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Festival season is fast approaching
with no Glastonbury more memory’s of previous years flood back .
Plucking out one of my many memory's I cast my mind back to 1993 .
Crewing the then N.M.E stage it was a scorcher weather wise . The
guy responsible for sorting out the water and sanitation on site had
unfortunately died in Australia only weeks earlier . He had done this
unglamorous job for years . So some one new was thrown into the
breach . Not knowing all the unique tricks of the job . The water was
late coming on with it being so hot it was under great demand.
The first water to come through the
pipes had not been flushed through properly . I remember well jumping
off my push bike on the way back to the stage . Rushing to a stand
pipe in the hedge and taking my fill of water it was so hot . With it
being so early there was hardly no bottle water on site .Many people
who were working in that heat filled water bottles . Before the word
went around that it had not been flushed through properly . One by
one people started to fall ill including myself all the crew went
down with the bug . Then it went air born with the lighting crew
going down . Followed by the P. A crew, it was all hands to the
toilets . It was the worst shits I have ever had feeling generally
unwell with severe gut aches. Before the people where let in the
water was flushed through properly . But for the people putting the
show on it made hard work a lot harder .
John Peel was always there early
setting up for his D.J sets on the the 2 main stages . He also went
down with the shits . The toilets were getting a hammering , it was
put a band on shit, put a band on shit, After nearly shitting my self
twice . I locked the porta loo from the outside with screw driver
hiding it outside under a piece of wood . That way I would have
access to a toilet all the time . Coming out of the Toilet John was
waiting about to drop at any second . I obviously was a huge fan of
John having no hesitation showing him the screwdriver stash . He
nodded his approval , So we shared the porta loo through out the
festival taking turns , with nods across the stage .
It was a great ice breaker and it was
not long before we started talking footie , more to the point
Liverpool F.C . His knowledge of L.F.C was immense.
John's passion for Liverpool F.C was reflected in his childrens names,William Roberta Anfield,Alexandra Mary Anfield ,Thomas James Dalglish,and Florence Victoria Shankley. After that John would take time out to talk to me at other events.
Such as BBC Sound Citys in Liverpool, Bristol and Sheffield .
I would always get a buzz from talking
to John he would always plug the bands I was working with at the time
. The likes of The EFF WORD a trip hop cross over band from Bristol .
I remember him getting on his high horse to me about the way players
shield the ball to let it run out of play . He hated it saying . “the
day Liverpool did that it would be a sad day . Well we do and when we
do I instantly think of John and what he would of thought of the
present Liverpool team.
John would have been in his 70s now his
memory will never die. The John Peel stage at Glastonbury is a
fitting legacy . He would of loved that, it gives me the biggest buzz
at the festival these days and I am glad to say my kids as well.
JOHN PEEL 1939-2004 YNWA
More Glastonbury stories coming soon
(the amazing tale of why Glastonbury banned French Frogmen)
