Cropredy Memories

[Penguin (Dunc)]

One of my favourite memories happened on the Thursday before Thursday became another festival day.

After taking in the local hostelries during the afternoon/evening, my mate & I wandered into the arena about 12:30am, sat in front of the mixing tower supping ale, and watched the lighting crew setting up the stage, though they did ignore our helpful suggestions!  

Guess that couldn’t happen these days!

[David W]

and some things are of course best left to memories and we accept they have had their time. An example being the banter Jonah and latter Danny T had with the crowds, somehow getting 20,000 people to shout "get on with it" in recent years wouldn't work.

[hendo (Dave)]

One of my favourite memories happened on the Thursday before Thursday became another festival day.

After taking in the local hostelries during the afternoon/evening, my mate & I wandered into the arena about 12:30am, sat in front of the mixing tower supping ale, and watched the lighting crew setting up the stage, though they did ignore our helpful suggestions!  

Guess that couldn’t happen these days!

Yes, i remember watching RT sound check with about 30 others and he asked what we would like him to play. Vincent Black Lightning at 10.30 in the morning.  I always wandered on to the field on the Sun morn to watch the stage start to come down. In the days before elfin safety.

[Dan O.]

The incredible set from Blue Tapestry (While & Matthews with Maart, Pete Zorn and drummer Neil Marshall playing the songs of Joni and Carole) in 2003 : when it was time to play "Raised On Robbery", a call was put out for the auxiliary bassist as Pete Zorn wanted to grace the song with sax, and Maart was playing lead guitar. Cue a red-faced and refreshed Peggy running full pelt in his shorts from the bar for one number only !

The Dubliners in the rain.

Being there in body but not in spirit for Jools Holland due to being over-refreshed.

Discovering the best place for breakfast after seven years.

Thursday morning opening time sitting in the fireplace at The Red Lion.

The conversation in the gents at the Red Lion along the lines of "How many of us actually got into Fairport via rock rather than folk ?"

The weekend the music moved me to tears on no less than three occasions (Bob Fox singing Greek Lightning, RT and Christine Collister's A Heart Needs A Home and Beth Nielsen Chapman's rendition of Solo backed by FC)

One of my dearest friends joining Country Joe McDonald & His Band onstage for a lengthy spoons solo during the "Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag"

An impromptu late drunken session of Band and Beach Boys songs at the bar led by Messrs Pegg and McTell.

Ticking Status Quo off my I-Spy list of bands I've seen and enjoying them.

Standing at the bar with Poor Will and Adam W wearing his Pompey shirt and spotting someone in a Southampton shirt a couple of feet away.

The great music, beer and food - the fact I haven't been able to make it for the last couple will make this year's Cropredy even more special...

[GubGub (Al)]

I always wandered on to the field on the Sun morn to watch the stage start to come down. In the days before elfin safety.

Which reminds me, the old and, it seemed to me, huge CD tent that used to be down on th corner of the field, more or less where the merch tent is now. I bagged loads of bargains from there including what are now much sought after CD copies of First Light and Sunnyvista. It used to still be trading on Sunday morning and I would make it my habit to pop over and pick up a few bits on my way back from breakfast when the rest of the field was nearly empty and the stage was being dismantled before starting the long journey home.

No names dropped. No points. I've never met anyone famous at Cropredy!  

[quodlibet (Ian)]

That sublime moment in whatever year, when Sandy's "Quiet Joys of Brotherhood" was played over the PA during the Fairport set. Still the hackles rise when I remember it.

[Peter H-K]

That sublime moment in whatever year, when Sandy's "Quiet Joys of Brotherhood" was played over the PA during the Fairport set. Still the hackles rise when I remember it.

I suspect you don't mean that!  

[PaulT]

Standing behind a very hairy chap at the bar, who promptly turned round, carrying numerous pints, & trod on my foot.  My 2 sons were gobsmacked - it was Roy Wood.

The year Billy Connolly (apparently) went to Cropredy the week before the festival, and was persuaded to do a short (family-friendly) set; anyone else remember the cycling/USA/"penile numbness" spiel?  

Never to my knowledge seen Sir Robert Peel tho...

[Albie]

One memory was standing in a queue next to a YFA winner, and she smiled and said hello, so I smiled back and said hello and she continued looking at me and said........"would you mind moving please because you are treading on me". Ooops.  

2009 three of us walking into the top of the field after collecting wristbands and we all looked down the field and one turned to me and said "it's like we'm home again ay it" which was nice.

John Tams when with HS shouting "Maggie Maggie Maggie" and several thousand of us shouting "out out out" back at him. You never forget the lyrics to the classics.

Musically there are zillions but watching Cat and the chaps do Peace Train was maybe the best, wish he had done more of his hits.

Best set I have seen in my seven attendances was Little Feat.

Plenty of funny stories that don't really translate, you had to be there, everyone must have similar I hope.

[Henry Tompkins (Pete)]

It was the Rick Wakeman year...  Can't be arsed to go and check...  But theyvwerevdoingbExcalibur during the storm!

Wakeman and Excalibur......Gawd.  

[Mr Cat (Lewis)]

Many of them deleted or never saved due to excessive alcohol consumption, but off the top of my head:

- The night FC acted as Plant's backing band.  My wife complained that she was going to buy some bowls from a stall when Mr. Plant came in and bought the very same ones..

- Getting so drunk on a Saturday evening that I fell over face first resulting in a huge black eye with yellow bruising all around (had some explaining to do at work on the Monday) - think that was 1992

- Having to get to Banbury station to get home so I could attend my Dad's 60th on a Sunday involving a 4 mile plus walk with a major hangover (hmm..theme of over use of alcohol developing here)

- Hearing RT play Gypsy Love Songs for the first time with a stunning solo

- Going with some friends who were concerned about the portable loo facilities to the extent that they took a huge dose of Arrets to avoid having to use same and then singing "We're going to live on Arrets" during the closing "Meet on the Ledge".

- The friendly atmosphere around the village

- Seeing the various FC line ups down the years - the 1997 show (our last) was particularly good..

[jjjudy]

One year -- maybe 1989 -- back when everyone sat on the ground, we suddenly realized there was a really big boa constrictor curled up on a blanket a couple of rows ahead of us. Someone called the Thames Valley police over, who had a long conversation with the snake's owners. They protested that as long as the sun was out the snake would remain asleep and harmless. Eventually they bundled it into a large sack and carried it off the field.

I also remember fondly the fellow who used to bring Wat Tyler's severed head, on a pole, to the festival.

In order to name-drop just a little: after consuming a large quantity of 6X, I had an argument one late night (when the boss's caravan was still at the top of the field) with Long Haired Mick about the absence of toilet paper in the back-of-field loos. In subsequent years he always inquired about the status of TP in the loos when I saw him. I miss LHM.

I remember Joe McDonald dedicating a blistering Section 43 to the recently-deceased John Peel.

As for vendors, whatever happened to the hand-made shoe cobbler from Glastonbury, and Karen & Rue Williams' beautiful sweaters?

[hendo (Dave)]

As for vendors, whatever happened to the hand-made shoe cobbler from Glastonbury, and Karen & Rue Williams' beautiful sweaters?

Lovely post. Severed head , snake, toilets and a name drop. You can put 8 tokens in to the machine.
As for the vendors, huge generalisation but in the gap between my late 80's visits and mid 90's there were far less 'crusties' and I  use the word with affection. It became an older /middle class audience (sit on the ground indeed you damned hippy don't you know there is a designated distance for your chair to be from other'service users') and I suspect certain stall holders juscouldn't afford it any more.

[Bridgwit (Bridget)]

What happened there Hendo?

I love snakes - I'd be happy to have a boa constrictor on a blanket next to me, in the sun!

I used to like the soap stall, always bought my years supply of ginger soap there!

[hendo (Dave)]

What happened there Hendo?

I love snakes - I'd be happy to have a boa constrictor on a blanket next to me, in the sun!

I used to like the soap stall, always bought my years supply of ginger soap there!

I have no idea and i can't fix it. You push a button and get a big blank page. HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!

Edit: Helped. Colin

[macademis]

I thought it may have been an existentialist comment about space grabbing.....

[hendo (Dave)]

I thought it may have been an existentialist comment about space grabbing.....

If only I had the wit to make existentialist comments.

[Mister Keith]

I've only been going since 2007 but the stand-out moments for me...

...being on the barrier with my mate Ian during the FC set when Robert Plant was introduced. We looked at each other and went "Yeah, right, Robert Plant....**** ME, IT'S ROBERT PLANT!!!".

...a year after my Dad died, crying my eyes out when Bob Fox and Billy Mitchell sang "Dance to the Daddy", the song my Dad always used to sing when I was a lad.

...meeting my wife's cousin and her husband a few months later...and discovering that we'd been stood six feet away from each other during Ralph McTell's set without realising it...and then spotting them on my photos.

...being heckled from the stage by ColvinQuarmby when I was the only person in the field who was willing to admit to working for a bank.

...making new friends: Jon from The Shed, Megan, John, Alex...

...Ian admitting on the Sunday lunchtime that the reason I could smell Laphroaig during FC's set the night before was because he'd been sneakily quaffing it from his hip flask whilst my back was turned.

...the first beer after the tent has gone up.

...oggies.

[alisoncx]

Every Cropredy since I first stumbled across it with my daughter as a toddler has so many memories - how to start?  Everyone sat on the ground in the field (aka main arena pre chairs), planning the day around the children's activities, sharing time with other parents and their face-painted tie dye-wearing, gleeful children.  Biker mates guarding rug corners with sleeping daughter Iona on a pile of coats after the light faded, camping on the cricket pitch - our own mini rally, the old showers in the cricket club mildew and all!  People selling stuff on the side of the road, doing braids by the canal, children playing pooh sticks and paddling in the stream.  One year in the family field we arrived quite late, they let us have a pitch and even babysat the sleeping babe from the gate while I went off to find my friends, and entertained her with her barbie doll when she awoke.  I returned and apologised profusely when I heard she had woken up, they said not to worry, off you go - enjoy yourself, she's fine!  Now those were the days!  

I met a lady called Issy I was camped next to one year and that was the year we had people stealing stuff from tents.  It also rained a lot, and I think that's when I met you all, joined talkawhile and later the convoy.  I'm a bellringer nowadays and ring at Cropredy Church to open the festival on Thursday afternoon, and on Sunday morning if I can.  Came across Show of Hands at Cropredy and have a cd signed by Phil - listening to them now via iphone and very clever dinky speaker.  

Returned last year with now 22 year old daughter and her boyfriend, his first festival, and knew in my heart of hears that it was actually my best weekend of the year.

[Neil]

So many memories, well hazy recollections really.

I went with the same group from 82-93, we missed 83 because we were confused and forgot, we did have tickets though, I blame the Swan on Wood Street. Since ten ot's been intermittent. We always arrived together and left together but did not spend a whole lot of time together on the blanket, strange days indeed. I remember for the first five years we would walk from Banbury on Thursday night after the pubs closed always catching a ride in a van somewhere and having to re pitch the tent in the morning. Riding the bus from Liverpool to Banbury with the change in Birmingham, the bar by the bus station in Birmingham always seemed to be playing Zappa, the interminable roundabouts before Banbury and people falling out of the bus toilet, counting down the pipers in the bottle of 100 Pipers Scotch. The year we got the train and saw Roy Wood at the train station and then in the field. Waking up with the hand drawn sign directing people to the festival, seeing old girlfriends with new boyfriends at the festival, falling in the same ditch every year, bleating like sheep, laughing, smoking, drinking and holding hands in the rain. The kindness of Swarb and Simon one year, causing Peggy to laugh so hard one year beer came out of his nose literally bumping into Ashley, Jude's grace and the sheer largeness of Trevor's personality. Forgetting the tent and sleeping under a borrowed piece of plastic, the convoy and the police. Taking my american girlfriend one year and then breaking down on the way home somewhere in Wales, proposing and suddenly the world changed.

Musically it was all fun from Capt CoCo to Pyewacket, Wild Willy and the opera lady, Jools, the early days band on Friday night, Liege and Lief, every time the Full House boys get together, Richard in the rain, the sun and the cold, Chicken Shack, LeRue, Four Men and a Dog, Tull, Plant turning up and being christened Bobby Radish by my friend John, it all made sense at the time.

Not that any of that made sense but I guess it's just that Cropredy and Fairport are part of my life, when it ends it ends but until it does it's a fun party and we will probably go when we can for as long as we are able.

Neil