How they used to do music festivals back in the day

21 June 2025, 13:00

Festivals of years gone by... are they much different to today?
Festivals of years gone by... are they much different to today? Picture: Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Colaimages/Colin Underhill/Alamy Stock Photo

The humble festival has been with us for over 50 years now. So how did your parents - or grandparents, even - enjoy the festival experience?

Radio X

By Radio X

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What were the differences? What were the similarities? What sort of bands were they watching? And, most importantly, what were the toilets like? Here are some brilliant archive photos of festivals from the1960s through to the 1980s.

  1. Fans arrive at the Isle Of Wight for the 1970 "Pop Festival". They're looking forward to seeing The Who, Jimi Hendrix and the final UK performance of The Doors with Jim Morrison.

    Isle Of Wight Festival, August 1970
    Isle Of Wight Festival, August 1970. Picture: Alamy
  2. Festival goers start to arrive for a lo-fi-looking Reading Festival in August 1980. They were there to see Iron Maiden, Whitesnake, Def Leppard and more.

    Reading Festival, August 1980
    Reading Festival, August 1980. Picture: Alamy
  3. If you lost your mates in 1970, how did you get in touch with them in the pre-mobile era? Leave a message on the message wall, of course! And then hope for the best.

    Isle Of Wight Festival, August 1970
    Isle Of Wight Festival, August 1970. Picture: Alamy
  4. Living under canvas, Glastonbury Festival, 1971. These lucky festival goers could have been watching David Bowie's first Glasto performance the next day.

    Glastonbury Festival, June 1971
    Glastonbury Festival, June 1971. Picture: Alamy
  5. Reading Festival grew out of the National Jazz Festival in Richmond in the early 60s. By the start of the next decade, the event had moved to Reading and adopted a crowd that favoured heavy rock. This is the view from the stage in 1973, when Status Quo and Genesis played.

    Reading Festival, August 1973
    Reading Festival, August 1973. Picture: Alamy
  6. There was less of a stage show in the early days of British festivals, as this image from the Isle Of Wight in 1970 demonstrates.

    Isle Of Wight Festival, August 1970
    Isle Of Wight Festival, August 1970. Picture: Alamy
  7. The stage at Reading Festival in 1971. It's a bit "basic"

    Reading Festival, June 1971
    Reading Festival, June 1971. Picture: Alamy
  8. An early attempt at some mid-festival promo for The Doors at the Isle Of Wight Festival 1970

    Isle Of wight Festival, August 1970
    Isle Of wight Festival, August 1970. Picture: Alamy
  9. Forget "Follow us on Instagram" - at Reading in the 1976, you were encouraged to sign up with the "Daily Mirror Pop Club". Whatever that was.

    Reading Festival, August 1976
    Reading Festival, August 1976. Picture: Alamy
  10. British festivals always had connections with the counter-culture. In 1981, Glastonbury joined forces with CND - the Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament, which protested against the arms race.

    The CND sign atop the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival, June 1983
    The CND sign atop the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival, June 1983. Picture: Alamy
  11. Deckchairs at a festival? That was a thing. Imagine that happening now!

    Isle Of WIght Festival, August 1970
    Isle Of WIght Festival, August 1970. Picture: Alamy
  12. The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in 1993 - note the complete lack of flags!

    Glastonbury Festival, June 1993
    Glastonbury Festival, June 1993. Picture: Rob Watkins/Alamy
  13. One thing hasn't changed... the long trudge home

    Isle Of Wight Festival, August 1970
    Isle Of Wight Festival, August 1970. Picture: Alamy
  14. ...or the post-festival clear-up

    Reading Festival, June 1971
    Reading Festival, June 1971. Picture: Alamy