50 Years of Music
Reading Festival - 25th – 27th August 1978
The Jam – Status Quo – Patti Smith
If you are attending one of the many festivals this year it will be difficult to remember that it wasn’t so long ago that music fans were tribal. Thanks to festivals like Glastonbury music fans will enjoy a wide range of music but back in the 60’s and 70’s there was real rivalry starting with Mods and Rockers fighting on Brighton Beach.
So it was either a brave or reckless move when Reading Festival announced that they would bring the Punks and Rock fans together starting on the Friday when Steve Hillage would appear with Sham 69. We arrived on site just as they were going on stage to be greeted by what can only be described as carnage with festival goers being chased by Punks, the atmosphere was tense to say the least although as more people arrived it did settle down and we were able to enjoy sets from 60’s band The Pirates followed by Ultravox who were returning after being much lower down the bill a year earlier. The Friday night headliners were The Jam who I remember being excellent and managed to get the whole crowd on their side.
The rest of the weekend consisted of a mixture of Punk and Rock bands as well as one or two odd choices. Highlights for me on the Saturday were Jenny Darren, Dutch Pop Punk band Gruppo Sportivo, one of my favourite bands at the time were Nutz who I had seen a couple of times previously, Folk Rock band Lindisfarne who were enjoying chart success with Run from Home, American Rock band Randy California & Spirit and The Motors who had a hit with Airport. Headliners were at the time the much ridiculed Status Quo who proved why they are the best live bands around at the time.
The festival concluded on the Sunday and featured some incredible performances with the wonderful John Otway who I not only saw as a fan but booked many times in years to come. Folk Rock band The Albion Band were a revelation with their Rise Up Like the Sun album being amongst the top 10 of all time. Lemmy’s son Paul Inder was followed by the Ian Gillan Band who I saw on countless occasions after that, The Tom Robinson were at the peak of their powers at the time and American rockers Foreigner were very impressive so was headliner Patti Smith who performed the classic’s "Gloria" and "Because the Night” before ending with The Who’s “My Generation” before smashing up all their equipment, although that didn’t stop people shouting for more.
All in all a strange mixture of bands, mud and a tense Friday but amongst it all we witnessed some exceptional performances.
If you were there tell us about your experience?
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