Festivalized By Ian Abrahams

Festivalized By Ian Abrahams Paperback 1908728574 9781908728579 Biography Festivalized This long awaited and remarkable book is arguably one of the most important that we have ever published. The British free festival movement, and the way that it was viciously quashed by successive waves of The Establishment is a story that many have skirted around, but until now no one has done justice to. Ian and Bridgets extraordinary book is an oral history of these turbulent times and deserves to be seen in the same illustrious light as Days In The Life: Voices from the English Underground, 1961 71 by Jonathan Green. Ian and Bridget have done a great service to music lovers and social historians alike.

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Both were concerned with animal rights and the environment Both groups adopted a DIY attitude to just get stuff done Sure there was a distrust but both groups had a lot in common. Festivized sandman There are some interesting observations about the monster that is Glastonbury and it s free festival roots I was reading this year about how people were moaning how it had lost its soul and how it was only for wealthy middle class white kids true of course And yet I distinctly remember talking to old hippie mates in 1992 about how crap Glastonbury was now and how it had lost it s soul There is a lot of talk about drugs in the book and if one was a bit partial to weed or acid they d have a happy reminisce here I used to love dropping acid or mushrooms and going on a trip listening to music including Hawkwind It seems a great time to basically party all summer and freak out and dance When it s described well the contributors talk about a community.

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This book is a fantastic history of the free festival era in the United Kingdom from the late sixties to the early nineties It was a wonderful book to read about events and a subculture I heard much about in my teens and early twenties but had largely died out by then in the mid 90 s The book largely chronicles the free festival scene from the Isle of Wight festival in 1967 which was largely described as free retrospectively through the 1970 s and the hippie movement travelling around England setting up festivals and playing where ever It was a movement largely spearheaded by space rock type bands like Hawkwind whose multitude of spin offs were often known as festival bands There is the close association to Stonehenge and hippie paganism and how the Stonehenge free festivals grew an uneasy alliance with punk and then the eventual police repression which spelt the end of the movement as it transitioned into rave and then paid festivals. Festivalized epublishing The book largely follows a chronology but there are a couple of things the book is not It s not a detailed history of festivals including dates and line ups Where the book shines though is how it depicts the festival scene in the own words of attendees organisers musicians and entertainers It is this element that makes the book shine Because we hear about significant events from a range of people what we have is a rich but sometimes contradictory interpretation of what happened when and this provides a depth to the stories It s clear that the authors and contributors have a complex relationship to the festival scene what they had and what they lost. Festival yzeures sur creuse The other thing that is superb about this book is that it is a real warts and all It s clear that the free festival scene was something organic beautiful and special for those involved but also it could be so easy to romanticise the era looking back especially with rose tinted glasses on but the contributors have a refreshing degree of honesty about the problems with the festivals and I really appreciate how sharing some of the unsavoury stuff helps us understand the scene better. Music festival edmonton I guess in the mid to late 90 s I was living in squats knew quite a few crusties and the infamous Brew Crew types knew some new age travellers who were still at it but importantly I had quite a few friends a bit older than me who caught the end of the late 80 s very early 90 s free festival culture I guess I was a bit jealous really because whilst I caught a lot of the Reclaim the Streets protest street party actions and went to raves and squat parties I kind of missed out on this wonderful culture of travelling around joining the Peace Convoy and generally partying all summer I d hear tales about people going to Glastonbury and getting in free via the travellers field or all the free festivals around So many of the places and names in this book I had largely forgotten about and reading about them brought back memories of friends telling me what I d missed years ago So it s great reading a book about a culture I recognise and caught the end of but was not really part of. Festivalized musical It s really hard to pigeonhole this book and by extension the scene I think reading the book that the free festival scene means so much to different people and the organic nature of them means they are all correct. Book festivals 2023 So was it about music Well yes there were bands that played and sometimes they got paid There was a sense that you could turn up and play anyway and at least in the early days concepts such as stages and set times were not really thought of It s really cool how they mentioned the punks getting involved and then reggae and world music and then trance and other dance music I never really saw punk as being a factor in the scene but what I really liked about the book was how it drew parallels between the hippies and punks who hated each other Both groups adopted a concern about the nature of the state and police brutality a coming together a shared campfire and festival soul of peace harmony and togetherness Of course the good times come to an end and by the mid 80 s heroin was endemic in traveller sites the festivals and convoys It s clear that dealers were using the borderline legality and relative anarchic outside of society traveller community to push smack This isn t a nice thing to say but by the late 90 s I d say most of the people I knew who had a traveller background either had chronic alcohol problems or were addicted to smack. Festivalized music The book also does a good job of conveying what was beautiful and what was problematic For instance there appears to have been a culture of sharing of helping out and it s clear people turned up with nothing and got by At the same time it appears there were a lot of petty capitalists trying to make a few quid and then by the end this turned into the illegal rave as a money making drug dealing activity and also the proliferation of scamming ripping people off and hurting people I hate to say it but a lot of the scene I knew contained some of the most unpleasant unscrupulous people I have ever met often with a veneer of being anarchists or against society which they largely leeched off. Festivalized biography template The book is an interesting observation on organisation too Often events had no organiser beyond a loose network of people who did stuff At times this seemed wonderful but at others it seemed there was a reckless disregard for even the basics of things like sanitation and safety It seemed that some people revelled in the attention without doing anything and yet at the same time they were a focal point for others to do things. Book festivals One can see the trajectory of police repression increasingly growing culminating with the police attacking travellers viciously known as the battle of the Beanfield Since then we ve had the Criminal Justice Act and even the most recent Crime and Disorder bill all laws designed to prevent people from freely associating and enjoying themselves or protesting It really did start in the 80 s as the police brutalised the miners they then turned on the next public enemy number one You can see how an activity that wasn t explicitly political to start with became so as the movement grew up despite it s casualties. Festival yzeures sur creuse It appeared it was both the best of times and worst of times I m really glad I had the opportunity to read this and learn a bit It s a thoughtful and intelligent book which shows a lot of love but reflects well what went wrong I still wish I had been a bit older and been involved The book concludes with a brilliant recommended discography most available on your favourite streaming platform a reading list and viewing list of documentaries and films For anyone interesting in what the era looked like this site has some brilliant archive photos and I can see that a lot of the people I would have had a crush on in the mid 90s you can find a lookalike on here Ian Abrahams Although a few books have dealt with aspects of the alternative free festival underground scene The Battle of the Beanfield edited by Andy Worthington comes to mind none has provided the reader with quite such sumptuous detail as Ian Abrahams and Bridget Wishart s Festivalized Covering a period from the hazy early days of free festi culture in the 1970s through to the last true free festival at Castlemorton the book tells its tale with a sympathetic yet never rose tinted viewpoint via the recollections opinions and stories of many from the scene famous individuals and ordinary punters alike It s a terrific read and everyone who has come across the scene whether tangentially or in its entirety like the numerous musicians artists and travellers who lived on the road will want to check the book out. Festivalized musica The work not only follows the general flow of free festival history it covers numerous aspects of the scene from smaller things like the food through larger considerations such as the politics and the drugs situation to major events like the Battle of the Beanfield Contributors come from all sides musicians such as Joie of the Ozrics Nik Turner Swordfish of the Magic Mushroom Band Cornish troubadour and all round 12 string wizard Nigel Mazlyn Jones Simon Williams of Mandragora and many counter cultural free thinkers like Penny Rimbaud and Mick Farren plus a huge array of folk who were there Oz Hardwick Michael Dog Jake Stratton Kent to name just three It s a glittering array of contributors. Music festival outfits Particularly moving are the less pleasant memories Many contributors dwell on likely reasons for the demise of the scene not least the Brew Crew the immense amounts of drugs and a change in some communities perception fuelled by a demonising right wing press of so called New Age Travellers Bridget contributes a sad epitaph as she recounts battling her particular demons albeit with a happy ending There is lots of positive stuff too of course not least the cultural contributions that alas only underground types would recognise and which Tory grandees in their great big houses failed even to recognise let alone understand Thatcher s brutal inhumanity will never be forgotten in this country Then there s the music the coming together of common people in mostly peaceful circumstances the veggie curries the buses the wigged out conversations around the camp fireThis work could have been a freaked out howl of rage against the rigidly class structured prejudiced conservatism of Britain Instead it s a measured superbly put together moving funny serious thought provoking account of a wonderful time in the alternative culture of our country It deserves to be recognised as a historical document. Festivized rocket launcher I don t usually give 5 5 review but I can t fault this one Ian Abrahams Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the festival scene alternative lifestyles counter culture and anarchist politics These were interesting times Ian Abrahams

Festivalized By Ian Abrahams
1908728574
9781908728579
328
Paperback
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This long awaited and remarkable book is arguably one of the most important that we have ever published The British free festival movement and the way that it was viciously quashed by successive waves of The Establishment is a story that many have skirted around but until now no one has done justice to Ian and Bridget s extraordinary book is an oral history of these turbulent times and deserves to be seen in the same illustrious light as Days In The Life Voices from the English Underground 1961 71 by Jonathan Green Ian and Bridget have done a great service to music lovers and social historians alike FestivalizedIan Abrahams born 1963 is a freelance journalist and biographer His books include Hawkwind Sonic Assassins Strange Boat Mike Scott The Waterboys and with Bridget Wishart Festivalized Music Politics The Alternative Culture Hes written for Record Collector R2 Rock N Reel Vive Le Rock Shindig The Guardian The Independent Bass Guitar and others Ian lives in Cornwall where his household includes two retired greyhounds whove never been to a muddy festival tied on the end of a string Ian Abrahams born 1963 is a freelance journalist and biographer His books include Hawkwind Sonic Assassins Strange Boat Mike Scott The Waterboys and with Bridget Wishart Festivalized Music Politics The Alternative Culture He s written for Record Collector R2 Rock N Reel Vive Le Rock Shindig The Guardian The Independent Bass Guitar and others Ian lives in Cornwall where his household includes two retired greyhounds who ve never been to a muddy festival tied on the end of a string site_link Festivalized.

. Festivalized biography meaning Highly recommended to all who have lived learned from or just admired at weekends British alternative culture and the magical promise of the free festival