Cropredy Now & Then

From 1983:



And from today's Observer:

Forget Glastonbury and Womad - the 40th reunion gig of folk's finest band is this year's hottest outdoor ticket

Next weekend, at its annual bash at Cropredy, Oxfordshire, Fairport, the inventors of 'folk rock', will host their 40th-anniversary party, a celebration of four uninterrupted decades of music of enduring quality, played through an inimitable narrative, all washed down with hectolitres of wholesome ale.

...the best weekend break in the world, on the site of a pivotal battle during the English Civil War. You can sit on a deckchair or lie on the grass. You can bring your mates, your lover, wife, husband, children or parents (grandchildren too, these days) and no one will nick your wallet - they get returned, full of cash, to the Lost and Found. Any football results that day will be relayed over the speaker system; you can eat sausages and try to win a signed violin in the raffle. I never saw any chemicals at Cropredy, the odd spliff maybe; but to say that this was an unintoxicated event would be prissy. The closest Cropredy gets to corporate life is a recent partnership with Wadworths beer, sold in gallon containers as well as by the pint. The next day, a Fairport XI takes on the village cricket team - 'Not always feeling or looking our best,' says Peggy.

- FULL ARTICLE HERE (very good it is too)

· The Cropredy Festival: 40 Glorious Years is this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

· Liege and Lief is rereleased by Universal Records, and the 4-CD Dave Pegg retrospective, A Box of Pegg's, is out on 14 August on Matty Grooves Records