Wigan Album

To think most of them lot are all old age pensioners now!
Hard to believe… we were so young, not that I was there.

Oh my word! I was 19 that Summer and we had a walk round the festival site one night......it was just a sea of mud. I wore a shawl round my shoulders that my Mam had carried me in as a baby, (so it was 19 years old), "love-beads" and a cow-bell round my neck, and Peter's tie tied around my head! The Festival is a faded memory now but I still have the shawl, (it is 70 years old come October!), but I am so glad I saw Bickershaw Pop Festival!

When I was young,I had a friend who moved to Bickershaw, I once went to see her, and I thought it was miles away. I was 24 when this festival was on.

There are more pictures from this event that I posted a while ago under Bickershaw in the Places folder.

Haydock Brass Band made a guest appearance.

James Hanson I remember it well, you were the band conductor dressed in uniform, and with your peaked cap and moustache you looked just like Blakey from On The Buses. In fact I've seen you in one of these photos sheltering from the rain wearing an anorak.

Cyril, that wouldn't be me, as I was only ten in 1972 and had never even heard of Bickershaw. Maybe you got me mixed up with Handel Jones?

Considering this event took place in May (which is generally a warm/mild month) - the weather in the photograph looks really cold and gloomy like the middle of Winter.

I was there! Also age 19. Indeed it was cold and rainy. But the music was sublime. Dr John was the bill topper on the Friday, Captain Beefheart ditto on the Saturday and finally The Grateful Dead on the Sunday playing for hours. Preceded by the New Riders of The Purple Sage. Ridiculous sounding band names but these really were the best of Americana. We were so lucky to have them all in one place. Absurdly it was a field near Wigan!