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| Stonehenge Free Festival | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Rock music |
| Dates | month of June – 21 June |
| Location | Stonehenge in England |
| Years active | 1974 to 1984 |
TheStonehenge Free Festival was a Britishfree festival from 1974 to 1984 held at the prehistoric monumentStonehenge in England during the month of June, and culminating with thesummer solstice on or near 21 June. It emerged as the major free festival in the calendar after the violent suppression of theWindsor Free Festival in August 1974, withWally Hope providing the impetus for its founding. By the 1980s, the festival had grown to be a major event, attracting up to 30,000 people in 1984.[1] The festival attendees were branded ashippies by the British press.[citation needed] This, along with the open drug use and sale, contributed to the increase in restrictions on access to Stonehenge, and fences were erected around the stones in 1977. The same year, police resurrected a moribund law against driving over grassland in order to levy fines against festival goers in motorised transport. The festival came to an end in 1985 following the infamousBattle of the Beanfield. What followed was several years of exclusion until the year 2000 whenfull access was restored.[2]
The festival was a celebration of various alternative cultures. The Tibetan Ukrainian Mountain Troupe, TheTepee People, Circus Normal, thePeace Convoy,New Age Travellers andthe Wallys were notablecounterculture attendees.[citation needed]
The stage hosted many bands includingHawkwind,Zorch, Poison Girls,Doctor and the Medics,Flux of Pink Indians,Buster Blood Vessel,Omega Tribe,Killing Joke,The Selecter,Dexys Midnight Runners,Thompson Twins,Bronz,The Raincoats,The 101ers,Jeremy Spencer & the Children of God, Brent Black Music Co-op, Killerhertz,Mournblade,Amazulu,Wishbone Ash,Man,Benjamin Zephaniah,Inner City Unit,Here and Now,Cardiacs,The Enid,Roy Harper,Jimmy Page,Ted Chippington,Ozric Tentacles,Solstice and Vince Pie and the Crumbs, who all played for free.[citation needed]
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51°10′44″N1°49′34″W / 51.17889°N 1.82611°W /51.17889; -1.82611
