Rave before Rave … Windsor Free Festival, 1974.

The QUEENS HOUSE! … well … back-garden shall we say,

was the venue. Windsor, South East England … A big, long

grassy field, with trees to the side and space for a stage at the end.

This was the third one I believe, flyers got handed out, word was

in the Underground Press, and me and my friend Simon thought

sure, lets go. We didn’t have a tent so borrowed one from a neighbor.

I recall being a little self-conscious as we set it up amongst the shady

grove that a longhair directed us to, amongst the home-mades,

& ramshackles, hammocks and smaller things.

It was big, blue, & family size I realized, but we welcomed a visiting

couple and youngster and felt better.

I remember Dark Star playing loudly from a speaker system. Rumors

the Dead would be here to entertain us all, rumors as always.

Laughing Sams Dice later onstage, 3 piece rock band, a nod to

‘Gods that Play with Laughing Sams Dice’ from Hendrix I would figure …

Acid that would be.

And Gong … oh Gong! … seeming always at the free festivals … 

A hippy band deluxe with their whispering sound play, pixies,

dress-up, trippy guitar from Steve Hillage, spacey flowing rhythms,

try the album ‘You’ for a taste. And check ‘I Never Glid Before’

on Youtube … see it, not listen … for a taste of how tripped out

these folks were.

And the Trip tent of course. There to help those in LSD panic. 

I remember a youngster mid way through setting his tent up

kind of losing it himself.  Plenty of folks around, I’m sure he 

got some help.

And small fires, and brewing tea and homemade stews,

and a visit to the town just down the road for food

and cashing dole/welfare cheques.

And a wonderful rare treat for the locals as we gathered on

blankets by the river, to defrock and roll some up & get high

and swim naked & free as the townsfolk gathered on the bridge

nearby to gaze curiously and be entertained.

Jesus may have been there, he probably was, but I don’t know …

A lone ‘freak’ who turned up regularly at music festivals, dancing

all sinuous and flowy-like … ‘hippy dancing’ it’d be called now.

While wearing a long monkish robe and barefoot … Jesus

became his name.

And the cops … yes, the cops … we were after all in the Queen’s

Backyard and they were not happy … not at all. I recall some

sort of stand-off with a large group of bikers, maybe the cops

tried to close the road, the bikers won out I think.   

Simon and I left a little early, hitch-hiking back the way we came

with tent and sleeping bags. 

The next day the cops moved in en masse, truncheons swinging

if you didn’t move fast enough & hesitated or talked back.

A meditating hippy chanting Hare Krishna for peace got bonked

on the head and dragged away, I’ve always remembered that.

It would end like that and with court cases and enquiries and 200 

odd arrested. I believe that was the last Windsor Free Festival. 

The gathering, the music, the dope, the illegality … there we go.

Rave before Rave … Windsor Free Festival, 1974.