Dick’s Picks: Festival Program Treworgey Tree Fayre

MRA

This week’s choice from our resident vinyl guru ‘Mr A’ is this programme from a little known (and that includes those who were there!) 1989 UK music festival Treworgey Tree Fayre, read on for the full gory details……

For full details on the website click here

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Remember the days when the Great British Music Festival was more of a debauched hedonistic mudfest where you didn’t go to the toilet for three days & couldn’t remember if you had a good time or not, rather than the disinfected fun-fair-with-beanburgers that the modern outdoor event has become ? This was one of the last ‘real’ music festivals, running for three days over four stages & a splendid time was guaranteed for all)……

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The coaches & camper vans were still reeling from the loss of the ‘real’ Glastonbury by the erection of castle walls & the enforcing of ticket checks, along with the enthusiastic ‘protecting & serving’ that was done to shut down the annual Stonehenge free festival before barbed wire served to block off the ancient monument from everybody not prepared to pay to see something that had been free for two and a half thousand years.

What to do ?

In the spirit of anarchy and in order to fulfil the need for a car park, a small farm between Looe & Liskeard in Cornwall was chosen to be the spot for the Treworgey Tree Fayre, an old style GBMF where pretty much anything went for both the audience and the bands involved.

This was no tinpot affair, however, even though it has been described as the worst organised Festival in history by people that were obviously not young enough to remember the chaos of the Seventies.
Bands appearing boasted the usual suspects like the mighty Hawks, Nik Turner, Ozric Tentacles & The Levellers, but there were some less obvious like Misty In Roots, Loop, Climax Blues Band & Poison Girls. I wonder how many people remember all of the closing acts on the second stage on Saturday ?

Contrary to the usual counter-culture methodology, although ticket prices were sort of optional, they had a real printed program & T-Shirts.
I can’t speak for the T-Shirts, but the program is a mini work of art.

The program itself is A4 in size [8″ by 11½”] with a full colour cover and runs for twenty eight pages inside. Along with the usual pictures of the artists [probably] appearing and mini bios, almost every page has some fun artwork by Tiny, including a comic strip!

Many people still cite this as being one of the best Festivals ever and if you read the reviews online, there is only glowing praise for that weekend of chaos, music & constipation recreation.

You may have been there. You may not have been there. You may have been there but can’t remember being there. Either way, you can relive the moment by leafing through this vintage program, which remains in superb condition & free from creases, stains [known or unknown], tyre or burn marks.

A real treat !

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3 Comments

  1. I was there 🙂
    It was excellent, and there was a much needed thunderstorm for Misty In Roots.
    Also, the first rave at a festival ever, courtesy of the Rhythm DOctor out the back of a transit van, which took up most of my three days there. It was extremely hot and dusty. Classic times.
    http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/treworgey-fayre-photos-oz.html
    However, a few facts wrong here – Glastonbury, which had not been held at stonehenge for some time btw, still had a traveller field that year, [and the following year] and the reason Treworgey was quite so mental was that they had all finally decamped there. What a summer.

  2. i was there,it was a mad,totally anarchic end to a blinding summer on the road…we left Glastonbury,travellers free festival field,and via wales,headed to cornwall….t was like ,mad max meats apocalypse now with a hint of Woodstock thrown in!i,personally had a great time,and compared to the middle class,gap year luvvies,glamping festivals of today,feel glad I witnessed a special time…and it as the birth of the festy /rave crossover….

  3. Just found a photo of my friend & me at the treworgey tree fair 😃 which lead me to this blog, I had no idea it had gone down in history with this reputation & tbh I remember very little after downing a strong cup of mushroom tea 🤪

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