The second Windsor Free Festival, organised by Bill Dwyer and Ian
Jones was the most memorable of the three. Events started on Friday
24 August when we took charge of the generator and got John's record
decks and PA going in the wooded area where the 72 Festival had
been. This started after dark and ran well into the night. By 11am
on the Saturday we had moved the van and gear to a spot which faced
down the hill (to a place where the main stage was finally located)
and here it was that Ebling Mis started the festival proper. |
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We also played on the Sunday night / Monday morning but this set
bordered on disaster (as many did!) due to the mist and damp soaking
into all the electronics and effects pedals. Later that night Ian
Jones asked me to take over his duties as stage manager (I was the
only person he recognised still awake who he could trust to do the
job). This proved to be a most rewarding occupation and an
opportunity to put into practice my belief that 'all bands are
equal' and nobody had the right to jump the queue because they were
more professional. |
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It worked well. Every band, except one,
contributed their PA system and John Bland somehow managed to wire
them all together to produce a system that just about got the job
done.
It was estimated that between 10 and 15 thousand people attended.
Windsor 1974
The last Windsor Free Festival was in 1974.
This turned to anarchy with running battles with police trying to
force eviction, resulting in a compromise agreement that the
festival would move to an approved site near to Stonehenge the
following year (1975) and not be deemed 'illegal'. It continued
there until the early 1980s when the government of the day
decided it was to be stamped out.
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