| 1997
– The Hannah More Zider team make their first appearance
at Glastonbury this year, along with about 50 others from Nailsea
School in the mood for a party. A long term ambition of Michael
Eavis’ is fulfilled as the festival sells out of tickets
before any of the bands have been revealed for the first time!
Ticket holders then face a nervous wait until only three weeks
prior to gates opening, before the bands in attendance are announced
in the papers. A mass of Nailsea festival-goers pile-in to Maynews
the newsagent on the morning of that announcement and swarm around
a copy of the publication listing what bands will provide the
soundtrack to our first ever Glastonbury experience… Radiohead!
Prodigy! Smashing Pumpkins! Captain Bob’s Circus Cycle Caravan!
Some of the biggest bands around are on the bill – and we’re
not disappointed. Anticipation for the festival goes into overdrive…
line-up clashes begin heated debates about which bands would be
best to see – Prodigy Vs Ash? Sting Vs Pavement? Stereophonics
Vs a trip to the toilet? Geography lessons are bunked in favour
of hair-dying sessions. |
|
So
quite a few turned up then |
|
 |
A
coach is booked to take the traveling Nailsea contingent down
to the gates of Avalon on the Thursday of the festival –
later christened the “Nailsea Fire Bus”, this was
to become a permanent feature of our Glastonbury voyages.Torrential
rain throughout Wednesday leads to Radio Bristol reporting scary
stories of the site turning into a lake of mud as streams of people
arriving mash up the soggy ground – there are fears that
the festival may be called off. On Thursday morning Nailsea Precinct
is full of desperate festival-goers making frantic last minute
purchases of waterproofs. Panic breaks out as Trevor Ward Shoes
sells out of Wellies, and the scabby shoe shop by Somerfield soon
only has the green “frog” ones with eyes on left.
But the main news is that the Festival is still ON – and
soon crowds gather at Hannah More Park waiting for the Fire Bus
to arrive, armed with bags of stupid clothes, tents, beans and
gallon jugs of Thatchers Cider |
| The
journey down to Glastonbury is a slow process. The rain and mud
has made all but one festival entrance unsafe to use, leading
to major traffic tail-backs as hundreds of vehicles head for the
only gate left open. After a couple of hours sitting on the coach,
it finally crawls into view of the festival site. The scene of
stages and tents on the horizon is met with a huge cheer –
after years of reading about it, watching on TV, saving for a
ticket and then waiting for June to arrive we are finally at Glastonbury!
Inspired by the vision of the festival, we abandon the coach at
walk the last couple of miles. Completely nackered when we get
there, we camp in the first field we come to – the Wicket
Ground – which becomes our regular camping spot of the next
six years. Then
it’s off to the cider bus. Although we don’t actually
see much rain while we are there, the site is already a mud bath.
Sunny spells during the weekend make the ground sticky underfoot,
and boots are constantly left behind in the mud as you lift your
leg up to try and walk. Many people moan about it relentlessly
and go home early, but those who stay to get on with it have the
time of their lives. |
 |
|
Bands
are pelted with balls of mud throughout – The Levellers
probably get the worst of it on Friday, after asking for it by
turning up in Hawaiian shirts and playing chirpy songs like “It’s
a Beautiful Day” to a field of people soaking wet and caked
in mud. The sun comes out for Beck later that afternoon, who brings
the previously subdued crowd to their feet for bit of call-and-return
action during “Where It’s @.” A fine Supergrass
performance lifts the spirits further, while the sun setting in
a cloudy Glastonbury sky makes a fitting backdrop for the Smashing
Pumpkins’ moody tunes. The Prodigy’s headlining set
has trouble getting going amid technical problems, and it’s
quite tricky dancing with your feet wedged in solid mud, but we
do our best. Also around this time the realization sets in that
if you want to avoid going to the toilet all day to keep a good
place at the front, drinking a gallon of Thatchers is not the
best way of going about it. The “Other” Stage spends
most of Friday closed as it begins to sink in the mud, and many
sets are cancelled, but it re-opens for Ash and Reef to bring
the show to a frantic ending. Starting our first Glastonbury camp-fire
that night is a tricky task as there is not much fire wood left
unsaturated. |
| A
few lighters give themselves to the flames to get it started and
after a few free Select newspapers are thrown on we soon have
a blazing inferno. Writing things like “GWAR” on the
fence in toilet paper and then burning it, while shouting “fresh
fish”, provides us with hours of fun. Soon we are amazed
to see the sun rise on Saturday morning, thinking until then that
we had only been back at the tents for a few hours after the bands
had finished. The good vibes continue Saturday with The Wannadies,
Dodgy and Ray Davies trying their best to will the sun into coming
out with some summery songs. The hero of the day is an annoyed
hippy who urinates on some Scousers after they stamp on several
seated people while pogo-ing to Cast’s terrible whine. Radiohead
bring Saturday to a close with one of the greatest performances
Glastonbury has ever seen. From the fanatical supporters at the
front to those watching from the tents illuminating the hill behind
them, the whole crowd is transfixed as they play tracks from the
recently released album “OK Computer”, while also
throwing in older classics like “Creep.” |
|
Piss
and Mud, Cast in 1997. |
|
 |
The
next day marks the start of a Sunday at Glastonbury tradition
for us, of waking up and saying “sod the bands, let’s
get wrecked.” A good day is had bowling around checking
out the sights and sounds equipped with our remaining jugs of
Thatchers and some “Algerian Blend” that had been
cunningly scored from the legal-drugs tent. Things were already
getting hazy by the crazy Super Furry Animals’ set at 4:55pm,
which followed Symposium getting the biggest “mudding”
of the weekend just before (nothing to do with us I don’t
think). The talk of the festival today centers around just who
the mystery guests are, that will close the festival. |
|
| With
it being our first Glastonbury we naively believe the claims that
The Rolling Stones are going to arrive by helicopter and play,
or that The Beatles have reformed for the occasion, etc. Instead
we are treated to Kula Shaker and Ash, both making their second
appearances of the festival, as the organizers appear to have
forgotten to book anyone else. Everyone who managed to last the
duration of the festival goes home happy and starts the countdown
to next year’s extravaganza. Also
on the bill: Phish, Echo & the
Bunnymen, The Levellers, Beck, Supergrass, The Prodigy, Republica,
Nancy Griffith, Ray Davies, Cast, Dodgy, Ocean Colour Scene, Radiohead,
Sheryl Crow, Van Morrison, Sting, Catatonia, Kenicke, The Divine
Comedy, Placebo, Ash, Reef, The Dharmas, Stereolab, Chemical Brothers,
Kula Shaka, Super Furry Animals, Mansun, Finlay Quaye, Lamb, Massive
Attack, Galliano, David Byrne, The Herbaliser, Youssou N'Dour,
Aphex Twin, DJ Rap, The Orb, System 7, Reprazent, Primal Scream,
Bentley Rhythm Ace, Ninja Tune, Daft Punk, Andy White, Steve Harley
and Cockney Rebel, Nick Lowe, Billy Bragg, Beth Orton, Bootleg
Beatles, Oyster Band, Alabama 3, Daily Planet, Global..
Price = £75.
Attendance = 95,000 |
|
| 1998
– They said it could never happen again. They f*&kin'
lied. The days preceding this year’s festival are an exact
repeat of 1997 – ferocious rain that turns the whole festival
ground into a quagmire before we even get there. The difference
is that this year the rain never lets up. We pitch our tents in
the downpour, and look to Potter (a man who has been in Scouts
for about 17 years and has braved several Ten Snores camping expeditions)
for practical camping advice – he tells us not to bother
using the guy-ropes of our tents as they don’t make any
difference and only trip people up. Throughout the rest of Thursday
we get pissed upon by the rain, get pissed, and then get mightily
pissed off with Potter when we return to the campsite to find
our tents filled with water. After hurling insults and burning
objects at him for a couple of hours, the Nailsea camp settle
down to sleep in their puddles. The next day, innovative rock
legends The Shirehorses kick-off the live music on the Other Stage
at the unearthly hour of 9am!! The only reason people are up so
early is because its too wet to lie down anywhere. |
|
|
Many
sleepy festival-goers think they must still be having a weird
dream when they think they see a fat, bearded, Scanidavian man
in a dress is next up on stage, but no, it’s The Soundtrack
Of Our Lives. The crazy dress-sense is continued with The Supernaturals
turning up in white Chefs outfits and getting duly pelted with
mud a few hours later. The immaculately-dressed Rocket From The
Crypt use the slimey conditions to their advantage, vocalist Speedo
parts the crowd down the middle moses-style and encourages the
kids dive head first down the mud slide towards the stage, amazingly
some crazy fools oblige while being loudly egged on by the crowd.
1998 is also World Cup year, and Glastonbury does not escape from
the football fever gripping England. Shortly before the England
team's vital match with Columbia, The Lightening Seeds work the
Main Stage crowd into a frenzy by running through “3 Lions”,
their football anthem currently riding high in the charts. And
then a huge gathering (the biggest group of people massed together
to watch the game in Britain) converge in the Cinema Field, where
a specially erected screen is showing the match. Des Lynam’s
head gets a massive cheer when it is projected on the monitor,
and, despite enduring the worst rain of the weekend throughout,
the field of football fans doesn’t stop cheering until the
final is blown. England win 2-0 with first-half goals from Michael
Owen and David Beckham. As the team head into the Second Round
of the World Cup, thousands of drenched fans head back to the
Main Stage to celebrate with James – who have cut their
set short so they could watch the footy themselves. |
| James
start where the Lightening Seeds left off, leading the ecstatic
crowd in a singalong of “3 Lions” before launching
into their own hit “Sit Down.” However good Friday
evening had been with it’s party atmosphere, it’s
impossible to be feel slightly uncomfortable trudging back to
the tent soaking wet and freezing. The biggest disappointment
with the rain is that it’s hopeless trying to get a good
campfire going, and even the fires that are alight don’t
tempt many people to come and sit out in the rain around them.
This is what Glastonbury is usually all about, the real atmosphere
only begins when everyone gets together round the fire after the
bands finish for the day, for a laugh and a sing song, –
but the showers of ’98 prevent this from happening. On Saturday
morning many people are waking up to find they have no dry clothes
left at all. It’s all too much for many, who give up and
set off home. Those who stick around however are rewarded with
a few hours of blazing sun later that morning – as far as
the eye can see people rush from tents to hang their stuff on
the perimeter fence to dry – this ray of light saves the
festival for many. That afternoon, now with a full set of dry
pants to swing, the whole of Glastonbury collectively gets a second
wind and prepares to get back into the festival spirit once more.
Jools Holland does a sun-dance to try and extend the relief we
are enjoying from the downpour. A rainbow appears over the site
as Mansun play on the Main Stage. Two of the Hannah More Zider
team amuse themselves by kicking mud at a landrover, then spot
Robbie Williams sat inside, who disguises his anger with a wave.
|
| As
everyone attempts to dry their clothes during Saturday
morning's brief sunny spell, Glastonbury becomes a big
nudist colony. |
|
|
His
first visit to Glastonbury in 1995 got him the sack from Take
That, but Robbie returns triumphantly this year to exorcise his
demons, yelling through a “punk-y" version of “Back
for Good” and getting screamed back at, as a herd of tiny-boppers
appear from nowhere to go crazy for “Angels.” Blur
close the Saturday bill, a rare live appearance for the band who
are currently going through their American lo-fi stage. Spectators
patiently sit through a selection of new songs and obscure album
tracks from the likes of “Leisure”, before being rewarded
with the hits: including a souped up “Parklife” and
brisk mud shaker “Song 2.” Over in the Dance Tent
things have got messy. The tent spends the morning shut due to
flooding, before someone has the bright idea of sucking all of
the water out with a huge “shit wagon”, a vehichle
normally used for draining the toilets. However, disaster strikes.
With a slip of the finger that results in a part of Glastonbury
history being made, the operator presses “blow” instead
of “suck” on the Shit Wagon’s control panel
and sprays the tent full of human poo and wee. The tent stays
shut for even longer while the hapless shit wagon operator is
made to remove all the crap by hand, it finally re-opens that
evening so dance music fans can spend the rest of the evening
boogieing amongst their own turds. A witty steward is heard to
remark, “I always knew dance music was shit.” |
| The
next day sees the Hannah More Zider team continue their “get
wrecked on Sunday” tradition, but we stay sober enough to
appreciate the bizarre day of music which ranges from the suited
crooner Tony Bennet, cheery Bob Dylan, and returning festival
heroes Pulp. Many people have left the festival by this time and
a huge array of abandoned tents, sleeping bags and clothes lie
strewn across our field when we return. This inspires our biggest
Glastonbury fire so far, by some distance, as several unwanted
tents provide us precious fire wood. The inferno is still raging
when we set off back to Nailsea for hot bathes and Lemsips. Reading
the Monday papers back home we learn that a glass-eye had been
found in the mud, Bez was arrested for possession of drugs and
3 people had been caught by stewards climbing the festival wall
- trying to get out of the site! Also
on the bill: Gomez, My Life Story, Finley Quaye, Matchbox 20,
The Doves, Primal Scream, Foo Fighters, Catatonia, Embrace, Portishead,
Cornershop, Faithless, Rolf Harris, Moby, Chemical Brothers, Stereophonics,
Idlewild, Tricky, Underworld, The Roots, FatBoy Slim, Space, Sonic
Youth, Dust Junkys, Feeder, Sean Lennon, Nick Cave & The Bad
Seeds, Joe Strummer, Roni Size, Divine Comdey, Bernard Butler,
Kristen Hersh, Underworld, Placebo, Morcheeba, Tori Amos, Asian
Dub Foundation, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Price
= £80. Attendance = 100,000 |
|
1998
- Year of FIRE!
(number 1) |
|
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Check out CD's by these mud-era Glastonbury SuperStars!
|
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Prodigy
Radiohead
Ash
Beck
Robbie Williams
Bob Dylan
Rocket From The Crypt
Supergrass
