians playing pop-rock and with ladies taking their clothes off. Does it for me every time.

Paul Inder replies

Hi,
I just wanted to clear something up here - the poster Noel Churchill claims on your Reading Festival '78 webpage that I was in my early teens. I was not- I had turned 11 in May of that year. I was just a kid, not a teen, and my getting a slot on the festival had absolutely nothing to do with my Dad Lemmy.

I don't quite remember exactly how I got the gig, but I think it was through the (late) photographer Ron Reid, who took a lot of photographs of me at that time, he knew some of the festival's organizers. My Mother also had something to do with it, I must ask her...

BTW, I recall someone threw a can at me from the audience, and within seconds whoever it was got showered in so many cans it was unbelievable...! His one can missed but it didn't seem like any of the ones that were lobbed at him did! Ahh...

I also met and subsequently developed a long standing friendship with Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) backstage in 1977 Phil was a lovely guy and Lizzy were riveting to watch. I remember being in the scaffolding of the stage when they were on. I wish I had had a video camera, it would be priceless footage now.
Warmest wishes,

Paul Inder

You asked for reminiscences of Reading '78. Here are mine. It was my first festival, and because I was a student at Reading at the time, I walked over from my digs at the other side of town to the festival site every day. Because I'm a bit obsessive like that, I wrote down all the bands and running-order at the time, and luckily I still have a copy. They were:

Friday - Dennis O'Brien; The Automatics; New Hearts; Radio Stars; Penetration; Sham 69; The Pirates; Ultravox; The Jam

Saturday - Speed-O-Metors; The Business; Jenny Darren; Next; Gruppo Sportivo; Nutz; Greg Kihn Band; Lindisfarne; Spirit; The Motors; Status Quo

Sunday - After The Fire; Chelsea; Pacific Eardrum; Bethnal; Squeeze; John Otway; The Albion Band; Paul Inder; Ian Gillan Band; Tom Robinson Band; Foreigner; Patti Smith Group.

The two faces of Reading 78, left: Sham 69 crowd , right: Paddy Mulvenna and friends For every punk /skin at Reading there were probably three or more longhairs .

The Jam were pretty good and was hoping to hear them do their new single " David Watts". It was a good version they did, but I can concur with others on here that the sound for their set wasn't that great. Still they played well enough and I was happy. Why I remember Gruppo Sportivo I'm not entirely sure, but they were quirky and humorous if not exactly my cup of tea. I never got to see Deep Purple in their original incarnation so I was happy to see Ian Gillan. Didn't care for Tom Robinson much (part from "2-4-6-8" I've never cared for his music) and The Motors were just like an average pub band, not great, not bad either. Didn't do much for me though.

Have little recollection of Nutz, The Business or Jenny Darren but I vaguely remember hearing a few good tunes from Speed-o-Metors. Lindisfarne did a fine set. Nice to hear an acoustic guitar and matched vocals anyway. Always loved "Meet me on the corner" and I wanted to hear that bass line played properly! Oh yeah, Foreigner. Not my fave band by any stretch but they weren't bad. Always thought the were posers (they were) but they could play well.

Sorry to say I've never been much of Sham fan and found them little more than youthful anger. (We're going down the pub?).Pulled out my old Sham tapes a few months ago and my original opinion of them was still valid. Enjoyed them on Radio 1 at the time but would never have paid to see them anywhere else. John Peel was geting just a wee bit pissed off at the trouble happening. Wish I'd had my camera with me too.
I had a great time but I'd got live festival fever out of my system after that August and I've never been to another one since.
Aussie Paula

It was my first ever festival and many of your existing recollections sum up most of my experiences.
I was a punk (in musical taste) as well as still being an avid Quo fan so I was happy to see the Punk Friday as well at the traditional mainstream bands.

Regarding the Sham 69 anecdotes, I vividly recall a group of skins calmly walking into one of the beer tents [front right as you looked at the stage] and trampling down the wooden table that served as a counter and physically picking up the cash till. Don't forget this was pre electric tills etc, so it was just an old fashioned ring it up and put the money in the till. You then saw a group of 4 guys running with this till and the boys in blue looking like the Keystone Cops chasing them. If you had filmed it, the result would have been like one of those Benny Hill chase sequences. What was ridiculous was that instead of channelling down from the crowd and penning the skins against the fence & arresting them, the police removed a fence panel and chased the thieves out into the crowd. I don't know what ultimately happened, but all around me everyone was cheering the skins and "accidently on purpose" getting in the way of the boys in blue.

As for music my most vivid memory was of Bethnal's rendition of Baba O'Reilly - so much so I bought the album & still have it [33 rpm vinyl!]. I'd seen The Pirates at smaller venues and was amazed how they delivered on the big stage. I am one of the guys who found Patti Smith boring, especially after Foreigner.

Regarding keeping in booze once the money ran out on Sat afternoon [I was a student at the time], I made do by helping people open their wine bottles without a corskscrew & taking 1st swig as a payment. It's amazing how much wine you can glug when its free! I also recall being able to chat up the food stall owners and getting free food once the bands had stopped playing. The campsite was just a field, I can't recall showers or WC's but I guess there must have been some , at least WC's.

I didn't do another Reading until 2002 and I can honestly say I prefer the old style double main stage - there was more focus and spirit - but hey, I guess that just makes me an old git!
All the best

Tot Barling

Hello there,

my memory of the festival was when i was 15 yrs old and is pretty sketchy due to the fact that i spent most of it tripping my head off, i remember on the friday morning having hitch hiked from Cardiff, i'd just got dropped off at the reading junction of the M4 when i got arrested on sus and was taken to reading police station, (i had to give my DOB as 1959, so that my mother wasnt informed that i was so far away from home )i was then stripped naked and searched (cavity as well) i was then driven directly to the main enterance of the site and dropped off by the police, (the looks i got were pretty weird to say the least).

Anyway, i headed to the campsite set up my tent and then went on a walkabout, i met a girl selling acid so bought 2 trips off her and then got talking to one of the (Hells) Angels, who i think were doing the security that year, not long after i dropped the acid and continued on my tour.

It was the first year i'd ever seen punks and skins at a rock concert / festival, so imagine my surprise when just as my trip was reaching its peak, a drunken punk rocker with full mohican and safetypin piercings decided to jump on my back shouting lets ride the hippy, to which i responded with a swift judo throw, and a kick to his head, then to my amusement his mate said, "I dont think he's a hippy" passed me a joint, shook my hand and went on their way.

Anyway, i enjoyed the rest of the festival, especially Lindisfarne, Status Quo, Gillan and Foreigner, and the continuous chants of "John Peels a Cunt" - from that day i was hooked on the festival lifestyle, and from then up until 1984, i made as many festivals as i could including Knebworth, Deeply vale, Stonehenge, Glastonbury, Ingleston common and the psilocybin fayre,

I think its a shame that everythings been commercialised these days and that todays festival goers have gone from being "new age gypsies" to mainly middle class people who can spend alot of money on a three day pass for glastonbury every year.

Marc Downey

I was at Reading 78 as a 15 year old. My recollections of the Sham escapade : The mood was ugly before Sham arrived. There was much discontent from the biker and metal fraternity regarding the "New Wave" acts. Sham 69 were on stage and were useless - out of tune, out of time and out of their depth playing such a large venue. Various objects were thrown at the band, who in fairness were determined to play on regardless. Eventually, a well-aimed can hit the bass player on the head and he stopped playing, bringing the rest of the band to a halt. Jimmy Pursey had already made several comments, but finally shouted "If you don't like it you can **** off home", to which the crowd responded with a barrage of beer-cans and other objects. The stage invasion then happened as documented by other reports. I left the arena at that point. Peter

In 1978, I was a 21 year old architecture student from the States (Va. Tech) studying abroad for the summer. I had been introduced to punk rock the year before with the Sex Pistols and was immediately hooked. The first week in Europe (Zurich) I managed to see the Talking Heads in concert. It was a small auditorium (the Volkshaus) attended by a mix of disco fans and a small group of punks, and it appeared that it was the first time the Talking Heads had ever seen real punk rockers too, as the band members seemed amused and curious at the sight of them. Tina Weymouth actually came out and took photos of the audience during a break in the show.

During my last week in Europe I was in London on independent travel and found out about the Reading Rock Festival. As it was only a short distance from London...I decided to go.

That morning, I hopped a train to Reading not even knowing where I was actually going. After I got there, I just followed the line punks stretching out in the distance making their way towards the festival site. At the concert field I could see the 2 stages and knew I was at the right place. There was a line forming along the fence for tickets (queuing up is always observed in England and even the punks were very orderly). I sat next to a young man neatly dressed in his "New Wave" black dress shirt and thin white tie. We politely talked while waiting and I remember he reminded me of the C.W. Moss character in the Bonnie and Clyde movie.

Once in the gate, I walked around the field and was amazed at the sight of the huge beer cans being sold at the concessions. I had never seen such large cans of beer before. It was a typical dreary day and I wore a bright yellow raincoat to protect me from the elements (rain and beer).

During the early performances, I recall the bands being mercilessly pelted with beer cans...to the point that they were walking off the stage after only a couple songs. I can hardly blame them as many of the cans raining down upon them were still half full. Following punk bands would actually take sips form the cast off missiles and then hurl them back at the audience with great satisfaction. Of course when the Jam played, there wasn't a single can thrown. I think the crowd would have pelted the royal family before ever tossing a can at the Jam.

I attempted once or twice to get close to the stage, but each time was repelled by the crushing masses and ear-splitting volume, retreating to a safer and more comfortable distance. Considering the rough activities at the front of the stage, I probably was lucky I couldn't reach them.

That evening after the days music was ended I proceeded to head back to the train station. I ran into the formerly neatly dressed concertgoer that I had talked with while waiting in line. He was totally wasted and hanging on to two young women....his shirt torn and tie knotted and disheveled. A before and after picture would have been quite striking. As I filed down the road I passed a large tent where they were selling spam and baked beans. On their hand drawn sign it stated... "NO SPAM!" I thought I was in a Monty Python sketch! I was starving so I purchased a plate of beans.

Once at the station, there apparently were no scheduled trains to stop, so they radioed a passing train to stop. When the train slowed at the station, I remember the horror on the crew's face peering down as they saw the unwashed miscreants waiting to board. They must have thought there had been a mass escape from the local insane asylum. Sleeping passengers were rudely awakened to the sight of drunken punks invading their train. When approaching London's station, one of the punks on board pulled the emergency stop and he hopped off the train and darted across the track...ending a day of events that would ever be embossed on my mind. Unfortunately, the photos I took were lost when I forgot my camera that held the film on a train while journeying back home. But my memories are etched deeper than any image on film.

After returning to school that fall, I formed a band (the Evicktors) with my brother and friend and introduced punk rock to the uninitiated masses at Va. Tech. The influences from my experiences at the festival echoing through the mountains of Virginia and beyond.
Two years later in 1980, while living in Los Angeles, I got to see the movie "The Kids Are Alright"...which documented that first day of the 1978 Reading Rock Festival. I would love to find a copy of that film to relive the excitement and adventure I experienced that day so many years ago.
By far, the Reading Festival was the greatest musical experience of my life.

James Windsor

Hi there,

Great memories of '78'.
The line-up, atmosphere, weather, anticipation, all great.

A couple of memorable points:-

Randy California of 'Spirit' actually stepped into the crowd and played his guitar over the back of his head. I was in the front row and he walked right passed me. Brilliant!!!!.........

This was the lead up to Quo coming on stage. Being a Quo fan I was excited to say the least.

30 minutes or so before they came on there was a great surge for everyone to get to the front. People were passing out and were being carried over the barriers for medical attention. I found it a struggle to keep at the front myself and as the curtains closed and the smoke appeared from under them I found the strain of the weight behind me too much. I let go of the barriers and was immediately sent cascading 75 yards backwards......WHAT A BUMMER!!

Anyway, great fest. Met some good people there, even friends from our home town of Grimsby. We spotted one guy with a little tub of powder, sprinkling it into his beer. Asked him what that's all about. "You only need 2 cans instead of 8 to get pissed man", he said.
We tried a sprinkle and was duly wrecked after 2 cans. To our horror, when we got home, we found the Sun newspaper did an article on said powder. "MAGIC WHAT"!!!!!!!

Those were the days

I read your article on '78' some time ago and knew I had some pictures of it (albeit from a Polaroid instamatic).
I was in the attic this afternoon putting up a new TV aerial and spotted an old box. To my surprise there was some of the photos inside.
I've attached a couple. Not very good I know, but you might find a use for them.

Cheers
Paul Norman

Got to your site while researching Dennie Leigh [John Foxx from Ultravox - I live near his home town of Chorley and interviewed him for a Punk zine I co wrote between 2002-2004 called Pogo'til I die...long story!]

I was 15 like most of your contributors and travelled down by train from Cheltenham with my best mate Rob Goodwin for the Friday.
We left the station and followed the crowd- a stream of music fans and very few police early on.We got a day pass [which I still have along with a programme] and queued for ages along side the road.The field was sectioned off with a wall that was packed with posters - I remember the Devo pictures and how menacing those freaks looked. Once in side we spent the day about half way back just to the left of centre.There was a barrier that separated the two halves where the cabling ran from the mixing desk tower.

Don't remember the first act at all - must have been in the porta loo. The Automatics tried but gave into the cans. New Hearts fared better - the lead singer later went on to front that band who had a minor hit with Time For Action. Radio Stars' lead singer climbed the stage rigging and got pelted with cans but when he reached the top everyone cheered out of respect song I remember them playing was No Russians in Russia-mad man! Penetration were as everyone states - very good.The sun was warm-proper summer weather -and Pauline brightened the day even more.

I do remember the "John Peels a cunt" chorus and taking a family 7 square on. Sham has been documented - all I want to add is the hazy memory of the Sham army being escorted from the station to the venue.Like a Tsunarmi the traffic seemed to stop and this line of police herded the army into the venue-they seemed to just pour in- did they pay or get their tickets checked is all could think having paid some twenty odd quid for mine! Borstal Break Out was a highlight the field erupted and I got told to get off the barrier as I tried to get a better look at the fighting. The Pirates sweated to excess - old codgers who held there own -fair play- the tribute to Johnny Kid -Please Don't Touch- a memorable moment. The stand out band though was Ultravox as they used a light show -ie the lights changed from bright white to blues, reds etc - as it was darkening by that time-getting colder- first track was Slow Motion and I was mesmorised and later bought the ground breaking Systems of Romance LP - it was the template for all the 80s electro/new romantic stuff that followed.

I was a massive Jam fan and agree with everything that was said except someone did throw something at Weller as he walked on to the stage as it was my first sight of him live and thought he was cool to glance back and ignore it! The stage was bright white and sharp grey suites. We had to leave before the end of the set to catch the train but the day passed without any hassle from anyone.
My first festival and the best as it has left such a lasting impression - you felt that music was changing and all things were possible at a young age. Music was a life line to teenagers in a very real sense that meant you wore your credentials in the clothes and styles you adopted during days which some call the Punk War Years - here's to all of us who survived to tell the tales!

John Winstanley

I don't know if you're still interested in recollections but I was a young 17 year old at Reading '78 (my first festival). I had also just discovered vodka so quite a lot of my recollections are of a pleasant hazy nature (particularly dancing in a sort of obscene conga to Ivor Biggun!).

My main memories were the punk acts on the Friday and just that fantastic feeling of being outside at night with great music, Penetration were great,
The Jam were fabulous whatever their issues about the sound system, Ultravox overall were OK but 'Slow Motion' played on a massive sound system was one of the outstanding songs of the whole festival.

I also loved John Otway & Wild Willy, The Pirates, Squeeze and the unique sound of Bethnal (whatever happened to them?). I seem to remember Chelsea
being there as well (having seen them the week before at Torquay Town Hall with The Police bottom of the bill!).

On the down side The Motors were just switching from songs like Dancing the Night Away to softer stuff like 'Airport', Quo were tedious as was Patti Smith (my main memory of her set was of people shouting 'Burn the Witch!') Away from the music the toilets were disgusting, the tent next to us went up in flames from a gas cooker in about five seconds, skinheads gave the Friday night a bit of a tense atmosphere but my scariest moment was a Hell's Angel pulling a gun on me because I was wearing an Anti-Nazi League t-shirt. Bit much for a naive young lad from Worcestershire!
Nick Morgan

Dear Derfestival Zone,

First of all, thanks so much for this site – it brings back some really happy memories.

But there is one thing that’s bugging me. I swear that I have seen Wayne/Jayne County at Reading, but I certainly did not go in 1977. I went the following year (and in ’79), and I swear I saw him/her play then. The stage show was pretty weird and involved some big crocodile costume. Am I the only person that has this recollection?

I come from Addlestone, which is a punk gob’s throw from Hersham, so naturally I was delighted to see Sham play. Before their set I remember being puzzled to see a skinhead wandering around carrying a door from the portable toilets around on his head.

Ray Symons

I attended Reading Festival in 1978, but for just one day - the Friday. I was only interested in the Punk bands. It was a real experience for a 15 year old.
There were can battles between sections of the crowd and cans being thrown at the stage from early on in the day. The first band on - I do not remember the name - on the right hand stage (where Penetration, The New Hearts, The Pirates and The Jam performed) had an open piano. The can throwers were trying to get the cans into the piano. Every now and then - or it might have been only once - one hit a string and would get a cheer from the crowd.

I was at the Front for all the right hand stage acts and at the front for Sham 69 who were on the left stage. For the Radio Stars, the Automatics and Ultravox, I was on the right hand stage front looking across.

John Peel tried to stop the can battles by threatening to play Bararach, the Bee Gees and Andy Gibb records. I remember him playing some of these and the can throwing would die down for a while. He also got the crowd to chant if things went wrong. The chant was - John Peel's a c*nt. This rang out many times from the festival site by the Thames in Caversham through the town of Reading from the afternoon to the night. The locals and the Organizers were not too impressed and I think he got banned for a number of years as a result.

All the bands that I was up close for were great. The others - maybe due to distance - I did not enjoy so much. I was a fan of these bands and knew their stuff, but in the daylight it is difficult to get into it unless the band is right in front of you.

The New Hearts were bombarded by cans and their stand-in guitarist - with long hair - was struck above the eye by a can thrown by a guy standing next to me. Ian Page stopped the band and asked for the culprit to make himself known. The guy put his hand up and then pretended to be contrite. When the band started playing again, he started throwing cans again. I think this was the last New Hearts concert. Their next incarnation, Secret Affair, played their first gig in February the next year - also in Reading - supporting The Jam.
I do not remember cans being thrown at Penetration. Pauline Murray was very good.

The Pirates were excellent. Very powerful and very together. A great 3 piece band. Don't munchen it was a highlight.
The Jam were the headliners and good, but the sound was a little raged and Weller was getting really upset as girls kept being pulled out of the crowd past him and the sound did not improve. I remember him smashing a guitar at one point, but I am not sure how damaged it was.

Jimmy Pursey did come on after the Jam to lead singing of you'll never walk alone. I remember him crying, but at the time I thought he was just caught up in the moment rather than frustrated by the crowd.
Better stop there.
Cheers,
Tim

Wow.... what a gem of a page.
That was my one and only festival and I went because Quo were playing.
I was 17 at the time and went with my brother, then aged 25, who was a festival veteran.
It has a particularly poignant place in my memory as my brother was to be involved in a serious motorbike accident soon after suffering permanent personality change.
Oddly enough, I remember we almost didn’t get in as I stepped directly in front of some huge biker on a huge bike and had to jump (literally) for my life.

The weather was warm..... warm enough to be swimming in the Thames!

Slade were not there! 100% definitely not!
The 69ers did riot all down one side of the field, to the right of the stage as you looked at it. They trashed a lot of the stalls as well as laid into the hippys. But that was the only trouble all weekend.

Highlights were undoubtedly the Pirates. They went down a storm with everyone, punk, hippy and rocker alike. For me the best band of the weekend.

Personally, I thought Quo were as good as Quo get. Bit hard done by I think, reading other comments. That’s who I went to see and I was not disappointed.

As I recall Spirit were roundly booed as were the Motors but only because there was a problem with the Quo set-up and they had to keep playing until the problems were sorted, which seemed an eternity.

I remember seeing Bethnal and Squeeze for the first time (I believe both were making there debuts outside of the London pub circuit)and I went straight out after the festival and bought their albums. Still have them.

Albion were good. Bloody good.

Paul Inder was awful but he got his fair share of patience from the crowd around me as he was only a kid. I recall he did get some barracking but that was put down by the more understanding members of the audience.

I thought Patti Smith was awful but my brother was of the complete opposite opinion.

Another vivid memory was the constant chanting of “John Peel’s a c**t” every time he took to the stage which he himself actually instigated and led.
Didn’t make any sense to me.

And he became particularly angry when someone threw a bag of flour at him on stage.

The biggest disappointment I recall was people at the back throwing beer cans (many full) at people in the front. Being in the middle, we did seem to be constantly looking over our heads just in case.

All in all, a great weekend and one of my fondest memories.

Ian Rayment

With Reading underway in 2010 and my 17 year daughter camping in the rain I was reminded of my own trip to Reading in 1978 when I was 18. It was a real experience which is indelibly written on my brain so thank you for your site to remind me! We turned up in a re-sold yellow post office van that my friend Geoff had bought for £25 and with due respect for all the Punk fans on this site we were looking forward to Patti Smith and Status Quo and only went on Friday because we had paid for the ticket! I had honestly never heard of the Jam or Sham 69 and although video may prove me wrong I thought the Jam set was really good. This might have been a consequence of rather large amounts of beer that had been drunk earlier in the day!

To be honest Saturday was not really that great for us. Some of your contributors say it was a hot day but I remember sheltering under a large tarpaulin for quite a lot of it. We also found ourselves sitting next to a 15 strong Hells Angel chapter which while a little unnerving was oddly quite convenient as no-one threw any cans at us. Sunday was great really and I can still remember the Tom Robinson Band but Patti Smith was quite rambling if I remember correctly. The song of the moment was "Because the Night" and she did not sing that very well at all. As I drove my new Jag into the Guest drop off Zone tonight I had a pang of nostalgia for the old post office van and the good times we had at this most excellent 1978 festival. I wonder whether they have more than two working toilets now… I am not entirely sure the half full cans referred to by another contributor were really half full of beer.

Thank you for your site and the memories it has brought back.

Best regards

Colin Mckenzie

Hi, just found your site and I can add my sixpence worth to your Reading 1978 reports. I'd been added to the bill somehow (my manager at the time was a banker, perhaps that's how...) and I was the poor bugger that opened the show on the Friday. To put the record straight I was a New Zealander and I hadn't won any contest but I'd had a few records out and was awaiting the release of my first lp. We'd got together a ten piece band and I did originals and a few covers. I was happy as larry but I hadn't encountered the punks and the skins and the general level of agitation! I had a grand piano on my left of the stage and cans of beer would rebound off it - it really wouldn't have mattered what I was playing, I still would've copped it. But I didn't like those Watney Party Seven cans, they were nasty and some of them were half full. I was as much concerned for the three back up girls, but we did our whole set safely. It passed in a blur, and just to reply to one of your letter writers - no, I wasn't near tears, oddly enough I was exhilarated - we'd played well and WE GOT OFF ALIVE!

A good mate from NZ and my late sister-in-law came up with me and were in an area for guests etc. between two stages. Cans went over their heads continuously from one crowd to the other. How unlike the home life of our own dear Queen....

Anyway, my band had several members of the Gerry Rafferty band at that stage because we shared the same producer Hugh Murphy, but I was listed as just Dennis O'Brien. I wasn't on the poster as I was added only a few weeks before but I'm on the track listing.

There was a film shot of my act but God knows where it went. I remember after the gig I was having a beer in the liggers tent and a young West Indian guy, I think he was the bass player for one of the later bands came up to me and said, you did good man - and that just about more than anything has stayed with me since.

I got a rotten review from John Peel but that's alright - I've got a review from John Peel! That'll do me. And yes, I wore a shirt with a dragon on the back, but the band didn't. I've still got the shirt, though oddly enough at age 62 it doesn't fit me so well.
I had a great band and i loved it all - even with the watney's party sevens whizzing past.

Kind regards,

Dennis O'Brien

Reading Rock Festival 1978
My first ever festival and an indelible memory or so I thought, but on reading these reviews I feel that the beer must have addled my brain.
If I have a few facts wrong, then I apologise but this has been my recollection for nearly 34 years
Anyway memories - well impressions really.
Mark, Will and me borrowing our mate Andy’s tent which weighed a ton, could sleep hundreds and was full of holes and then Andy turning up, unannounced, on Saturday and finding his tent amongst thousands – god knows how.
Going to the supermarket, buying beer cans and putting them in the tent and they didn’t get nicked and then tying cans onto our belts using those plastic holders.
A trip to the pub, it’s the one under the railway bridge, near the station, and drinking 6 pints of Directors on an empty stomach. (I can’t even smell the stuff to this day without feeling queasy)
Ending up in the park and being very, very ill on a roundabout. (with apologies to Jon Anderson - 'Vomit comes out of the Sky and it stands there!')
Watching Sham 69 and Jam fans batter each other and then the bikers moving in to batter whoever was left.The running battles were pretty bad.
The best band on Friday being the Pirates, by a mile.
Every Jam song seemed to have the word ‘city’ in it. (I am from rural East Anglia, perhaps that's why I never really got Punk!)
Everyone a night continually yelling 'Wally'.
Realising that Randy California was not Jimi Hendrix.
The sky being full of cans and a girl covered in blood after being hit by a piss filled ‘Watney's Party 7’.
A large flag which blocked everyone’s view, being pulled down and set on fire by six bikers.
The constant smell of smoke, burgers, chips, shit and strange things I did not recognise.
Very stoned and or pissed people leaping off the bridge in to the river. (Very sadly a few years later a bloke I had vaguely heard of through work, was pulled out of that river a few days after the festival)
Being a Prog Rock fan, loving Status Quo just for being a perfect festival band.
Being very disappointed by Ian Gillan who seemed to be in a jazzy phase at that point, something he, thankfully, grew out of.

John Howson

Program of artistes ( in order of appearance . list courtesy Paul Steeples)

Prize for band "most likely to be in the wrong place at the wrong time "goes to the folk outfit the Albion Band , totally out of place amongst this lot, yet apparently they went down quite well. Which is nice to hear .....

Recordings and Setlists

"The Kids are United"- no hang on, no they aren't ,we've changed our minds, ,they're "Kids Like Me and You .....

Confused, so are we. But it s just the record companies buggering about as usual. Apparently v arious versions of the film " The Kids are United", have been released over the years , Its also been called "Kids Like Me And You " its been resurrected for a showing at the Montreal Film Festival in 2011

Status Quo Sat 26th August   Caroline Roll Over Lay Down Backwater Rockers Rollin Is There A Better Way You Don't Own Me Hold You Back Rockin All Over The World Dirty Water 4500 Times Big Fat Mama Don't Waste My Time Roadhouse Blues Rain Down Down Drumsolo Bye Bye Johnny

The early festivals.

You can find out the complete line ups of the first festivals if you follow the links below .

1961

1962

1963

1964

Festivals 1965-1990

Most of these have fairly complete documentation .But new contributions of any sort are always welcome regarding any of the festivals.

Richmond 1965	Windsor 1966	Windsor 1967	Sunbury 1968	Plumpton 1969
Plumpton 1970	Reading 1971	Reading 1972	Reading 1973	Reading 1974
Reading 1975.	Reading 1976	Reading 1977	Reading 1978	Reading 1979
Reading 1980	Reading 1981	Reading 1982	Reading 1983	Reading 1984/5
Reading 1986	Reading 1987	Reading 1988	Reading 1989	Reading 1990

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