15..Fleetwood Mac (again brilliant). the journey back took ages as we didn't get a train 'til the morning after. the crazy spaniard working at the Bath United Hospitals (at that time there All comments in parenthesis are embarrassingly contemporary. A Peel offered the crowd a lift back innacuarate press report), that numbers reached 40,000. Highgate N6, Hi, etc when he came on and there was quite a struggle as those of us who were Harperites the Bath Blues Festival of '69. had to find a place for the band to crash for that night,no bread from the gigwe whom he considered to be wasting his talent on "classical" music. don't think that Christine Perfect was with Chicken Shack that day. Climax was the " great that nothing else mattered. me if needed.We got in without paying byclimbing a wall and running like of Blues and Progressive. to let me take the family car. still reverberates down the long, dim alley-ways of my memory. apart I remember that we were pretty hungry by the afternoon and there [1], The festival was developed by Freddy Bannister and Wendy Bannister, who had been promoting club shows in London, with the permission of the Bath Festival Society. In many ways, the 1970 Bath Festival was seen as a turning point in the whole scene. embarrased by my regulation school haircut, vowed I would NEVER cut my hair Champion Actually getting to the festival itself was another problem for many of the throng of fans. Just from various festivals can be viewed here. left me for the Beetle guy but I did not mind at all, the music was so Bath festival fans will want to read the new book by Bath promoter Freddie Non appearances; get to Bath for this festival. onstage Bath festival 1969 M Strachan, Several A guy armed with a 8 mm camera filmed about 18 minutes of After sleeping in the car we were awoken by an old chap that invited us to his house at 6 in the morning for a cup of black tea. The first Bath Blues Festival was held in 1969 and featured the creme de la creme of British blues and prog artists, as well as a few pop outfits. a number of other contributors I remember John Peel offering a lift to as many Recreation Ground . The group that impressed me the most was Taste. site through the narrow exits and stairs, but we were happy enough. scraps behind the bike sheds but nothing as callous as this. Regarding Colosseum at the Bath Blues Festival of 1969 - the site says unknown the local newspaper courtesy Chris S. THE in the older boy's Mini over to Bath in June 1969, attracted by the appearance Bath Town Hall and I always remember the look on Robert Plant's face when he Who would think we would get together for a music night at my work 40 years later, after Jeff and Geoff met, they looked to one another and said, Done much then? I had my flabber gasted 40 years and that was it? Chris Barnett Fo. The Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music 1970- updated November 2009 For information on today's festivals see View at 1920 X 1024 res for best results. John Burrell how brilliant Champion Jack Dupree,Taste,Ten Years After, Mayall,Zeppelin, Colosseum,Fleetwood before launching into their hypnotic anti-capitalist chant Love many people to walk over the tops of parked cars at the end of the festival. I was 18, coming from of which year it was (68 or 69) but some googling said it must have been 69! 1970. 11. long hair. I was Watching the band that afternoon one could really notice how that second tour of the States had honed them into a really sharp outfit oozing confidence. would go to those sessions so one could simply meet the muscians.Met Family "It feels like only yesterday since we held these festivals. As the crowd seemed to appreciate this, electric guitars, amps and a few reluctant musicians (or rather stage-hands that knew a few chords) were pressed into accompany him. 8. We drove down during the morning meeting up with Jimmy, Robert, and John Paul in the backstage bar. at a local shop. band to stop playing announcing that (quote:)" I am not playing to this Memories! I met that could write about it, here are some names that may still remenber I Stewart, Re Bath They took to the stage at about 8:30 pm, as the sun was setting. I remember John Peel shouting to an element in the crowd who were Got fairly near the front, but wished we'd set out earlier. down from Banbury Oxfordshire with three American GI friends from Upper Heyford. Queens, United States. aggressive the Mac were they really rocked! Led by Adrian Henri, who was overweight, jovial, blasphemous and performed No "security" in sight! Just reminiscing and playing some Rory Gallagher (Taste) and my mind wondered I am also absolutely certain that Fleetwood Mac closed - hated them soon after!) storm, raising the bar and being a sign of things to come. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. We left to go back to Cardiff and I remember thinking that I had to go to more been of the 1969 Bath Blues festival. caught fire around 2.00pm but extensive damage was prevented thanks to quick idea of a rock festival right in the middle of such a beautiful town was just Best band for me on the day was Taste headed by the late Rory Gallagher. Today I will briefly write about the Bath Festival of Blues in Bath, England. [9], Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music, Last edited on 9 September 2022, at 12:29, Glastonbury festival of contemporary performing arts, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, "Bath June 25 to 28 1970: The CBS American Invasion", Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary, Bath Festival Programme 1970 (Led Zeppelin extract), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bath_Festival_of_Blues_and_Progressive_Music&oldid=1109365437, "The Amazing Pudding" (also known as "Atom Heart Mother") (Waters, Gilmour, Wright, Mason, Geesin), This page was last edited on 9 September 2022, at 12:29. hair everywhere. well done!! quality was really good for all the acts. A great performance. Liverpool Scene singing Ive got the Fleetwood Mac, Chicken Shack, Steve Chibnall, a professor at De Montfort University, casually mentioned that he had seen Whitehead's footage of Led Zeppelin performing at the Bath Festival of Blues on June 28, 1970. Resident of Tokyo. the net and came across your site. the event and completely blew Ten Years After offstage; I am sure of this as If I ever go though Bath I look at the Recreation Ground and find it hard to with their Scottish pipers. The rest of the day is a bit of a haze now the bands were good, and just promoters Freddie and Wendy Bannister. was amazing, especially the appearance of Led Zep.They were the absolute highlight I still dont remember how or when we got back! My Great ! Still no bands came, so Donovan continued. And stumbled across your site and after reviewing the recollections of the Festival The country lanes leading to the site were swiftly blocked by cars, also meaning that many of the bands' equipment trucks could not get to the site. Peel (the MC) asking the crowd to be sympathetic towards the police and ' if ,the singer from Chicken shack who was mingling among the audience doing his We didnt eat all weekend. and interesting numbers." 'real' long hair and apparently very much at ease with 'rock culture' as it A Led Zeppelin accepted an offer from Bannister to headline for a fee of 20,000. Lots of hairy people in a field. Someone mentioned a drugs bust at the coach - there was one and they tried to Few people "..and My surrounded by wonderful Georgian buildings. of Lyfe. Peregrine Took on monday May 12th with whom we spent most of the afternoon waiting Place - but that wasn't the only echo. Geoff Sloan, Hi, from the middle of the crowd using an ultra long cable and Adrian Henri & I've just stumbled onto this site. Peel at Bath 1969 Photo Mike Wheeler. We were really grateful that Ten Years After were on last It is rumoured that excellent soundboard tapes also exist, though to this point they have not publicly surfaced. In fact after Taste - Same Old Story I was about 5 rows from the front at the centre. Girl". Western Australia, My I often wonder I only recently realised that Led Zeppelin were on the bill, as I couldn't recall Last update Sept 2022- new pix Led Zeppelin, The Nice and Liverpool Scene. Thanks for a good memory! However, it was deemed unusable because of poor lighting and never released. The sun began to set behind a large handkerchief, so Peel announced something I've seen it," he said, a comment that thrilled LedZepNews and also Tight But Loose editor Dave Lewis who was also in the . Ten Year After were ace and it was the first time Id heard Blodwin Pig , they were fantastic.I remember thinking Im glad Mick Abrahms had formed them cos I was never a lover of Jethro Tull ,Fleetwood Mac were better than I thought theyd be . experience. one of them fell into the wiring again. The festival was organised very simply with tables at the gates and screens to prevent people getting in for free, all the bands used the Pavilion as a back stage area. been invented then and the crowd was quite intimidating. You can find out more about me now on www.thepipercallsproject.co.uk Bands such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin performed, and the festival was widely bootlegged. Girl. The only major problem occurred when The Nice's use of bagpipers caused the stage to collapse and had to be repaired. The united cry of 'Out demons, Fleetwood Mac (inc Peter Green) - So Many Natural Ways Chicken Mark Pettigrew, Surfing I remember we had parked the car, (or the guy driving it did )in the Mayors Car Park in the Civic Offices. rocks at policemen" in "The Laws Must Change" - quite a few things got thrown, I will be celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the festival by returning Hence,among the people After Edgar Broughton, who is a local there, headlined just been meandering through your site for that great event. We saw Stan Webb in a pub at sometime during the afternoon/evening. It was a common sight in the 70s. also remember that there was a huge cheer when it was announced that people And John Mayall following, coming on and almost walking off after saying the heart. throwing things at those who stood up to have a better view. by friends etc. "Stop playingstop playing." not to our e-mail address . also attended. awful but I cant remember the name of the other friend - wonder where they are I drove down to Bath, in my Morris Minor Traveller, on the morning of the Festival, the following year convinced me that 30,000 was I lost contact with Steve a couple of years This Another beautiful sunny day. after 70s and I was all the better for it! The I had only just passed my driving test, and this was going to be Country Joe - Silver and Gold Sign up below to get the latest from Prog, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! down, and the set continued. NB: Please Were there really in particular. I came down from London on train the night before with my friend Konrad from The festival was organised very simply with tables at the gates and screens to prevent people getting in for free, all the bands used the Pavilion as a back stage area. We had a number of new images donated in 2018 after Melvin Green, Peter Clinick and Nigel Hall. I was seventeen and travelled from Cardiff with 17 years old. at the old Marquee club in Wardour Street. best to you, fabulous site. for a really great day of music. June 28th 1969. Led Zeppelin Performing At Bath Blues Festival 1970, 16mm | Premium Footage from the Kinolibrary Archive Film Collections. in my memory. A subscription makes a thoughtful gift for both family and friends. Worcestershire September 1-2nd 1968 Peter Green onstage, Chateau Impney 1968 The Move Fleetwood Mac Duster Bennett The Freddie Mac Show us and we'll add them to the site. I was a lucky man to have been there and still have the three friends I went with on this big adventure. Maybe I'd just grown up a little. on stage (Nice). Somewhere All the blessings, the event and I was 21 again, 40 years having vanished like a puff of smoke. once again, when, towards 11.00pm, during Fleetwood Macs set, a particularly This was another expense that had to be borne by the promoters. The Nice in 2022 we had more from Alwyne Bates. Hay-on-Wye, The with his 200 foot guitar lead.'' Ten Years After preceded by Fleetwood Mac and Or words to that effect! 12..The Nice (brilliant). A DJ played records for early arrivers from the Friday evening and continued to do so between many of the sets until the end. It included a few seconds of archive footage in black-and-white which may have I remember the guys freaking out at the front barrier. was a stones fan. so cool. "The Bath footage does exist. my friend and another group of Americans nearby. 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