3 days ago
Photos give rare glimpse of area's first major pop festival at Bickershaw
With the festival season underway. we thought it appropriate to head into the archive and bring you these photos from one of the area's first pop festivals.
The event, held at Bickershaw, over three days in May 1972, featured a line-up of major UK and American acts including The Grateful Dead, Hawkwind, Captain Beefheart and The Kinks.
Organisers had hoped that over 120,000 people would head to the North West for the Bickershaw Festival - notable as it was one of the first festivals to offer on-site camping.
But bad weather meant that the site - which was prone to flooding - turned into something of a mud bath. And a lack of adequate security meant that many tickets were resold and many festivalgoers even got in for free.
Around 40,000 people were estimated to have attended with the organisers - who included one Jeremy Beadle, long before he achieved TV fame - losing a substantial amount of money.
The site was left an eyesore leading to numerous complaints from local residents.
