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10. ISSUE # 5 - NO SLEEP TILL HIGHLAND FARM... After four issues of the zine, two collaborative tapes, two self-staged community centre gigs, a midnight picnic and a birthday outing, everything seemed to come together. With four bands now on the roster (and ourselves now working as two units, adding At Twilight Time as the 'experimental wing' of Magic Moments ATT), the idea arose that we should put on a festival. After all this time, I honestly haven't a clue who thought of what, but pretty much everyone's eyes lit up a little at the notion. At the outset, I don't think any of us stopped to question whether or not our enthusiasm was getting the better of our ability, but it wouldn't be long before it dawned on us how big a step it was from Frimley Community Centre to Glastonbury. But, as I said, things were really coming together now and our numbers were growing. If an infinite number of monkeys could type the complete works of Shakespeare, why couldn't a finite group of local musicians and artists stage a festival?
The fifth issue of the zine itself is evident of a growing spirit of
co-operation, the cover this time drawn by Chris Carter, as well as his
'Professor Quest' cartoon strip on the rear cover as usual, the episode
where the Strawman kills John Pryer and they all lived happily ever after,
hooray! A new artist joined the fold in the shape of
( Mick Magic - from The Grain no. 5, published September 1987 ) Thinking about it, I never did get that tenner, so a photocopy is on the way to said editor as we speak. Only 2nd class post though, have you seen the price of stamps these days!? Now I don't know exactly when we started meeting up to plan the festival, but as I mentioned previously, I can't find a word about it till the Heatherside gig programme. I'm thinking July sometime, hence the first visit to Highland Farm on August 5th. I remember people coming to my place, us going to theirs and meetings at a squat somewhere on Kings Ride in Camberley. There were probably more, it was a long time ago. From those gatherings of assorted members and egos of four diverse bands and other interested parties, all with differing philosophies and agendas, piece by piece, a plan began to formulate. Were it just a group of local bands putting it on for their own benefit, you'd likely end up with the same fans you got at most of your gigs and spend a day preaching to the converted. Thus, I reasoned, should we do it for a charity, support and publicity would be significantly easier to come by. I recall getting a real 'daggers' look from one present (not a member of any of the bands, I hasten to add) who seemed horrified that I should have the idea we seek any amount of notoriety from the event. "Why are you actually doing this?" He asked. "Publicity, obviously." I replied, feeling I was just providing an honest answer on behalf of any relatively new band that few people had yet heard of. Well, that was my point, people in bands, think about it. You don't make and perform music with the desire of being ignored. Hindsight suggests I was not only a little out of step with my new peers, but also a little ungracious in response to his disdain; "How much money have you raised for charity then?" I inquired. "Inspirational Team Building Exercises" by Mick Magic is available at all good bookstores. In spite of these slightly less than harmonious early exchanges, mostly due to my own infinite lack of patience in those days, we were all soon discussing which charity would be appropriate. I seem to remember Frimley Park Hospital and Great Ormond Street were both floated, and are most certainly noble causes that we pencilled in for the future, but the one we could all comfortably get behind was Greenpeace;
*** SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL PLANET! *** |
So, we had a venue, courtesy of Martin Crook's dad, and we had a cause - all we had to do now was stage an all day outdoor event. Once you start making lists of all the aspects involved in doing that, it's quite amazing just how much work goes into it;
And, in spite of all that brainstorming and intricate planning, at the final meeting the weekend before the festival, a little voice pops up and says "Um... has anyone thought of toilets?" |
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Iaino
Zunavbitdge (pictured left, inventing the mirror selfie), contributing a
page of 70's underground influenced comic strip, including "Rupert And The
Fairy", none of which I'm going to reprint here because I don't want to be
sued. Well, that and the fact he might want his trousers back. The Charles
also produced their own page, which just left me with the welcome page and
the "Gigs, Events & Goodies" bit. We even had a letter from local music
journalist, Adrian Creek. Okay, mostly it was making excuses for all the
mistakes, but he was also showing some genuine interest and even asked if
he could contribute. And how did we repay him? By including him in his
favourite feature, 'Blackmail Spot';
And a special hello to pop journalist Adrian
Creek, this month's special guest target! £10 (including expenses) will
stop a copy of your "fuck the Aldershot News" comment going to your editor
by 1st class post! 