Knebworth 1 : Saturday July 20 1974 Bucolic Frolic Promoted by Frederick Bannister On the bill in alphabetical order: THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND TIM BUCKLEY THE DOOBIE BROTHERS THE ALEX HARVEY BAND THE MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA THE VAN MORRISON SHOW "By midday the sun blazed down on 60,000 denim clad fans from all over the world, on the grass, sharing their drink and dope around. Babies ran naked around the site and dogs frolicked in the grass enjoying it all as much as anyone. the queues for the loos and hot dogs had started, as had the music. The atmosphere was pungent wih the smell of bodies, beer, fish and chips, and exotic smoke." from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold. "Welcome to our Bucolic Frolic. We hope you enjoy your day at Knebworth, and enter into the spirit of our Knebworth park." from the Official Programme printed by Blue Egg Printing and Design Ltd. See also: The Archive - A Personal Recollection of Knebworth 1974

On the bill in order of appearance:

Tim Buckley "Tim Buckley, the American songwriter, and his four piece band opened the first Knebworth Festival fifty minutes late due to technical problems. People were still arriving, finding friends and generally settling themselves down, so he didn't get everyone's attention. But his full-blooded and sensuous voice made an ideal start to the concert." from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold. "Labels have a way of converging when discussions of Tim Buckley's music arise. An artist in the purest sense, he is his own category. Tim is an innovator, a musician who seeks change, growth, and personal development. He does not believe in limitations." from the Official Programme. Refer to: The Archive - A Personal Recollection of Tim Buckley's Performance The Tim Buckley Archives www.timbuckley.com All Music Guide profile Top of Page Return to Home Page

The Alex Harvey Band "After a short pause The Sensational Alex Harvey Band followed in grand eloquent contrast (to Tim Buckley). Harvey, dressed in a black frock coat, jeans and jock strap, flexed a vicious cane, and his lead guitarist, Zal Cleminson, to his left, leapt about like a demon jester with his face made up in white pan stick and his tongue lolling lasciviously." from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold. "Any band which bears the appellation Sensational had better have something in its musical make-up and general presentation above the ordinary. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band has the something else, which never fails to grab audiences in the right place, and in the right way." from the Official Programme. Refer to: The Archive - A Personal Recollection of SATB's Performance All Music Guide profile SAHB Surfers Webring Top of Page Return to Home Page

The Mahavishnu Orchestra "John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, resembling a walking Daz (laundry soap) advertisement, came on stage next. Everything seemed to be played in a piercing tone and frequently reached the level of a shriek. One man took off his sarong and danced naked in the crowd, doing his own thing and not caring who was staring." from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold. "The essence of Mahavishnu John McLaughlin's contribution to contemporary music is his continuous, all-embracing growth, as a player and a creator of fresh forms of expression. Because his range of reference points and influences is unusually broad, and because he subordinates his awesome technique to the communication of the spirit and soul of music, McLaughlin is able to play his audiences with as much selfless dedication as he devotes to his guitar." from the Official Programme. Refer to: The Archive - A Personal Recollection of The Mahavishnu Orchestra's Performance John McLaughlin - Rough Guide to Rock Top of Page Return to Home Page

The Van Morrison Show Featuring The Caledonia Soul Express "Van Morrison, 'the Irishman of the laid back blues' as someone called him, was dressed in a satin shirt, and trousers worthy of a window cleaner. He played with a new trio, Pete Wingfield on piano, Peter Van Hook on drums and Jerome Rimson (from the Detroit Emeralds) on bass. His performance seemed to get hotter as the sun sank lower, and he finished his set with a standing ovation around 7 p.m." from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold. "With each record ... one gets a sense that van Morrison has achieved some ancient familiarity with his band and with his songs. His powers are clear: a strong gift for melody, a vocal pesence that dominates - in fact overwhelms - the musical framework, and most of all, a verbal magic as inventive and literate as Bob Dylan's." from the Official Programme. Refer to: The Archive - A Personal Recollection of Van's Performance Wavelength : The Van Morrison magazine All Music Guide profile Top of Page Return to Home Page

The Doobie Brothers "The Californian Doobie Brothers were next, not real brothers but a bunch of friends who shared a common love of drivin' rock and roll and hard core rhythm and blues. Their show was highlighted by smoke bombs, lights and flares and a guest appearance by former Doobie Jeff Baxter, now with Steely Dan, on pedal steel guitar." from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold. "Anyone who wants to see the barriers of modern rock broken down, needn't look any further than The Doobie Brothers." from the Official Programme. Refer to: The Archive - A Personal Recollection of The Doobies' Performance Doobie Brothers website All Music Guide profile Top of Page Return to Home Page

The Allman Brothers Band "It was evident that the Allman Brothers were the major attraction. This was only the second time they had played outside of America and their first visit to Britain. Multi-coloured floodlights from two fifty foot scaffolding towers and a tumultuous roar from 60,000 fans greeted their triumphant entrance. "We're gonna play every damn thing we can remember if we get the time," announced Gregg Allman. "We're gonna boogie all night." They started at 9.25 p.m. and played for three hours. satisfying even their most ardent fans." from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold. "They set up the equipment in the park, and Duane, Richard, Berry, Jaimoe and Butch whipped into a jam that didn't stop until two hours later. "It really frightened the shit out of everybody," Duane said later. "Nobody'd ever done anything like that before. I said, here it is, man, here it is." The spirit which emerged in Jacksonvile in 1969 is still very much alive today. The Allman Brothers Band is a hard-driving band. Their audience will be anxiously waiting to see what direction their music will take next. But their appeal will undoubtedly continue to be summed up in the words of Tony Glover in an earlier biography: "Long may they boogie!"" from the Official Programme. Refer to: The Archive - A Personal Recollection of The Allmans' Performance ALLMANet All Music Guide profile Top of Page Return to Home Page

Comperes: Pete Drummond John Peel BBC Radio 1 Bio John Peel's Dandelion record label BBC Radio 4 Home Truths

"It took hours to clear the park of vehicles. By 1 a.m., there was still a long queue for the special buses back to Stevenage Station. Dawn broke and the arena looked like a deserted battlefield." from Knebworth Rock Festivals by Chryssie Lytton Cobold. "We have been asked by the Police to point out that it is dangerous for pedestrians to be on a Motorway. It is also an offence, so please take care when leaving the concert to avoid walking on the A1(M) Motorway which passes Knebworth Park." extracts from the Official Programme

Top of Page Return to Home Page LINKS to other sites on the Web: The Archive Programme Shot - Front and Back Knebworth House - Rock Concert Pages There Must Be A Better Way - Forthcoming Memorabilia Package from Freddie Bannister Posters - direct from Knebworth House Posters - from Freddie Bannister

last updated May 31 2002 with copious thanks to: Chryssie Lytton Cobbold and Henry Cobbold of Knebworth House for their help and encouragement, and for granting permission to quote freely from Knebworth Rock Festivals which now appears to be out of print.