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Last update April 2019.


Pop - Blues Festival.

Yeovil Town Football Ground ,

Huish

Yeovil

June 6th 1970.


Local band Legends warm up the crowd © Nigel Goode.

 

   Yet another tale of woe , typical of the early 70s . A financially embarrassed football club who held an outdoor festival using the club grounds to raise funds to cover debt and ended up losing a packet .

   The event was conceived by club secretary Dick Donovan, who booked up and coming band Yes as well as the Nice, who were a well known act by this time .Rather optimistically the club thought that 10,000 to 20,000 freaks would attend (an unlikely number as neither band was a top drawer act at the time ) thus helping to allieviate the club's parlous financial position. In preparation for the unwashed be-denimed hordes descending on the town , all local police leave was cancelled .

In the event it was a financial disaster, the club lost about 450 pounds, a tidy sum for 1970 . Of the two headline bands, Nice chose that moment to break up, and Yes cancelled. With no major names on the bill less than 500 tickets were sold. Fortunately guarantors of the event shouldered some of the losses, but the club was plunged further into debt. Burfield, the club chairman, offered his resignation, but it was not accepted.

RECOLLECTIONS

Chanced upon your very interesting site today. I have a little information about the festival held at the Huish football ground in Yeovil on 6th June 1970.
I am pleased that this little known piece of festival history has not been completely forgotten.
I was a member of one of the support bands playing on that day - The Legends. Shame they spelled our name incorrectly on the Poster.
I am the one playing the flute in one of the pictures.
I hope the other shots give you some idea of the audience turnout, it wasn't exactly full but I can remember from the time that a lot of my friends had no idea who the headline band were.
Kind regards
Nigel

 

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