*Playlist at the bottom if you want to head straight there.
Continuing on from yesterday’s Glastonbury post, I’ve made a playlist in a similar vein to the 1970 one but dedicated to my very first visit to Worthy Farm back in 1982. As with the previous one I have tried to keep it in the order which acts played, however there’s not exactly a scientific method to guarantee that I’m correct. I certainly remember very little from that year except for working the gates with my Dad (I assume as part of CND as it was their second year as both financial beneficiaries and co-organisers of the event) and being very happy to receive 20p tips, lots and lots of mud, loving the big pirate ship in the kids area but being rather worried about the signs saying “Beware Of The Adders”, getting very lost (not for the last time at Glastonbury) and having a lovely hippy couple buy me my first ever can of coca-cola. That’s pretty much it, the only band I remember that year were Aswad who would continue to be a life long favourite. Here’s a cute photo of me from that year though…
Of course the music in 1982 was a world away from that very first one in 1970, although the original policy of Pop, Folk & Blues was still apparent in acts such as the Climax Blues Band, who had been around since the late 60s but were veering toward a more rock & pop sound by the 80s. Not to be confused with The Blues Band of course, who were also on the bill and were formed from the ashes of ‘British Invasion’ band Manfred Mann in 1979.
The folkier side was represented by the much loved Irish traditionalists The Chieftains. I’ve included the only two tunes I’m fairly sure that they played which are ‘Boil The Breakfast Early’ from their 1979 album of the same name and the hillbilly hoedown classic ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ that had been a duet with Ricky Skaggs on their 1981 album ‘Another Country’.
There was also Roy Harper, who had gotten into an onstage punch up with Ginger Baker the previous year. I haven’t included any songs from him here though as he mostly performed tracks from his Work Of Heart album which isn’t on Spotify. However you can watch a video of him performing the 20 minute title medley which makes up the whole second side of the album (and most of his live set too).
Both Thompson Twins and U2 are on the poster but almost certainly didn’t play and there was Funkapolitan, Ekome and Steve Wally but I can’t find any evidence of their sets and they aren’t on Spotify anyway to be fair, so the only other act I know who definitely played but isn’t included on this playlist is Jean Phillipe Rykiel, here’s a video from his synthtastic performance though.
The other band on that video is Talisman, Bristol reggae legends who were a very well respected live force but much like fellow Bristolians Black Roots, never signed a major label deal like many of their contemporaries so often get missed out of the history books. They had no album out at this time but their ‘Dole Age’ 7” single from 1981 seemed to have had quite a bit of pick-up.
Although I’m not sure if the likes of Jah Shaka and Saxon Sound were doing their all night sessions by that point, reggae had a relatively solid representation that year (although in the Official Glastonbury 50th Anniversary Book it states that Dennis Brown played in 1982, but that wasn’t til the following year). As I mentioned earlier, Aswad also played. One of our most successful reggae exports who were just on the cusp of breaking through to a bigger audience in 1982. You can actually watch their whole set below, I’ve included two tracks from it on the playlist. ‘Sons Of Criminals’ from their 1979 album Hulet and Warrior Charge from the underground classic film Babylon which also starred lead singer Brinsley Forde.
The poster also says that Steel Pulse were supposed to play but I can only deduce that they were replaced by Black Uhuru who by all accounts seem to have headlined the Friday night. It sounds like it was a great show and I can well imagine with the mighty Mykal Rose on vocals and reggae’s greatest rhythm section Sly & Robbie also performing with them that night. Sadly any videos of their set that night seem to have been taken down.
Another highlight that is often mentioned, also the only set my Dad can actually remember, is Judy Tzuke who had started as a teenager in the folk clubs and had a Top 20 pop hit in 1979 with ‘Stay With Me Til Dawn’ which I’ve included the live version of here (from 1982, potentially this Glastonbury performance). She had just moved over from Elton John’s Rocket record label to Chrysalis and had been on a 57 date tour to promote her 4th album ‘Shoot The Moon’. Glastonbury was the grand finale of the tour and sounds like it was a strong performance. There is a live album called ‘Road Noise’ that includes some tracks from the show.
It’s proved impossible to work out exactly who actually opened the stage but based on billing and hazy recollections from various people it might well have been Osibisa. They are one of my favourite bands from this line up, a heavy, soulful, funk driven afro-rock band made up of West African and Caribbean expats based in London. They had been around since the late 60s and are still about in some form today. They were a favourite on the early New York Disco scene of the early 70s and on this playlist I’ve included their 1982 version of their Disco classic ‘Sunshine Day’ which originally appeared on their 5th album ‘Welcome Home’ in 1975 plus ‘Time Is Right’ from their 1981 album ‘African Flight’.
If Osibisa did open then my best guess for the next act is “punk poet” John Cooper Clarke who performed in both 1981-1982. Having not held the festival in 1976-77 and only being very “impromptu” in 78, there was never really much punk per se at Glastonbury but the post-punk era saw the likes of The Pop Group and The Slits in 1979, with The Sound (and you could maybe include New Order) in 1981, whilst here in 1982 (and the following year) funk fuelled Northerners, A Certain Ratio, played off the back of their third and perhaps finest album on Factory, ‘Sextet’.
What I really respect about the programming for this year is the fact that Van Morrison and Jackson Browne are both at the top of the main posters but it looks like neither played the final slot traditionally allotted to the ‘headliners’. As someone who has railed against the old school linear programming approach for years this is definitely appreciated.
According to Emily Eavis, Morrison’s ‘Astral Weeks’ had been a favourite in their household but never one to fall back on the hits, Van Morrison stuck mostly to tracks from his last three albums, including that year’s ‘Beautiful Vision’, plus a few choice covers and perhaps one nod to the crowd with ‘Gloria’ from his old band Them. The Eavis family can’t have been too upset not to hear some of their favourites however, as Van Morrison has played the festival at least another six times since.
Given the CND involvement, Jackson Browne’s history of anti-nuclear protests was no doubt a bonus. Amongst other things he had co-founded the Musicians United for Safe Energy and had been arrested protesting against the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. If I’m brutally honest I’m not a big fan of the music particularly but many are and he’s also written for the likes of Joan Baez, The Eagles and The Byrds.
I’ve just had to change the tunes I had planned for Randy Crawford as I’ve only come across his set list in my final edit of the post. To be honest I’m not the biggest fan of his 1982 release ‘All Along The Watchtower’ but I’m a little disappointed he didn’t play the title track, considering Randy actually played in Jimmy James and the Blue Flames with Jimmy Hendrix when he was just 15 years old and it was a nice segway into the next paragraph. Ah well, I’m going to keep that how it was anyway, apologies to all the continuity sticklers….
Incidentally it was Sunday night’s final act Richie Havens who had first introduced Jimmy to the song, after he had gotten it from Bob Dylan. Although I can’t find any recordings of his 1982 set, there’s a great video of him performing in 1987 here, where he opens with another Dylan song ‘Just Like A Woman’. He also performs ‘Freedom’ which many will recognise from his iconic opening set at Woodstock. I’ve included that on the playlist along with his incredible 1980 Lamont Dozier cover ‘Going Back To My Roots’ to round it all off nicely.
Of course I’ve nearly forgotten to include Saturday night’s headline act, which considering the Torygraph once asked “Are Mancuniain pop-rockers Sad Cafe the most-forgotten of all Glastonbury headliners’” is quite ironic. To be honest they were the only act I’d never even heard of from the line up, although I did know lead vocalist Paul Young for his solo work and his time with Mike & The Mechanics. Perhaps there’s a reason for that, but regardless they did once headline the Pyramid stage which is more than I’m ever likely to do.
That said I’m happy enough playing my usual sets over in the South East “Naughty” corner, which I shall be representing in tomorrow’s playlist (and blog post though that might not be til a little later) when I showcase some of the incredible bands that my legendary compadre Chris Tofu has booked for Shangri La over the years. Honestly there’s some real gems amongst them that usually get overlooked in the wider Glastonbury coverage so do check that out. Until then here’s my 1982 playlist, enjoy!
AAA BADBOY 