The Archive

For information on today's festivals see eFestivals.co.uk

Last updated Dec 2012

    The Ally Pally , as it is affectionately known to Londoners, has had a bit of a chequered past , having burnt down twice in its long lifetime , the most recent occurance being in the 1980s, so the building as it was for the tech dream technically no longer exists . As I've said before, its acoustics were utter crap - mainly due to its excessive height .

    In truth , it more resembles a Victorian railway station such as St Pancras than it does a concert hall.

   This sort of electronic display unit pictured right was also used at the Bickershaw festival in 1972. It seems like the operators couldn't bring themselves to go all the way and spell out the word in its full glory ......

   Other attractions included a fairground slide , various inflatibles and theatre in the round stages for dance /drama events. All in all not bad for the 60s in stodgy old London. Whatever we claim , I do not think that our scene was anywhere near as innovative and "out there" as the Bay Area in Frisco had been a few years earlier.The yanks had the Avalon, Carousel, Filmore and Winterland, whereas we had Middle Earth and a few on/off venues like the Saville and the Albert Hall.