1980’s
Brian Jones, 1981
“My first Glastonbury festival ! I was in my final year at Bath University, and was very involved with the Bath University CND group. We drove down after getting my Bath University degree result on the Friday lunchtime; my first task, after setting up my tent, was to queue up for the public pay-phone at the farmhouse in order to let my parents know my result. I'd bought tickets (£8 each) for myself and my girlfriend Maylin Heard from the CND office in London, when we'd been buying stock for our the Bath University CND group - the only time I've ever paid to go to the festival. Luckily, it was a dry year, and I was hooked; it seemed like the natural place for anti-nuclear activists to come together and have a good time. I can't remember much of what happened on the pyramid stage (the only stage at that time), though I can remember John Cooper Clarke's brilliant set, and (on the Saturday evening) loads of bikers stationing themselves around the “arena” in front of the stage, gunning their engines impatiently during New Order's set as they waited for Hawkwind.”
Nora Stewart, 1981
I first went to Glastonbury in 1981 for the CND festival. It was also the first festival I'd ever been to. I am from South Africa.
It was an amazing experience. At the time I was working with the Ockendon Venture. We borrowed 4 large canvas tents from the Army in Aldershot and with a bunch of about 20 refugees from Vietnam including several children and 10 workers from England, NewZealand, Canada, and South Africa set up camp.
In those days it was small but seemed enormous with much the same excitement and inspiration as today. Music everywhere, Kids Field, clothes stalls and veg food stalls. I remember Jackson Brown giving a really moving show at the Pyramid Stage (See Photos we sent.)
One of our refugees had a man of about 25, had arrived from Vietnam 2 days before he soon disappeared and we didn't see him till the following morning when he collapsed in bed. then woke and was gone again . The same happened the next day so on Sunday concerned about him, Malcolm via a translator asked what he had been up to.
He explained that he looked for the guys with the most alcohol (this was a gang with motorbikes supporting HawkWind) he sat at the end of the line and said" Me Vietnam". They said that was okay and handed him a drink. He then spent all his time with them consuming everything that came down the line.
Very early on the Sunday morning having not slept I went for a wonder. Near the Pyramid stage there was a small fire and a group of about 30 people gathered around it with a Druid calling up the sun . Much slow drums and chanting. I joined in with the others then me and the people on either side felt these balls of energy hitting us. It was the most extraordinary thing and something I had never felt before or since. they were about 3 inches in diameter and went right into you but felt light and good. and lasted well over an hour until I left to go wake the campsite and get them in on the action! No Chance !! It was like energy dancing around us. One of my strongest Glastonbury and life changing moments ever!
It was many years later and long after our Children went, that I went back. This was thanks to our close friends Timmy and Sophi Knock who took the Peace Dome to Glastonbury for the festival every year.The Dome held the flame from the flame, from the flame etc without stopping from the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. See Glastonbury Peace Flame, Peace Dome and also Malcolms clip on Glastonbury festival and the geometry of the peace dome www.open-mind-forum.com.
This was the first of many times Malcolm and I went back to the Festival meeting up with friends, other Peace Dome staff and often our children. We did our 4 hour shift in the peace dome which I loved doing and my shift was usually with Timmy Knock between 12 midnight and 4 in the morning though like many others I would drop in during the day for a psychic boost and recharge. People would drop in light candles, meditate, sleep, relax, bowls and a harp would sometimes be played.
During the day I spend a lot of time drifting around mainly between the Pyramid, Other and West Holt stages, in festi spirit.
The festival had grown beyond all imaginings into a huge meta-society of music, culture and inspiration and it still held onto its magic and hippie vibe. There were so many times we gathered and The Peace Dome in the King's Field was a sanctuary to all who visited it.
There is so much to say about magic Glastonbury moments including getting in the front line to see Amy Winehouse, Having 2 "angelic elfs" popping into the dome and playing the crystal bowls, a heavenly symphony, singing 'Hallelujah' it seemed the whole festival joined Leonard Cohen in the early evening. Looking down on the festival from above the tipis blissed out. singing and talking around our tents. watching the sun dry the rain on Thursday. Many more ...
Zoradi, 1981
“The first year I went was 1981, a couple of years before this photo was taken. I went with my boyfriend who’d heard about the gig somewhere, I had a two seater triumph spitfire, grew up in Bristol and had never even heard of Pilton, or even Somerset and it felt like hours driving into the unknown with a road map. We went on a Saturday lunchtime, with a carton of 200 B&H, a few cans, and a few quid. Parked at the top of the hill looking down at the stage. I’d never seen people like this.. we slept in the car, didn’t even have a blanket. What sold me was seeing Hawkwind. A green laser went up from the top of the Pyramid all the way to the stars. I was spellbound. My boyfriend was irritable, lack of. food, drink, clothing! We left Monday morning and I knew I’d be back. Now 40 years later, I live in Somerset town about 20 minutes from Glastonbury and I’ve handed the mantel to my daughters. ”
Ian Mcleod, 1981 (pictures below)
“I’d only ever been to Knebworth in ’76 and Deeply Vale in ’79 so when a bunch of mates decided to hire a van and head to Glastonbury I joined them. There was 8 or 9 of us in the van. Two would pay and drive in whilst the rest would climb over or under the fence and somehow meet up inside. I know I saw Rob Noakes, Decline & Fall, Hank Wangford, Supercharge, Aswad, Mother Gong and Hawkwind as I have photos. I have a couple more photos of bands that I don’t recognise.”
Ian Mcleod, 1982 (pictures below)
“Again, we hired a van – two drive in and the rest nick in. A few of us had tickets for Frank Zappa at Hammersmith Odeon for Saturday night. We thought we would be able to just pop over to London, see Frank Zappa, then drive back to Glastonbury and carry on where we left off. What could go wrong? Mud! I still have the unused ticket. I saw Man the Van, Jackson Browne but can’t remember who else. I bumped into a friend who was selling cider with a mate from the back of a van. He dropped a tab ‘Mickey Mouse’ I seem to remember and I have a photo of him giggling away while people queued up for cider. I can’t remember who was on stage when a large inflatable die tumbled over the crowd. On its way back it was covered in mud or cow muck. I think this was the year when one of us pitched their tent under the pylon cables. It charged up the tent poles with electricity and you would get a shock if you touched them.”
Brian Jones, 1982
"In 1982, West Region CND took on all the “gate and traffic” work on site; Sometimes we'd be staffing the perimeter vehicle or pedestrian entrances, sometimes we'd be controlling gates within the site, only allowing through vehicles with the correct passes. In those pre-mobile phone days, all teams of volunteers had a walkie-talkie; CND volunteers also enjoyed camping space in various crew areas.
On one occasion, we were camped in one of the security teams' compounds, and we watched someone gradually appear at the top of the fence, straddle it, and start catching bags thrown up to him from outside the fence and dropping them inside. He was suddenly surprised as the bags he'd dropped inside flew back over the fence outside; looking down, the security guards explained his bad luck - out of the whole site, he and his friends had unfortunately tried to break into a security compound ! He climbed back down the outside of the fence, and they no doubt continued walking round the outside of the fence looking for somewhere else to climb in.
While we were staffing an internal vehicle gate, we got an urgent message on the walkie-talkie: a market trader had been robbed of his takings by some men, armed with a shotgun, who then drove off in a white van. All stewards were warned to look out for this van, not to try to stop it, but to radio in any sitings. However, to avoid causing alarm to anyone overhearing any radio messages about the armed robbers, we were told to only refer to the white van as “the white elephant”. Of course, everyone was on tenterhooks for the next half hour or so, but there were no further reports on the radio, and gradually everyone settled back into work as usual. A shift change occured, but we were working a double shift, so we stayed on duty at the gate. Some time into our second shift, Jan noticed a van travelling quickly towards our closed gate, which she was struggling to open; as she said “what's their hurry ?”, she realised that it was the white van that we'd be warned about some hours earlier. She jumped back from the gate, the white van hit the partly open gate, and carried on going. “We've seen the white elephant ! We've seen the white elephant !” Jan shouted into the walkie-talkie. “What are you talking about ?” came the response. “The white elephant ! We've seen it !” Jan replied. “What ?” she was asked again. “We've seen the white van with the robbers with a shotgun !” Jan finally said, as we realised that the people on the other end of the walkie-talkie had also had a shift change, and the white elephant code hadn't been passed on to the new crew!"
Ric Hurford, 1982
“Four of us from Leeds University hitch-hiked down to Glastonbury in the summer of 1982. This photograph was taken by my university girlfriend Alison Keen of myself in the fisherman’s jumper, rolling a cigarette next to an excited Rosie Hill and America Pete (never knew his surname). Alison and I hitchhiked down from Leeds and slept in plastic bags in a Somerset field the night before arriving at Glastonbury. It was a wet and cold summer as you can see from the jumpers and coats that we are wearing. The second photo shows Alison and I feeling happy together when the weather improved. The student beard makes me look much older than I was on my 21st birthday, when we spent much of the day sheltering from the rain in our tent, all very memorable……. Van Morrison, Jackson Browne ,The Blues Band, Richie Havens, Sad Cafe, Roy Harper, Black Uhuru, The Chieftains, Judie Tzuke, Aswad, etc. Alison and I were together for much of our university time, but split up when she went off to teach in Zimbabwe with VSO and I headed to London to dabble in music, and an environmental career.”
Caroline Kenmore, 1982 (gallery above)
“I found some photos of My First Glastonbury!
We camped in the Pyramid Field, I was with friends from college. One guy, Julian, had the bright idea of doing his laundry an hour before we set off. Needless to say, it rained. His clothes never got dry. He got quite ill after the booze had worn off. That’s him in the beige woolly hat.
I bought a pair of bright yellow wellies from an abattoir suppliers in Debden Essex. These became my festival staples for the next 20 years. You can see my beret-I was very attached to that too.
This was the only year I actually bought a ticket. It cost £12. All the following years I worked: I have done mask-making workshops in the craft field- it was called MaskForce. I had NO CLUE how to make masks!
I worked for Rainbow Circle in their well-being area;
I was also the shiatsu practitioner for the Wheel of Astrologer’s, ( thanks Tina &Ceri).
I ran a yurt in the Avalon Field, making art and crafts out of scrap and recycled materials;
I have worked the Tadpole Cafe a few years running;
parked the tour busses for bands playing on the Pyramid stage, and the Other Stage;
I’ve worked in welfare;
the Healing Field for many years doing shiatsu (thank you Jacob &Julie);
And most recently, I organised an area in Arcadia to provide treatments for the Arcadia Crew. That has easily been my best gig: 3 meals a day, hot showers without queuing, electricity supplied to my caravan, a wonderful crew to work for!
I’ve also had tickets as a performer, singing with the choir (once with Michael Eavis!), and acting in the Vagina Monologues with the Women of Avalon.
I can’t remember which year was my first, 82 or 83. As the trope goes, it’s all a blur!
My Glastonbury experience in recent years has been about connecting with my festival family, those connections made over the years that only happen in a field.
My best part of any festival is before the punters come in, it’s just the crew and we are all relaxed and fresh.
Last year I decided to hang up my festival wellies. I’m lucky to have experienced festivals before Health & Safety changed the scene from a DIY culture where we all participated in the creation of our weekend together, to the rigorous spectacle it had become today, where crew and punters have segregated, and Security has the power to make you tramp over many excess miles to comply with their one-way systems.
I feel blessed to have seen Glastonbury festival grow from strength to strength. The last photo is when I gave my camera to Mary who was going on a helicopter ride (first year it happened). You can see how small the site is, compared to nowadays.”
Rowena Draper, 1983 (gallery above)
“Here's a little story for yas, it was the hottest summer since Anyone could remember and my parents decided to do Glastonbury. It was a time when the locals were not pleased at all and the road leading to the site had lots of police stoping and searching vehicles. So a long snail's pace to finally reach the entrance, find a spot for the VW caravanette and for my parents to set up the awning, hence my rather ruddy cheeks being confined and cooped up in such heat. My parents took me to a wonderful children’s area having come from the quietness of Cambrian Mountains in Wales where we made our own entertainment, this was a wonderland of pure joy.
My most joyous thing to do was to dress up from the fancy dress and head straight to a giant blown up bouncy cushion to jump around with a sea of other children. Later we went to the music. My parents met up with friends from Bristol and my mums brother, Uncle Marcus, from Scotland. Laying the picnic blankets down everyone decided to wear as little as possible, especially my uncle Marcus, brown as a berry, wearing a very colourful brief pair of under pants. Walking around exhausted with the heat my parents were absolutely astounded at a large group of shaved headed men, wrapped in orange garments playing music while jumping non stop to their beat, following the crowds. Some one stopped my parents with a rucksack on their back with some tubes dangling with knives in their hands asking if they would like to try some hot knives.
That winter my parents decided to make a tipi. So the next time we went to Glastonbury they were fully prepared, bringing Bombay mix and treats homemade to sell. Djembe drum and all. It was the year it didn't stop raining. Up in the tipi field we were so lucky as being high up the mud wasn't so bad. When we ventured down below with the crowds it was mayhem we watched people loosing wellies off their feet as they got stuck, people swimming in mud up to their thighs ordering food from the counter. My dad remembers one man leaning against a tree eating his food with mud up to his waste. Our friends grateful for a place from their washed out tents and clothing to dry out and make music and chill round the open fire, in our tipi, brewing herb teas and making chapatis with tahini and honey, from our own bees.
A great time had by all, all very sad leaving and saying our good byes, till next time. 30 years later my partner and I ended up by chance buying a piece of land in Pilton right next to the festival site. We now live on our home stead with our two children and set up our Flying Machine Cafe at worthy view every Glastonbury Festival”
Brian Carson, 1983
“Glastonbury festival 1983 - female was from Ljubljana in Slovenia {before the break up with Yugoslavia} - this is before mobile phones but was still able to meet her. It was her first Glastonbury and she could not arrive until Friday evening, so I arranged to meet her at the Farm House - I had driven down a day or two before her so it was a big risk that we would miss each other {I had taken all the camping gear down with me so if we did not meet up she would have been stuck with no sleeping bag and no tent}
She was not certain when she would arrive as she was depending on a lift {the driver did not have a ticket} so I came out with meet at 6pm or 8pm or 10pm or Midnight - I think we meet up at 8pm - sure these days there is signs up telling people where things were but away back then there was no signs and very few stewards - anyway she did find it and I was glad I did not have to walk up later - knowing she would have been stuck I would have kept showing up right though the night.”
Ian McLeod, 1983 (pictures below)
“I had bought a radio cassette player, some batteries and a couple of cassettes in order to record some performances. I managed to record some moving hearts, Tom Paxton, Incantation, Alexei Sayle, A Certain Ratio, Black Roots and Melanie. I managed to get some photos of Curtis Mayfield and I seem to remember he did around a 20 minute version of ‘Move On Up’. I also got photos of Tom Paxton, Incantation, King Sunny Ade and UB40.”
Tanya Laird, 1983 (pictures below)
“My friend and I decided Friday lunchtime to go to Glastonbury. We’d got word that some other friends were going, so quickly got a few camping bits together. I dashed off to to the local army & navy surplus shop and bought a brilliant ex army “tent”. Had it for about 25 years and it never lost that smell of rubber and canvas. I had four pegs and 2 poles. No groundsheet.
We were having a fantastic hot summer.. so hot.. it was 1983 and the ticket was so cheap then.
Whizzed down the M5 with no satnav or phone in them days haha.. not sure we even had a map. We followed the roadsigns and any other cars that were loaded up with camping gear and hoped they were going the same way.
It was so exciting, I had an old Vauxhall viva max speed 50mph!
We finally joined the massive queue (the right one) and paid on the gate.
It was great back then that we could park on our camping area as the other two slept in their estate car.
We had a view of the Pyramid even though it was over there on the horizon.. oh how we laughed!
Security wasn’t like it is nowadays in front of the Pyramid.
I was lucky enough to get pushed up and up and sit on the front of the stage and watch the laser show over the crowd while Melanie wowed the crowd with “Ruby Tuesday” and “I’ve got a brand new key ( pair of roller skates) .
Food was amazing, it was hot every day & night, saw UB40, Aswad, The Beat.. naked people, Hari Krishnas, ate amazing food. There was no trouble, just a real feel good vibe.
It was pitch black on the way back to camp and none of us thought to take a torch. I ended up on my own after UB40 and was last back as I couldn’t see where I was going or find my way. I thought we’d camped about two fields away and it was near a fence. As I headed toward the fence I found myself in boggy mud, one foot went in and I nearly lost my shoe in it, pulled my foot out and fell over (I admit to having a few ciders!) managed to squidge back out onto terra firma, found my tent and crashed out.
I was a mess the next morning as I woke up with thick, dried mud over my face, hair and clothes.
I remember queuing for the showers feeling like a right prat!
Sadly never been back but the toilets stayed with me haha!!”
Inham Erad, 1984
“It was 1984, I was 15 and had just finished my ‘O’ levels and was waiting for the results. My boyfriend at the time was much older, 20, and me, him and his punk rock sidekicks, we were all going to Glastonbury! We had no tickets, but that didn’t matter, we knew we were just going to bunk in. Dave was the only mate we knew who owned a car then, so we piled off down to Pilton. We bought some traditional scrumpy on the way – thick, lethal, in 5 litre plastic flagons. It was dusk when we were dropped a short distance away, confirming where to meet us inside. For some reason I was carrying a bulky double duvet as we climbed gates and hedges. It started spitting down. We heard an ‘Oi, you!’ and ran. I was blindly throwing the bedding over hedges and then myself afterwards, hoping for the soft landing. Over a stile, under a gate, we somehow got in, panting and laughing, it seemed pretty easy. Dave had driven all the way up to just above the famous Pyramid Stage. He popped the boot so we could get the rest of our stuff. Glam Danny reached in to grab all his belongings for the weekend ahead. He took out a blanket, an eyeliner and a piece of broken mirror. Ah the 80’s!
Snakebites were all the rage, we mixed the scrumpy with Special Brew. It instantly coagulated, turning thick and gloopy, like a lava lamp, it was hard to drink it. I was a lightweight, one pint probably lasted me all day.
I remember rivers of mud and falling over to have it squirting inside the sleeves of my leather jacket within the first hour or two, and mud everywhere inside the minuscule two-person tent. There were no showers and it was before the invention of wet-wipes so I walked around caked the whole weekend and went home stiff as a board.
I don’t remember much else, so I was definitely there.”
David Trippas, 1984 (pictures below)
“I hitched from the stones to Worthy farm and got in for free, no fences see, I had my camera with me, it was funny like crossing into another land. I parked myself, boots, sweater, a stripped suit top and shorts, by a bloke to the right of the farmhouse. He had a hut surrounded by a fence and a union jack flag on a flag pole. I pulled my coat over my head and crashed out, the first sleep for a couple of days after snorting wizz at the stones.
When I woke up it was a glorious summers day and chummy with his flagpole leaned over his fence and said "24 people walked over you last night", you couldn't make it up, he must have counted and so it was festival time.
All I remember was the mud and Ian Drury getting it throw at him as he performed. He stopped singing and then went into Spasticus Autisticus, you could have heard a pin drop when he finished and then they went wild. The finest piece of stage craft I have ever seen. And that was it.”
Andy Davies, 1984
“Five or six of us set off for Glastonbury 1984 in a yellow Cortina from art college in Wrexham. I wish I could find the pictures! I don’t even remember what camera I was using, though I was still in art college so it was probably the Fujica STX 1. First night we found a parking spot in a field of tents and immediately set up the calor gas stove to do some hot knives. I distinctly remember feeling surrounded by many eyes among the tents. The next morning we split up and went in different directions in search of more drugs. I remember the dust and straw on the ground, the smell of the straw, and the taste of hairy cider. It was hot. I don’t remember eating, I don’t remember sleeping. I don’t remember drinking much if I’m honest, it’s a bit of a blur. Strong memories were Sly and Robbie doing their own set before the full Black Uhuru followed by Aswad sets. Amazing stuff, Sly and Robbie’s sound was incredible. Elvis Costello’s set was a major highlight. When they illuminated the stage with thousands of laser point lights as he started singing Peace In Our Time, the collective ‘Whoah’ of the entire crowd was awesome. Billy Bragg, I remember bikers chucking bottles of piss at him. Joan Baez was ok. Amazulu were off the charts. Fela Kuti was mesmerising. The Waterboys were seriously good. The Smiths I don’t remember at all. Weather Report and General Public were phenomenal. I think I caught the John Martyn set, but I’d seen him a few times since, so perhaps I didn’t catch him at Glastonbury - he was always excellent. Ian Dury was outstanding, they had to hold him up to the mike for the last couple of numbers, he was brilliant. Dr. John was good. I don’t remember The Band, or Fairport Convention, but in the context of a somewhat drug and sun fuelled haze, a lot of the guitar solo sort of bands tended to blend together. We walked around a lot, probably missed some bands. I remember going in search of tea one morning, it felt like it took hours to find, and we also came across a friend who’d disappeared not long after we arrived and found himself waking up in an empty field, not certain how long he’d been there. On the way back to North Wales, we stopped off at Tintern Railway station in the Wye Valley. It was tiny, and had been converted into a tea shop run by some old ladies, we looked a right state, dirty, dusty, sunburned and somewhat awestruck by the place. We had the best tea and scones we’d ever tasted — possibly the first real food since we entered the festival days earlier.”
Ian Mcleod, 1984 (pictures below)
“I was now at Art College in Cambridge so I hired a car and travelled over to Worthy Farm with some fellow students. We drove in with one person in the boot and another in the rear footwell covered in our belongings. We bumped into our friends from Harrowgate at our usual meeting place, just in front of the mixing desk when the bands were on. I managed to record some Weather Report, Fela Kuti, General Public, The Smiths, Fairport Convention, Christy Moore, Brass Construction, Paul Brady and John Martyn. Great Weather this year.”
Steve Glascoe, 1984
1984. I was one of the medical team working an overnight shift. At 3 am security brought in a guy who’d been tripping for 3 days, convinced he was dead. I pointed out as he was sitting up talking to me he was probably alive. But he showed me a large tattoo on his chest featuring a huge skull, below which were the words “Now I am become Death, Destroyer of Worlds”. He gave me time to read the words and said: “See?”
Paul Clements, 1984
“Just waiting for "The Smith's" to enter main stage, 1984. This photo was taken by my good friend Anita Hambrook. Her then boyfriend Paul is laying next to me, worse for wear. He joined-in the stage invasion which meant The Smith's ended their set earlier than normal! Glastonbury was still pretty small then and with no security, which allowed for the stage invasion. Everything was all pretty gentle and everybody looked after each other. It was the year of The Miners Strike and I remember I lot of "Coal not Dole" stickers all over the place, which was great to see. It was also the year which I read Peter Kropotkin's fantastic 1902 book: "Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution" .. it kind of summed-up Glastonbury for me that year, living and working together, in a collective and collaborative way..”
Gillian Hammond (on behalf of Joe Hammond) 1984
“I would like to try and retell a story from my husband who died last November from Motor Neurone Disease. He leaves behind two young boys (3yr and 8yr) and to have some written records of some of his adventures will be something they will treasure.Joe went to Glastonbury in 1984. He was 15yrs old and he told me he jumped the fence to get in. He said he didn’t remember just how he ended up at the front and he hadn’t intended to get up onto the stage but someone out in the crowd just booted him up and then Johnny Marr gave him a hand. He hadn’t known that Morrissey was baiting the crowd to come on up. The Smith’s weren’t welcomed by the crowd at Glastonbury and there was mayhem brewing in that muddy field. Joe just danced about until he was dragged off by security and kicked out of the festival. As he was leaving the stage he saw the crowds filling the space behind him and that was a moment in Glastonbury history. Led by a 15yr old who just took a chance.
Here is a link to the NME article where Morrisey talks about this moment: https://www.nme.com/festivals/glastonbury/20-sets-that-shook-glastonbury-the-stories-behind-worthy-farms-most-memorable-ever-performances-757137
I have the pictures attached. I think Morrisey’s wife/girlfriend tweeted about this a few years back and that’s where Joe saw the pictures. It also went into Johnny Marr’s biography”
Carl Stickly, 1985
“Attached pic is from 1985 and shows my Uni flatmates, Andrea and Craig, braving the mud. I was about to go off to study in the US for a year so they'd come down especially for a last knees-up.
There were a lot of Travellers as Stonehenge Festival had been banned. Indeed, at Stonehenge itself on the A303 the police had set up roadblocks. If you didn't have a ticket for Glastonbury they wouldn't let you pass. All the small country roads had tons of gravel dumped on them to block vehicles. I lived 15 miles from Stonehenge and the whole week before the Solstice helicopters were overhead day and night. Fatcha smashing dirty, smelly Folk Devils!
I vaguely remember seeing Echo & The Bunnymen (with lasers!), Ian Dury and The Style Council (who got pelted with mud). But mainly rain. And mud. Lots of mud....”
Steve Streetly, 1985 (pictures below)
“We set off from Blackpool and the oil light came on after about 10 miles, ignored it and hoped for the best. Got to M5 and car overheated and we pulled up in a village in Somerset. Miraculously a vicar came out of the house we stopped at and offered to fix the car, which he did (changed a belt or something) we offered to pay but he insisted he didn’t want paying and gave us a bible each. Bizarre but true.
We got in the queue of cars and could hear a reggae band playing (either aswad or steel pulse?) two of the lads jumped out and went over the fence, we got to the gate and my other pal had a broken leg in plaster so I asked where we should park? They said turn left into field and we parked opposite the pyramid stage as v muddy.
It poured down most of the weekend, in 86 they were selling badges saying “I survived 85”. Still, we had a ball and spent the whole time larking about, watching bands, taking all kinds of drugs and stayed up all night. At one point on the Saturday there were about 10 people sat in my car, we had all had some mushrooms and it was pouring down so we just sat laughing at each other.
We got some energy balls off a hippie guy at the stone circle and I remember being sat in a tent watching King “love and pride” it seemed to go on for ages.
One lad from Blackpool took a thousand sun visors (always looking for an earner) don’t think he sold many that year. We all wrapped shopping bags around our feet to try and keep dry, didn’t work. We got towed out on Sunday and set off home.”
Alan Lofting, 1985
“A sunny day in the theatre field - 1985 - the flying taxi had its first flight . Wings flapping courtesy of darvi dave . Preceded by john christmas pushing a dogs head shouting "Get out the way . No brakes. Out the way"
Before the flying taxi became white , had brakes or lights. (And before Health and Safety ) the taxi flew for the first time in front of the theatre marquee . That night it had its first night flight with john kenton sitting on the bonnet holding a giant tilly lamp which promptly exploded covering john in parrafin. The following year it was all working , legal , mot'd and the taxi was white
The flying taxi came about after a theatre tour of france and spain . Inspired by a story in a book called "the worlds worst aeroplanes" where the plane wouldnt take off but the watching public enjoyed themselves. The taxi was legal on the road for 20 years and toured europe twice. In its later years it towed trailers around forestry projects. It now sits in a forest rusting away. It was seen as the manifestation of the white dove - the dove of peace. There was a plan to drive it to india via russia but that "window" closed when perestroika ended”
Deborah Maw, 1985
“My first Glasto 1985, thigh deep mud. I was working with the Festival Branch of Samaritans. I have no memory of seeing any bands, just our tent standing on an island amidst a sea of mud - and the tipi field. I had my first sweat lodge - first time ‘meeting’ Sid Rawles - and a gorgeous experience with a lovely guy offering ‘free love and massage’ in a tipi. I stayed on for a couple of weeks to do litter picking, the weather was phenomenal, although digging through a foot of drying mud for fag ends was challenging. The ‘finds’ made up for it. There was a small group of us that hung out together, we used to eat around a huge round table painted with the zodiac and discovered we were three Pisces. It was so chilled. Visited Gog and Magog and had an incredible experience after taking a Mexican ‘Medicine’ on the Tor writing poetry in a magical language to purple thistles - as you do - and seeing a message in the clouds that initiated a whole new journey in my life. Sorry no pictures. I didn’t come back to Glasto for nearly 20 years as I was a single Mum of three, until finally my youngest was old enough to come in 2008. Now come with the Wheel of Astrologers regularly and adore ‘living’ in the Green Fields. Memorable performances: Stones, Patti Smith, Amy Winehouse, Paloma Faith, Joan Armatrading, Katie Melua, Medicine for the People, Brian Boothby, anything at Small World stage especially Mobius Loop and Seize the Day. Love you Glastonbury”
Miranda Millan, 1985
“I was born in Undle Ground field in 1985, after my parents were part of the peace convoy who had been caught up in Battle of the Beanfield. This photograph circa 1989 after spending all day making my outfit in the kids field. Glastonbury is my birthday party every year, best place on Earth”
Malcolm Green, 1985
“My first year was 1985 the worst weather in the history of Glastonbury. Tee shirts were made that said " I survived 85" and had a fist coming out of the mud. I would love one of any ones got one for sale. I booked a stall in the middle market it cost me 11quid but only opened Saturday I remember marking about 40quid. We were opposite the entrance to the acoustic stage a very large blog of jelly like mud 20foot by30 foot was slowly marking its way towards us and completely engulfed my stall we had to pile wooden pallets two deep so people could get to us. It's also the only time I have seen the site empty with people going home. It did not put me off and continued to go for the next 30years. I did ask the person who had a stall where mine was it cost him 8 grand how times have changed.”
Ian Mcleod, 1985
“Not great weather this year! We made our way from Cambridge on public transport. My girlfriend and I were staying with a couple of friends in their tent. That was OK until they’d had enough of the mud by Sunday. They packed up and left, leaving us homeless. We managed to find some friends from up north and sheltered in the back of their van. Another friend from up north, now living in London, has a great idea of buying a load of wellington boots on the way to the festival. They sold in a flash. He managed to leave the site, load up with more wellies and flogged those too. He ended up giving us a lift back to London. I didn’t take any photos this year as my camera fogged up with the damp. I made no sound recordings either. One image which stands in my mind is of a dead umbrella poking out of the smooth mud in front of a deserted pyramid stage. The high point from me was seeing Hugh Maselka on stage when a weak sun broke through the grey sky and lit him up.”
John Novis, 1985 (pictures below)
“When I went to Glastonbury in 1985 I brought my Nikon with plenty of film and couple of lenses. This was a strange year weather wise, with an overcast Friday and then torrential rain for the rest of the event. Before the rains came, I set out capture the vibe of the festival around the food, gifts and tent areas. However, I was met with hostility and understood why there was a lack of photographers present. Small gangs of youths would emerge from the crowds and confront me ordering me to give them my film for fear of being identified as drug dealers. Festival goers would look uncomfortable, awkward and turn their backs on me. This wasn’t working as I imagined it to be. Not to thwarted, I started to roam further from the main stage area right to the perimeter fence on the hill where I would get a topographical image of the festival. It was here there that I took one of my favourite images. There was a tethered cob horse, an old-fashioned striped circus tent and Romany caravan randomly situated in the field giving a feel of an English fayre from a bygone age. The festival sprawling in the background gave the picture context I was looking for. The picture was quite unexpected but set the photo trend for the days ahead. The rains came and the mood changed. Festival goers, in good humour tackling downpours in plastic macs and umbrellas watching bands then returning to mud filled tents became wonderfully photogenic. Folk now seemed to interact with the camera because of the absurdity of the situation. Thats what I took back from Glastonbury - what you set out to do will most probably radically change but go with it and the rewards will be high.”
Ian Mcleod, 1986 (pictures below)
“I felt I had to go once again to shake off the muddy memories of ’85. I seem to remember seeing The Pogues, Ruby Turner and the Housemartins. I definitely saw John Martyn, London Wainwright III, Robert Gray and Christy Moore as I recorded them. So this was the last time I went but I have some great memories.”
James Thomas, 1986 (pictures below)
“I felt I had to go once again to shake off the muddy memories of ’85. I seem to remember seeing The Pogues, Ruby Turner and the Housemartins. I definitely saw John Martyn, London Wainwright III, Robert Gray and Christy Moore as I recorded them. So this was the last time I went but I have some great memories.”
Kim Larke, 1986 (pictures below)
“Just a brief bit about my Glastonbury 1986.
There wasn’t any mud that year as I recall, just a dodgy old van which needed a push. Thankfully there was about 9 of us crammed into it. We all travelled down from Norwich, Norfolk.
It was a great lineup that year, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs, Pogues, The Wateboys & Gil Scott Heron.
It was a relatively small attendance compared with my later Glastonbury’s 2009/2010/2011.
One of my lasting memories of 86, apart from the music was the 1986 World Cup.
I remember coming across a crowd grouped around a tv which wasn’t any bigger than the one in my living room now. It was showing the Argentina v England quarter final which contained one of the most famous/infamous goals in football history.
I remember Maradonna scored and the whole crowd (albeit small) simultaneously screaming HANDBALL! It still bugs me to this day, one of those “I know where I was on that day” moments. (I’m the one with the football in the photo).”
“My first-ever night at Glasto in 1986 no tent didn’t know the place slept three of us two sleeping bags right in front of the Pyramid stage. No clues. For the rest of it we found the greenfields, thank heavens”
Cindy Baxter, 1986
“When I was a student nurse I got involved with the Medical Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons it was the year of Stoney Cross so 1986. MCANW had a beautiful 1964 double decker exhibition bus which I’d collected from Exeter so drove past Stoney Cross on my way to Southampton General Hospital. Then I drove it to Glastonbury met the local GP who guided me onto the site, we parked the bus then sat down and a cup of tea and a lovely chat with Michael Eavis and his wife. One of my treasured memories. ”
Howard Steward, 1986
Alan Lofting, 1986
“A lovely sunny day in the theatre field
The Flying Taxi flew for the second time .
In its new white guise ( white paint makes it lighter , thus easier to get off the ground)
Wings flapping , children cheering , hooting , revving , it tried hard for liftoff.
Some thought there was a real flight
Flight Control thought so .
Maybe it was the Glastonbury air
It was lotsa fun”
Brian Carson, 1986
“My friend Bud may look as if he is a Glastonbury regular, but he would never be able to find Glastonbury even if you offered him £50,000! He was only at a few of them in the 80's (when I was able to drive him down).
This photo was taken in the Pyramid field. Likely to be at 5.30am as we were walking about - we just found a few bikes and I thought it would make a good shot - and seeing Bud was a bit of a Cowboy.”
Brian Carson, 1986
“Michelle went on to be a Scientist - I was a University Lecturer at the University of London and she had just completed her Ph.D. We were a Couple for some years {say 1985 to 1990} but she got a offer to work abroad and I have not seen her since - she was much younger than me and if she had been older I am sure we would have married.”
John Novis, 1987 (pictures below)
In June 1987, my two young daughters and friends set off for the annual Glastonbury Festival. I had a Volvo estate car with roof rack at the time so was able to take more than enough for the planned four days. We arrived on the Thursday morning and found other families and friends from my hometown in a perfect group tent pitch conveniently near the food village and main stage. The car park was quite a distance from the pitch so there were a number of treks to get all the gear from one place to another. Nevertheless, once settled and all tents were up, we were set have one hell of a great four-day Glastonbury party.
About halfway through the festival I decided to take a stroll and check everything was ok with the car. To my surprise the car park was quite different from when I arrived; it has become another huge crammed campsite with cars chock a block next to each. Once I located my car it occurred to me there would be zero chance, in an emergency, of making a getaway. However, that was not a worry, we were here till Monday morning when everything would be clearing nicely. There was something odd thing about the car, though. A group of revellers were using my tow bar to secure a guy rope supporting their large open military style tent. I was a bit miffed and thinking of asking them to use some other means of support other than my car. But then, hey, this is Glastonbury! It would be churlish of me to interrupt their fun to move the rope and what actual harm was it doing, nothing, leave it. So, I wondered back to our pitch grabbing a veg burger and Somerset cider on the way.
Sadly, Monday morning arrived after an amazing gig that only Glastonbury can deliver, yet happy to get going, looking forward to a long hot bath and savour the weekend’s memories with a pint at the local.
All packed in the car, my friends and daughters climbed in and off we set on the road back to Brecon, Wales. As we were edging, with other festival goers along the country lanes of Pilton, Somerset suddenly we are pulled over at a police roadblock. I didn’t understand. The police made me follow their car to a ‘festival’ makeshift police station and asked us all to vacate the car. They were accusing us of drug dealing. I still didn’t understand until they explained that my car was connected to a tent in which serious drug dealing was going on. I twigged they thought we were the dealers because of the F***ING guy rope! We were at the station for hours and hours while they stripped the car to bits, my daughters (10 and 8 years old) were in tears because they thought their father was going to be taken away which resulted in us all being distressed, as well as hungry and tired. Come early evening they realised they had the wrong people and sent us on our way. I said they managed to ruin a fantastic weekend and now all we wanted was to get home and forget all about it this awful experience. They actually apologised and said inaptly that it was all part of the ‘rich tapestry of life’. The real drug dealers of course, with their fun weekend, handsome profits and convenient tow bar were well on their way home by now!
Chris Matthews, 1987 (pictures below)
“My first Glastonbury and it was wet and muddy on arrival. The tent was pitched next to the car and my wellies were stolen within the first hour. I then lost the location of the tent and wandered aimlessly for hours looking for it until daybreak. The greatest band of the festival were Gaye Bykers on Acid playing their psychedelic rock set and The Mutoid Waste Company twisted car sculptures as 'Car Henge'. I recall watching New Order on the pyramid stage and a bit of Billy Bragg in a tent to escape the rain. A hazy memory of Julian cope's serpentine moves on stage and a bit of Los Lobos at some point. The hash cake I purchased had zero effect. A tractor was needed to pull my car out from the mud when leaving. Glad I went but I endured it more than enjoyed it! ”
James Priest, 1987
“I have enjoyed many a Pilton, first in the 80', 90's where I got in for free. Then again in the 2000's where I worked on a gate. Was an incredible experience and managed to meet a lot of lovely beautiful people.”
Rob Corbin, 1987
Car henge was the site of the legendary all night drumming session. People were using anything for drums, wheel hubs, fire extinguishers, anything metal. So glad I was there!
Mandy Singleton, 1987
“The very first time I drove on to those fields in 1987 changed my life. I never felt I really fitted anywhere, until I was there! I was 21 just the day before and I will be for ever thankful to the person who suggested we go. We only decided the night before! Those were the days when you could buy a ticket at the gate.
All these years later, that first glimpse of the festival site is magical.”
Sean Matthews, 1987
“I remember the rain, mud and not finding my car after a drunken wander. I crashed out in my tent and had my wellies nicked.”
Stuart Townsend, 1987
“My first Glastonbury was in 1987 and it rained a lot, it was back in the day when you drove into the site past Worthy Farm, parked your car in the field and set up your tent next to it. My mate Ade and I barely got a minutes sleep the first night, with the sound of the car wheels spinning in the mud as they made their way onto the site. There were no police on the site, drugs were rife, there was the lingering smell of smoke from the camp fires. There was an edgy almost apocalyptic feel, but it was exciting and from that moment on I was hooked. I have been going most years since and have only missed a handful.”
David Trippas, 1987
“I got a job that paid my ticket taking money at the entrance, I carried thousands of pounds in a carrier bag to a store room in the farmhouse. Loads of money, no lock and no guard. I remember feeling lonely in the crowd, it was the last festival at Worthy farm that I was to attend.”
Victoria Marsden, 1987
“My daughter Zoe, Aged 4, enjoying a horse ride in Kids World. ”
Brian Carson, 1987
“What looks like a bundle of rubbish on the ground is in fact a couple
sleeping in two sleeping bags - must be crazy - that could be 1987 - note no barrier up and they had no security at that time and some people would climb up on the stage.”
James Foreman, 1987 (pictures below)
We travelled down in my mates Triumph acclaim from Scunthorpe. Had wristband and festival t-shirt. I remember walking around the stalls, buying a tape of Julian Cope’s set the next day. Other sets I recall are Trouble Funk / Elvis Costello & sat on a hill with new orders lasers over our head. It rained loads and there was an abandoned car in the mud, which I think there are some pics around on the web somewhere. We left late Sunday afternoon, nearly getting run over by the Communards bus on the way out. Great atmosphere, innocence & excitement.
Jason Blackwell, 1989
“One of my Glastonbury stories would have to be about a tape we got given once with some dub on it, but we never knew who had recorded it? (It took us about 15 years to eventually find out that it was Rhythm Collison Dub by the Ruts DC V Mad Professor). Anyway we took it with us to Glastonbury 1989 and it captured the atmosphere perfectly for when we were back at camp, at our first proper music festival so to speak, what with a lot of people being unhappy at the time about the criminal justice bill and a feeling of unrest generally in society especially towards the establishment. Everyone was pissed off with the poll tax and the criminal justice bill included a big agenda to stop the raves and free parties etc, they introduced a law that anything over 120 Bpm was classed as threatening to a society in general and obviously the introduction of ecstasy shook things up, 1988/1989 were the end of the 80's and people were fed up of being dictated to. There were battles at Stonehenge they were building new roads and chopping trees down everywhere, crusties/ travellers were the enemy the list goes on, we all just wanted a good time like most generations and to have the music - well that was the best.
As for the festival apart from all the rastas being moved on there were police helicopters flying overhead during most of the festival but all in all we enjoyed the bands, the new friends we'd made and the whole experience, there's nothing quite like it, we were having the time of our lives, biggest downer ever though having to go home, we ended up getting our cars towed away and to make matters worse the ghetto blaster we had with the tape in got nicked!!”
Alan Lofting, 1989 (pictures below)
“Via a fenced off Stonehenge , along the ancient road to Worthy Farm, The Ark , towed by the flying taxi was paraded around the Glastonbury Festival site with the whole of Arthurs court - Guinivere , Lancelot , Merlin , the green people, Joseph of Arimathea, various harpies , saints , fairies and tree people. With Arthurs dead body to be resurrected in the Kings ground. The Ark was delivered to the Kings ground , where it was pushed and pulled by hand to roughly the spot where a stone circle now stands. There it was played as a drum all through the night by the light of a giant firebrand with songs and laughter. As the sun rose the firebrand extinguished .
Arthur was asked if it was well, he pronounced it well .
The next day the Ark was cut in two and it became a small chapel in the Kings ground for the following year. ”
Gary Smith, 1989
“My first was 89 I think. Jumped the fence landed next to guy selling scrumpy out of a tin bath,50p a pint.....?
The next day found my friends, we had a fire outside the tent, someone lit one up in the tent, caught fire, no more tent. Ended up in a marquee that was there for people with no tent. It was the first year that rave music was there, 2 smallish tents was it , not the city it is now I believe. Went every year for the following 2 or three . Then occasionally until I took my then young children in 2008 and 2009 , that was last time I went..”
Lucy Birbeck, 1989
“I went to Glastonbury twice in 89 and 90 while I was still a student in Leicester.
1989 was very hot, which is pretty fortunate for a Glastonbury virgin. A friend rented a car and 4 of us drove down from Leicester on the Friday. I don’t think it was quite so well orchestrated in those days and we were stuck in traffic jam on a country road outside the site for an hour or so. It was already hot and sticky and air-con wasn’t standard in cars back then. About two vehicles in front of us was a small van. We were all at a standstill and the driver got out, opened the back and started getting boxes out and gesturing to other drivers. He was a delivery driver who had unwittingly got stuck in the jam and his refrigerated van had broken I think due to the heat or the fact that he couldn’t run it. So he started handing out lollies and ice creams to anyone that wanted them because they were melting and would be wasted. Everyone was getting out their cars, including us and enjoying a much appreciated ice cream in the heat!
The festival was awesome (although my friend got hideous sunburn) but the memory of anticipation in that queue, and all those hot festival goers receiving free lollies and ice creams on this country lane has always stayed with me.”
Stuart Townsend, 1989
“Glastonbury 1989 was my second Glastonbury and as you can see it was a hot one! We packed the beers but forgot the sun cream! When we returned we looked like we had been on hols to the med for a month! I am pretty sure that the photo was taken as we waited for either The Pixies or The Wonderstuff to take the stage.”
Chris Matthews, 1989 (pictures below)
“My last year. The heat. Killer! I drove from London to a rock club in Southampton then straight to the festival and arrived early morning with my mate Mike. I had made a poor wardrobe choice and only had black leather jeans to wear all weekend. The salt rings of sweat on the inside were a nice Glastonbury memento! A guy I knew had somehow got his dog inside - over or under the fence. It was great to meet friends and interesting people from all over the UK and looking back these were golden years with the feeling of freedom before the internet and mobile phones. I don't remember any bands except the Water boys when I was leaving. I tapped out early because of the leather jeans situation and went home to my Gran for a cooling bath and a cup of tea. Worst memory? I saw a drunk biker guy, pulled his jeans down and shat standing up. Which was nice.”
Katie Rowena Underwood, 1989 (photos below)
“I went with my friend Nicole in her blue VW camper van, taking my daughters Amber (7), Maz and Marianne (then 2) with us. We set out from my house in Oxon at 5am, drove down South and picked up two lovely 15-year-old girls, both called Claire.
By the time we got to Pilton there was a long queue of traffic trying to get in the entrance. We crawled forward slowly.. and just as we got to the gate at last, a harassed steward in a yellow hi-vis jacket said that it was full to capacity, no more parking.. he was closing the gate and we had to drive on to a field six miles away by road where we could park. We were now at the head of the queue and we had been waiting for ages.. and the kids were hot and tired. I got out, carrying Maz, and protested. I said we had been on the road since 5am, that we had children, that they couldn't possibly walk back six miles etc. I brandished the tickets and pointed out that they stated 'camping and parking included ' and politely but firmly insisted that they be honoured as we could go no further. I said “this baby needs feeding and changing” and as I was still feeding her myself, I proceeded to do so. The Police were there too, on the gate and at this a very irate sergeant came rushing over and started yelling at us. I politely yet firmly repeated that the kids couldn't walk that far back and were tired and hungry (whilst feeding a crying toddler, in the road) ..and the poor man yelled 'get in that f******van and get it out of here !'' So we did ...he opened the gate ..we drove in .. and he slammed it shut behind us. All the rest of the queue then had to drive on! It was chaos. We were really at the end of our tether, else I wouldn't have done it!
We drove down a very narrow track and Nicole swerved up a bank to avoid a crowd of people walking... and we got stuck on a fence! A post had gone up the bumper, and we were stuck, up a bank impaled on a fence -post. Luckily, 5 strong men came along, lifted up the front of the van, and freed us !
At last we parked, and tumbled out the van in relief. It was hot and we were exhausted and strained. Without a word, I opened my rucksack and produced one lemon, one knife, one plate to cut on , 4 glasses, a bottle of tonic water and a bottle of gin... and I poured us a restorative measure ! It was medicinal ... we needed it! Glastonbury had begun.
Glastonbury 1989 was very hot and dry. As soon as we arrived we could see it was a lot bigger and busier than in previous years .
We got the tent up, and I sent the two Claire’s off to find water and firewood. As night fell, there were dozens of camp-fires twinkling in the dark and people gathering around. The lads from the next fire along came over and asked to borrow a tin-opener (no ring pulls in those days! ) I said 'Sorry , no ... we don't have one ' ....and they stood and watched in amazement as I produced a bag of wholemeal flour and make chappattis on the fire in a heavy iron pan, and Nicole chopping vegetables to cook in the wok with the brown rice bubbling on the flames “I've never seen anyone cook like that before” said one of the lads, his tins in his hand. I laughed as we wild Neolithic women cooked a wholesome and substantial meal in age -old manner!
The festival was lovely, but we felt it was getting too big . It was wonderful to wander amongst the stalls and installations, chatting to nice people. We spent a lot of time up in the Green Field, where it was a quieter, calmer and more spiritual haven. Already it was a long way to walk from one area to the next bit, although the children were real little troopers, and seemed to love it.. the sights and sounds, the whole atmosphere. They really got into the spirit of it all and were very happy.
There was a lot for kids to do , and they enjoyed the Acoustic tent as much as we did, and the smaller sideshows and impromptu music. We all had such a good time.. but it was very tiring!
As Elvis Costello played on the main stage , we left the site… we could hear him for miles... and went up to the Tor and climbed to the top . It was amazing to see the festival spread out below us... so huge... 65,000 tickets sold (plus workers, children etc too !)
Little did we know how much bigger it would all become in years to come !”
Gwen Liby, 1989 (photo from 2019)
In 1989 I was 9 years old, I went to a small school called the fennel school, it was set up by parents and was just outside of the festival site and to raise money for the school our parents decided to run a cafe in the green fields.
I remember my mum and dad making bin fulls of humous to take on site.
On the first day we drove onto site with our old Land Rover filled with food,
Driving across I remember the amount of people everywhere, the colours and smells, there was an atmosphere I had never known before.
My friends parents had a teepee next to the cafe and they said I could stay with them for the week, it felt so safe up in the green fields, like it’s own small festival.
Every day mum and dad came on site with food and every night I stayed in the teepee with our friends.
There was a man camping next to us who was a potter, and he had made a kiln by digging into the ground. One day he made us pizza in his kiln and when the smoke came towards us he told us to say “white rabbits” to make it change direction. People still say it at the festival and I always think of sitting next to his little fire waiting for the pizza to bake.
I haven’t missed a festival since, I have been pregnant there and taken child (see pic from 2019).
I always think of my first festival as being the week I was left at Glastonbury festival on my own, when I was only 9 years old, and It was magic.”
Ella Camps-Linney, 1989
“This was my first ever Glastonbury Festival
circa 1989; I’m the grumpy toddler and that’s my mum, Jane. It was such a scorcher that she had to put damp pants on my head to keep me cool!.”
