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Reading and Leeds Festivals

The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm on Richfield Avenue in central Reading, near Caversham Bridge. The Leeds event is held in Bramham Park, near Wetherby, the grounds of a historic house. Headliners and most supporting acts typically play at both sites, with Reading's Friday line up becoming Leeds' Saturday line-up, Reading's Saturday line-up playing at Leeds on Sunday, and Leeds' Friday line-up attending Reading on Sunday. Campsites are available at both sites and weekend tickets include camping. Day tickets are also sold.

Reading and Leeds Festivals
Leeds Festival Site in 2012
Genre
  • Alternative
  • rock
  • metal
  • hip hop
  • dance
  • pop
DatesAugust bank holiday
Location(s)Reading and Leeds, England
  • Beaulieu Jazz Festival (1955–1961)
  • Various as National Jazz Festival (1961–1970)
  • Reading (since 1971)
  • Also at Leeds (since 1999)
Years active1955–present (except 2020)
Attendance105,000 (2019, daily) [1]
Websitereadingfestival.com

The Reading Festival, the older of the two festivals, is the world's oldest popular music festival still in existence.[citation needed] Many of the biggest bands in the UK and internationally have played at the festival over five decades. The festival has had various musical phases over the years, but since the current two-site format was adopted in 1999, rock, alternative, indie, punk, and metal have been the main genres featured in the line-up. More recently hip hop has comprised an increasing proportion of the lineup, including headline sets by artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Post Malone.

The festivals are run by Festival Republic, which was divested from Mean Fiddler Music Group.[2] From 1998 to 2007, the festivals were known as the Carling Weekend: Reading and the Carling Weekend: Leeds for promotional purposes. In November 2007, the sponsored title was abolished after nine years and the Reading Festival reclaimed its original name.[3] In 2011, the capacity of the Reading site was 87,000,[4] and the Leeds site was 75,000,[5] an increase of several thousand on previous years.[6]

History

The Reading Festival was originally known as the National Jazz Festival, which was conceived by Harold Pendleton (founder of the Marquee Club in London in 1958) and first held at Richmond Athletic Ground in 1961. Throughout the 1960s, the festival moved between several London and Home Counties sites, being held at Windsor Racecourse, Kempton Park, Sunbury and Plumpton, before reaching its permanent home at Reading in 1971.[7] Since 1964, when the festival added a Friday evening session to the original Saturday and Sunday format, it has been staged over three days, with the sole exception of 1970 when a fourth day was added, running from Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 August.

1960s

The National Jazz Federation (NJF) Festival was established at the height of the trad jazz boom, as a successor to the Beaulieu Jazz Festival, initially as a two-day event held at Richmond Athletic Ground. The line-up for the first two years was made up exclusively of jazz performers, but in 1963, several rhythm & blues acts were added to the bill, including the Rolling Stones, Georgie Fame, and Long John Baldry, and by 1965, such acts were in the majority, with jazz sessions reduced to Saturday and Sunday afternoons only. This format continued until 1967 when jazz was limited to just the Saturday afternoon session. By 1969, jazz had disappeared entirely from the line-up.

In 1964, a Friday evening session was added to the existing weekend format. In 1966, the NJF Festival moved to the larger Windsor Racecourse. The following year a second stage (the Marquee Stage) was added, but when the festival was moved to Sunbury in 1968 it reverted to a single-stage format. The festival was held at Plumpton Racecourse in 1969 and 1970.

1970s

 
Reading Festival 1975

After moving to Reading, the festival's line-up became primarily composed of progressive rock, blues, and hard rock during the early and mid 1970s,[8] and then became the first music festival to incorporate punk rock and new wave in the late 1970s, when The Jam, Sham 69, and The Stranglers were among the headline acts.[9] The festival's attempts to cater for both traditional rock acts and punk and new wave bands occasionally led to clashes between the two sets of fans at the end of the 1970s, though the festival gradually became known for focusing on heavy metal and rock acts.[10]

1980s

During the 1980s, the festival followed a similar format to that established in the late 1970s, with leading rock and heavy metal acts performing on the last two days, and a more varied line-up including punk and new wave bands on the opening day.

Council ban

In 1984 and 1985, the Conservative-run local council effectively banned the festival by designating the festival site for development and refusing to grant licences for any alternative sites in the Reading area.

In 1984, many acts were already booked and tickets were on sale, with Marillion due to headline. The promoters tried in vain to find a new site but a proposed move to Lilford Hall in Northamptonshire failed. The proposed line-up was published in Soundcheck free music paper issue 12 as: Friday 24 August – Hawkwind, Boomtown Rats, Snowy White, The Playn Jayn, Dumpy's Rusty Nuts, Wildfire, Chelsea Eloy, Tracy Lamb, New Torpedoes; Saturday 25th – Jethro Tull, Hanoi Rocks, Steve Hackett, Club Karlsson, Nazareth, Twelfth Night, Thor, Silent Running, New Model Army, IQ, The Roaring Boys, She; Sunday 26th – Marillion, Grand Slam, The Bluebells, Helix, Clannad, The Opposition, The Enid, Young Blood, Scorched Earth, and Terraplane).

After Labour regained control of the council in 1986, permission was given for fields adjacent to the original festival site to be used, and a line-up was put together at short notice.[11]

The following year saw a record attendance, headlined by The Mission, Alice Cooper and Status Quo.

Late 1980s / early 1990s slump

1988 saw an attempt to take the festival in a mainstream commercial pop direction,[12] featuring acts including Starship, Squeeze, Hothouse Flowers, Bonnie Tyler and Meat Loaf (who was bottled off stage),[13] and the subsequent disputes led to the ousting of original festival promoter Harold Pendleton by the Mean Fiddler Music Group organisation.[14]

Pendleton attempted to relocate the festival to a new site near Newbury using the name "Redding Festival", but threats of legal action by the new promoters of the original festival, as well as a reluctance by Newbury District Council to issue a licence for the proposed Newbury Showground venue blocked Pendleton's plans. Meanwhile, the official Reading Festival, now managed by Mean Fiddler, continued at the Thames-side site in Reading, with a predominantly goth and indie music policy that alienated much of the traditional fan base and saw attendances plummet.

Attendances continued to fall between 1989 and 1991, but began to recover from 1992, when new organisers took over from the Mean Fiddler group, broadening the festival's musical policy.

1990s

In 1991, Nirvana made the first of their two appearances at Reading, midway down the bill. The following year, in 1992, they played what would be their last UK concert, which was released as a live album/DVD Live at Reading in November 2009. The band's singer Kurt Cobain came onstage in a wheelchair pushed by music journalist Everett True and wearing a medical gown, parodying speculations about his mental health.[15] The 1992 festival was hit by extreme weather, with a thunderstorm on the Saturday drenching the site, leaving it ankle-deep in mud, and blowing away the Comedy Tent.[16]

Festival expansion

By the mid-1990s, the festival had begun to regain its former status as the popularity of UK outdoor festivals increased. Britpop and indie began to appear on the bill alongside the traditional rock and metal acts, and rap acts such as Ice Cube began to appear regularly on the main stage, to mixed receptions. Public Enemy headlined the second day of the 1992 festival. Beastie Boys were about halfway down the bill for day three.

In 1996, The Stone Roses played the last gig before their break-up at the festival.[17]

In 1998, the Reading Festival absorbed the failed Phoenix Festival, resulting in an on-stage dispute between Beastie Boys and The Prodigy over the song "Smack My Bitch Up".[8]

In 1999, the festival added a second venue at Temple Newsam in Leeds,[18] the site of V Festival in 1997 and 1998, due to increasing demand.[19] In the first year, all bands performed at the Leeds site the day after they played Reading, with the Reading Festival running from Friday to Sunday and the Leeds Festival running from Saturday to Monday. However, in 2001, the festival moved to the current format, wherein the Reading line-up plays at Leeds the following day, with the opening day line-up from Leeds playing the final day in Reading (with the exceptions of 2009 and 2010 when the bands playing Leeds played Reading the following day, and the bands on the opening day of Reading closed Leeds).

2000s

 
The main stage of the 2000 Reading Festival

After a successful first year in Leeds, the increasing popularity of outdoor music festivals led to the Reading Festival selling out quicker every year. However, the Leeds Festival was plagued by riots and violence, which led to problems in retaining its licence.[20] The worst incidents occurred in 2002, following which the festival was moved to Bramham Park north-east of Leeds.[21] Since then, security at both sites has increased and problems have been reduced.[22]

The early 2000s saw a varied but predominantly rock line-up, though as the decade progressed the Main Stage and Radio 1 Stage featured many indie bands.

Despite being predominantly a rock festival, several hip-hop artists have appeared at the festival over the years, including Cypress Hill, Ice Cube, Beastie Boys, Eminem, Xzibit, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Dizzee Rascal, and The Streets.

In 2005, the main stages at both Reading and Leeds were made larger, featuring cantilevered video screens. The same year the Reading Fringe Festival was established in Reading, with venues in the town hosting acts hoping to draw crowds and industry figures from the larger festival. The Reading Fringe has run annually since then.

Banning of flags and banners

Flags were banned from both festival sites in 2009, with the organisers citing health and safety concerns.[23] Flags and banners had been a traditional part of the Reading Festival since the early 1970s, originally used to enable motorcycle groups and others to identify themselves and find each other inside the main arena.

2010s

 
Campsite Aftermath, 2016

Reading Festival continued to expand through the early 2010s, with a new record capacity of 105,000 recorded in 2019.[24] In the same year, 200 artists played at both festivals.[25]

The festival typically has the following stages:[26]

  • Main Stage – major rock, indie, metal and alternative acts.
  • NME/Radio 1 stage – less well-known acts, building up to an alternative headline act.
  • Dance tent – dance music acts, previously sharing a day with the Lock Up stage, now a stand-alone 3-day stage.
  • Lock Up Stage (also known as Pit Stage) – underground punk and hardcore acts.[27] Due to demand, from 2006 this stage took up two days rather than previous years where it was only one day.
  • Festival Republic stage – acts with less popular appeal and breakthrough acts.
  • 1Xtra Stage – new stage for 2013 that stages Hip-Hop, RnB and Rap artists.
  • Alternative tent – comedy and cabaret acts plus DJs.[28]
  • BBC Introducing Stage – Typically unsigned/not well known acts. (Formerly known as the Topman Unsigned Stage at the Leeds site).
 
A panorama of the Reading Festival 2007 arena

2020s

On 12 May 2020 it was announced that the year's festivals were cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[29] The festivals were due to host Rage Against the Machine's first UK show in 10 years, along with Stormzy and Liam Gallagher's first appearances as headliners. The 2021 festival included two main stages with six headliners, among them Stormzy and Liam Gallagher from the previous year's line up.[30]

In 2022, Festival Republic came under fire following multiple incidents at both festival sites. At Reading, multiple fires were reported as well as mugs, chairs, cups and other objects being thrown. Stabbings were also reported.[31] At Leeds, 16-year-old David Celino died after it was suspected he had taken ecstasy.[32]

List of headliners

Bottling incidents

Bottling acts off stage (being forced off stage by a barrage of audience-thrown bottles and cans) is a frequent occurrence at the festival.[48] During the 1970s and 1980s, there were often mass-participation can and bottle fights, and unpopular bands have been bottled offstage throughout the festival's history since the first large-scale "cannings" of 1973 and 1974.[49] Examples include:

  • Punk band The Hellions, featuring ex-Damned guitarist Brian James, were booked on an otherwise 100% heavy metal line-up on the Friday of the 1980 Festival and left the stage in less than a minute following an assault of cans, bottles and pork pies. "I Canned The Hellions at Reading" T-shirts were on sale at souvenir stands within the hour.[50]
  • In 1983, reggae act Steel Pulse left within moments of arriving on stage under an avalanche of missiles launched by punks and rockers waiting to see The Stranglers.
  • John Waite and the No Brakes Band quit the stage on the Saturday of the 1986 festival when their drummer was hit in the head by a 12" vinyl disc.[citation needed]
  • In 1988, Bonnie Tyler completed her set despite being pelted with bottles and turf. The same day's headliner Meat Loaf left 20 minutes into his set after being hit by a full two-litre cider bottle. After an initially positive reception Meat Loaf angered the audience by berating them for their treatment of his friend Bonnie Tyler earlier in the day, then stormed off stage when met with a volley of burgers and bottles. He eventually returned shouting "Do you wanna rock 'n' roll or do you wanna throw stuff?" Ten seconds later the cider bottle struck him in the face, at which point he left the stage permanently.[citation needed]
  • In 2000, Daphne and Celeste were scheduled on the main stage for a short two song set and were bottled throughout.[51]
  • In 2003, Good Charlotte stopped their set 20 minutes short and encouraged the crowd to throw bottles all at the same time after a count of three after being pelted by bottles throughout their set.[52]
  • In 2004, 50 Cent was pelted with bottles, mud and an inflatable paddling pool during his set.[53] 50 Cent was on stage for just under 20 minutes before throwing his microphone into the crowd in anger. The Rasmus were also bottled off after one song.[54]
  • In 2006 at Reading, Panic! at the Disco lead singer Brendon Urie was struck in the face with a plastic bottle and fell unconscious, forcing the rest of the band to stop mid-song as he lay on the floor. Urie received medical treatment from his road crew for several minutes before regaining consciousness, and the band subsequently continued the song from the point at which it was interrupted.[55] The same year, My Chemical Romance were heckled by a small group of angry audience members. Lead singer Gerard Way encouraged the crowd to throw bottles at them instead, and the band were pelted with golf balls and bottles of urine, among other items.[citation needed]
  • In 2008, a crowd of approximately 3,000 people attended the "BBC Introducing" Stage at Reading to see unsigned band 'The FF'ers' following rumours that it would actually be a secret Foo Fighters gig, and the band were subjected to a large amount of abuse from the audience, including several bottles launched at the band.[56]
  • In 2016, Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots was attacked and robbed as he attempted to crowd-surf in the Radio One Tent. Reacting unfavourably to his behaviour, the hostile audience threw him to the ground, ripped off various items of his clothing and stole his ski-mask. Joseph was eventually rescued by security guards, who carried him to an elevated platform where he announced that the band's set was over.[57]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Reading Festival set for extra 5,000 revellers in 2019". www.bbc.com. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  2. ^ "History". Festival Republic. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  3. ^ . Archived from the original on 9 April 2008.
  4. ^ "Reading Festival 2011". from the original on 14 March 2011.
  5. ^ . Archived from the original on 2 January 2011.
  6. ^ "An extra 5,000 tickets are granted for the Leeds Festival". from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  7. ^ . Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  8. ^ a b "In praise of ... the Reading festival". The Guardian. London. 25 August 2006. from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  9. ^ "Reading Rock Festival.Reading 1978". from the original on 7 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Reading Rock Festival.Reading 1979". from the original on 10 March 2008.
  11. ^ . Archived from the original on 16 June 2008.
  12. ^ . Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Worst Festival Sets: Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler". Virgin Media. from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  14. ^ Prain, Susannah (1 February 2001). . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 3 December 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  15. ^ BBC. "BBC – Seven Ages of Rock – Events – Nirvana headline Reading Festival". from the original on 15 March 2013.
  16. ^ "Reading Festival Special cover of the Melody Maker, 12th September 1992". 6 April 2009.
  17. ^ "h2g2 – The Stone Roses – 'The Stone Roses' – Edited Entry". from the original on 26 August 2007.
  18. ^ Reading 1999 – FC Luzern In English 7 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Justcantbeatthat.com. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.
  19. ^ Festival and Events Management – Google Boeken. Books.google.com. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.
  20. ^ "Festival marred by violence". BBC News. 26 August 2002. from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  21. ^ "READING Little Johns Farm LEEDS Branham Park, Wetherby 22–24 August". BBC News. from the original on 9 May 2004. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  22. ^ "Happy campers". BBC Leeds Entertainment. from the original on 1 April 2012.
  23. ^ Youngs, Ian (25 August 2009). "Festival fans receive a flag ban". BBC News. from the original on 28 August 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  24. ^ "Reading Festival 2019 Sells Out". IQ. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  25. ^ Klancnik, Urban (10 December 2019). . Viberate. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  26. ^ . Archived from the original on 6 May 2008.
  27. ^ "New Stages Announced". Retrieved 14 January 2008.[dead link]
  28. ^ "The Alternative stage". Retrieved 14 January 2008.[dead link]
  29. ^ "Reading and Leeds festivals called off until 2021". BBC News. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  30. ^ a b Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (31 August 2020). "Reading and Leeds festival announces 2021 lineup". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  31. ^ "Reading festival final day marred by violence and tent burning". the Guardian. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  32. ^ "Leeds Festival death: Family pay tribute to David Celino, 16". BBC News. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  33. ^ "Your First 2023 Lineup Announcement Is Here!". readingfestival.com. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  34. ^ "Reading and Leeds festival 2022 announce lineup with Arctic Monkeys, Dave and more". TheGuardian.com. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  35. ^ "Stormzy announced as Reading and Leeds Festival 2020 third headliner". RadioX News. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  36. ^ "Reading and Leeds: Foo Fighters, The 1975, Post Malone to headline". BBC News. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  37. ^ "Reading & Leeds Fest on Twitter". twitter.com. from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  38. ^ lcarter@festivalrepublic.com (6 October 2017). "Reading Festival 2017". from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  39. ^ astrid.ferguson@festivalrepublic.com (4 October 2016). . Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  40. ^ hroberts (6 October 2015). . Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  41. ^ bfraserharding@festivalrepublic.com (3 September 2014). . Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  42. ^ kate.sullivan@Festivalrepublic.com (16 January 2014). . Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  43. ^ . 28 November 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  44. ^ . 28 November 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  45. ^ . 28 November 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  46. ^ . 28 November 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  47. ^ . 28 November 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  48. ^ "Bands Bottled at Reading Festival". from the original on 28 July 2009.
  49. ^ "25 Things You Never Knew About Reading & Leeds – Photos – NME.COM (3)". NME. NME.com. from the original on 25 August 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  50. ^ "Reading Rock Festival 1980– recollections of attendees". www.ukrockfestivals.com. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  51. ^ Jonze, Tim (29 March 2015). "Daphne and Celeste: 'They hated us so much!'". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  52. ^ Handbag, Project. (24 August 2003) Good Charlotte: This Year's Daphne & Celeste / Music News // Drowned In Sound 14 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Drownedinsound.com. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.
  53. ^ Phoemail (25 August 2007). "50 Cent at Reading 2004". from the original on 20 August 2012 – via YouTube.
  54. ^ Jonze, Tim (25 August 2007). "Hitting rock bottom". The Guardian. London. from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  55. ^ "Panic! At The Disco speak after bottling". NME.COM. from the original on 21 May 2011.
  56. ^ . Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  57. ^ Perryman, Francesca (28 August 2016). "Twenty One Pilots Tyler Joseph's rips shirt and loses shoe in Reading Festival crowd surf 'attack'". Get Reading. Retrieved 3 July 2018.

Further reading

  • Carroll, Ian (2007). The Reading Festival: Music, Mud and Mayhem – The Official History. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. ISBN 978-1-905287-43-7.

External links

  • Reading Festival official website
  • Leeds Festival official website
  • Reading & Leeds at the BBC
  • Reading Festival official ticket agent
  • Leeds Festival official ticket agent

reading, leeds, festivals, leeds, festival, redirects, here, 1858, 1985, festivals, leeds, festival, classical, music, reading, festival, redirects, here, book, festivals, literary, festival, pair, annual, music, festivals, that, take, place, reading, leeds, e. Leeds Festival redirects here For the 1858 1985 festivals see Leeds Festival classical music Reading festival redirects here For book festivals see Literary festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England The events take place simultaneously on the Friday Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend The Reading Festival is held at Little John s Farm on Richfield Avenue in central Reading near Caversham Bridge The Leeds event is held in Bramham Park near Wetherby the grounds of a historic house Headliners and most supporting acts typically play at both sites with Reading s Friday line up becoming Leeds Saturday line up Reading s Saturday line up playing at Leeds on Sunday and Leeds Friday line up attending Reading on Sunday Campsites are available at both sites and weekend tickets include camping Day tickets are also sold Reading and Leeds FestivalsLeeds Festival Site in 2012GenreAlternativerockmetalhip hopdancepopDatesAugust bank holidayLocation s Reading and Leeds England Beaulieu Jazz Festival 1955 1961 Various as National Jazz Festival 1961 1970 Reading since 1971 Also at Leeds since 1999 Years active1955 present except 2020 Attendance105 000 2019 daily 1 Websitereadingfestival wbr comThe Reading Festival the older of the two festivals is the world s oldest popular music festival still in existence citation needed Many of the biggest bands in the UK and internationally have played at the festival over five decades The festival has had various musical phases over the years but since the current two site format was adopted in 1999 rock alternative indie punk and metal have been the main genres featured in the line up More recently hip hop has comprised an increasing proportion of the lineup including headline sets by artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Post Malone The festivals are run by Festival Republic which was divested from Mean Fiddler Music Group 2 From 1998 to 2007 the festivals were known as the Carling Weekend Reading and the Carling Weekend Leeds for promotional purposes In November 2007 the sponsored title was abolished after nine years and the Reading Festival reclaimed its original name 3 In 2011 the capacity of the Reading site was 87 000 4 and the Leeds site was 75 000 5 an increase of several thousand on previous years 6 Contents 1 History 1 1 1960s 1 2 1970s 1 3 1980s 1 3 1 Council ban 1 3 2 Late 1980s early 1990s slump 1 4 1990s 1 4 1 Festival expansion 1 5 2000s 1 5 1 Banning of flags and banners 1 6 2010s 1 7 2020s 2 List of headliners 3 Bottling incidents 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksHistory EditMain article National Jazz and Blues Festival The Reading Festival was originally known as the National Jazz Festival which was conceived by Harold Pendleton founder of the Marquee Club in London in 1958 and first held at Richmond Athletic Ground in 1961 Throughout the 1960s the festival moved between several London and Home Counties sites being held at Windsor Racecourse Kempton Park Sunbury and Plumpton before reaching its permanent home at Reading in 1971 7 Since 1964 when the festival added a Friday evening session to the original Saturday and Sunday format it has been staged over three days with the sole exception of 1970 when a fourth day was added running from Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 August 1960s Edit The National Jazz Federation NJF Festival was established at the height of the trad jazz boom as a successor to the Beaulieu Jazz Festival initially as a two day event held at Richmond Athletic Ground The line up for the first two years was made up exclusively of jazz performers but in 1963 several rhythm amp blues acts were added to the bill including the Rolling Stones Georgie Fame and Long John Baldry and by 1965 such acts were in the majority with jazz sessions reduced to Saturday and Sunday afternoons only This format continued until 1967 when jazz was limited to just the Saturday afternoon session By 1969 jazz had disappeared entirely from the line up In 1964 a Friday evening session was added to the existing weekend format In 1966 the NJF Festival moved to the larger Windsor Racecourse The following year a second stage the Marquee Stage was added but when the festival was moved to Sunbury in 1968 it reverted to a single stage format The festival was held at Plumpton Racecourse in 1969 and 1970 1970s Edit Reading Festival 1975 After moving to Reading the festival s line up became primarily composed of progressive rock blues and hard rock during the early and mid 1970s 8 and then became the first music festival to incorporate punk rock and new wave in the late 1970s when The Jam Sham 69 and The Stranglers were among the headline acts 9 The festival s attempts to cater for both traditional rock acts and punk and new wave bands occasionally led to clashes between the two sets of fans at the end of the 1970s though the festival gradually became known for focusing on heavy metal and rock acts 10 1980s Edit During the 1980s the festival followed a similar format to that established in the late 1970s with leading rock and heavy metal acts performing on the last two days and a more varied line up including punk and new wave bands on the opening day Council ban Edit In 1984 and 1985 the Conservative run local council effectively banned the festival by designating the festival site for development and refusing to grant licences for any alternative sites in the Reading area In 1984 many acts were already booked and tickets were on sale with Marillion due to headline The promoters tried in vain to find a new site but a proposed move to Lilford Hall in Northamptonshire failed The proposed line up was published in Soundcheck free music paper issue 12 as Friday 24 August Hawkwind Boomtown Rats Snowy White The Playn Jayn Dumpy s Rusty Nuts Wildfire Chelsea Eloy Tracy Lamb New Torpedoes Saturday 25th Jethro Tull Hanoi Rocks Steve Hackett Club Karlsson Nazareth Twelfth Night Thor Silent Running New Model Army IQ The Roaring Boys She Sunday 26th Marillion Grand Slam The Bluebells Helix Clannad The Opposition The Enid Young Blood Scorched Earth and Terraplane After Labour regained control of the council in 1986 permission was given for fields adjacent to the original festival site to be used and a line up was put together at short notice 11 The following year saw a record attendance headlined by The Mission Alice Cooper and Status Quo Late 1980s early 1990s slump Edit 1988 saw an attempt to take the festival in a mainstream commercial pop direction 12 featuring acts including Starship Squeeze Hothouse Flowers Bonnie Tyler and Meat Loaf who was bottled off stage 13 and the subsequent disputes led to the ousting of original festival promoter Harold Pendleton by the Mean Fiddler Music Group organisation 14 Pendleton attempted to relocate the festival to a new site near Newbury using the name Redding Festival but threats of legal action by the new promoters of the original festival as well as a reluctance by Newbury District Council to issue a licence for the proposed Newbury Showground venue blocked Pendleton s plans Meanwhile the official Reading Festival now managed by Mean Fiddler continued at the Thames side site in Reading with a predominantly goth and indie music policy that alienated much of the traditional fan base and saw attendances plummet Attendances continued to fall between 1989 and 1991 but began to recover from 1992 when new organisers took over from the Mean Fiddler group broadening the festival s musical policy 1990s Edit In 1991 Nirvana made the first of their two appearances at Reading midway down the bill The following year in 1992 they played what would be their last UK concert which was released as a live album DVD Live at Reading in November 2009 The band s singer Kurt Cobain came onstage in a wheelchair pushed by music journalist Everett True and wearing a medical gown parodying speculations about his mental health 15 The 1992 festival was hit by extreme weather with a thunderstorm on the Saturday drenching the site leaving it ankle deep in mud and blowing away the Comedy Tent 16 Festival expansion Edit By the mid 1990s the festival had begun to regain its former status as the popularity of UK outdoor festivals increased Britpop and indie began to appear on the bill alongside the traditional rock and metal acts and rap acts such as Ice Cube began to appear regularly on the main stage to mixed receptions Public Enemy headlined the second day of the 1992 festival Beastie Boys were about halfway down the bill for day three In 1996 The Stone Roses played the last gig before their break up at the festival 17 In 1998 the Reading Festival absorbed the failed Phoenix Festival resulting in an on stage dispute between Beastie Boys and The Prodigy over the song Smack My Bitch Up 8 In 1999 the festival added a second venue at Temple Newsam in Leeds 18 the site of V Festival in 1997 and 1998 due to increasing demand 19 In the first year all bands performed at the Leeds site the day after they played Reading with the Reading Festival running from Friday to Sunday and the Leeds Festival running from Saturday to Monday However in 2001 the festival moved to the current format wherein the Reading line up plays at Leeds the following day with the opening day line up from Leeds playing the final day in Reading with the exceptions of 2009 and 2010 when the bands playing Leeds played Reading the following day and the bands on the opening day of Reading closed Leeds 2000s Edit The main stage of the 2000 Reading Festival After a successful first year in Leeds the increasing popularity of outdoor music festivals led to the Reading Festival selling out quicker every year However the Leeds Festival was plagued by riots and violence which led to problems in retaining its licence 20 The worst incidents occurred in 2002 following which the festival was moved to Bramham Park north east of Leeds 21 Since then security at both sites has increased and problems have been reduced 22 The early 2000s saw a varied but predominantly rock line up though as the decade progressed the Main Stage and Radio 1 Stage featured many indie bands Despite being predominantly a rock festival several hip hop artists have appeared at the festival over the years including Cypress Hill Ice Cube Beastie Boys Eminem Xzibit Jay Z 50 Cent Dizzee Rascal and The Streets In 2005 the main stages at both Reading and Leeds were made larger featuring cantilevered video screens The same year the Reading Fringe Festival was established in Reading with venues in the town hosting acts hoping to draw crowds and industry figures from the larger festival The Reading Fringe has run annually since then Banning of flags and banners Edit Flags were banned from both festival sites in 2009 with the organisers citing health and safety concerns 23 Flags and banners had been a traditional part of the Reading Festival since the early 1970s originally used to enable motorcycle groups and others to identify themselves and find each other inside the main arena 2010s Edit Campsite Aftermath 2016 Reading Festival continued to expand through the early 2010s with a new record capacity of 105 000 recorded in 2019 24 In the same year 200 artists played at both festivals 25 The festival typically has the following stages 26 Main Stage major rock indie metal and alternative acts NME Radio 1 stage less well known acts building up to an alternative headline act Dance tent dance music acts previously sharing a day with the Lock Up stage now a stand alone 3 day stage Lock Up Stage also known as Pit Stage underground punk and hardcore acts 27 Due to demand from 2006 this stage took up two days rather than previous years where it was only one day Festival Republic stage acts with less popular appeal and breakthrough acts 1Xtra Stage new stage for 2013 that stages Hip Hop RnB and Rap artists Alternative tent comedy and cabaret acts plus DJs 28 BBC Introducing Stage Typically unsigned not well known acts Formerly known as the Topman Unsigned Stage at the Leeds site A panorama of the Reading Festival 2007 arena 2020s Edit On 12 May 2020 it was announced that the year s festivals were cancelled due to the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic 29 The festivals were due to host Rage Against the Machine s first UK show in 10 years along with Stormzy and Liam Gallagher s first appearances as headliners The 2021 festival included two main stages with six headliners among them Stormzy and Liam Gallagher from the previous year s line up 30 In 2022 Festival Republic came under fire following multiple incidents at both festival sites At Reading multiple fires were reported as well as mugs chairs cups and other objects being thrown Stabbings were also reported 31 At Leeds 16 year old David Celino died after it was suspected he had taken ecstasy 32 List of headliners EditThis article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Reading and Leeds Festivals news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message 2023 Sam Fender Foals The Killers Lewis Capaldi Billie Eilish Imagine Dragons 33 2022 Dave Megan Thee Stallion Arctic Monkeys Bring Me the Horizon The 1975 replacing Rage Against the Machine Halsey 34 2021 Liam Gallagher Biffy Clyro replacing Queens of the Stone Age Stormzy Catfish and the Bottlemen Post Malone Disclosure 30 2020 cancelled Liam Gallagher Rage Against the Machine Stormzy 35 2019 The 1975 Foo Fighters Post Malone Twenty One Pilots Co headline 36 2018 Fall Out Boy Kendrick Lamar Panic At The Disco Co headline Kings Of Leon 37 2017 Eminem Muse Kasabian 38 2016 Foals Disclosure Co headline Red Hot Chili Peppers Biffy Clyro Fall Out Boy Co headline 39 2015 Mumford amp Sons Metallica The Libertines 40 2014 Queens of the Stone Age Paramore Co headline Arctic Monkeys Blink 182 41 2013 Green Day Eminem Biffy Clyro 42 2012 The Cure Kasabian Foo Fighters 43 2011 My Chemical Romance The Strokes Pulp Co headline Muse 44 2010 Guns N Roses Arcade Fire Blink 182 45 2009 Kings of Leon Arctic Monkeys Radiohead 46 2008 Rage Against the Machine The Killers Metallica 2007 Razorlight Red Hot Chili Peppers Smashing Pumpkins 2006 Franz Ferdinand Muse Pearl Jam 2005 Pixies Foo Fighters Iron Maiden 2004 The Darkness The White Stripes Green Day 2003 Linkin Park Blur Metallica 2002 The Strokes Foo Fighters Guns N Roses Leeds The Prodigy 2001 Travis Manic Street Preachers Eminem 2000 Oasis Pulp Stereophonics 1999 The Charlatans Blur Red Hot Chili Peppers 1998 Jimmy Page amp Robert Plant Beastie Boys Garbage 47 1997 Suede Manic Street Preachers Metallica 1996 The Prodigy Black Grape The Stone Roses 1995 Smashing Pumpkins Bjork Neil Young 1994 Cypress Hill Primal Scream Red Hot Chili Peppers 1993 Porno For Pyros The The New Order 1992 Nirvana The Wonder Stuff Public Enemy 1991 Iggy Pop James The Sisters of Mercy 1990 The Cramps Inspiral Carpets Pixies 1989 New Order The Pogues The Mission 1988 Ramones Starship Squeeze 1987 The Mission Status Quo Alice Cooper 1986 Killing Joke Saxon Hawkwind 1985 No festival held 1984 cancelled Hawkwind Jethro Tull Marillion 1983 The Stranglers Black Sabbath Thin Lizzy 1982 Budgie Iron Maiden The Michael Schenker Group 1981 Girlschool Gillan The Kinks 1980 Rory Gallagher UFO Whitesnake 1979 The Police Scorpions replacing Thin Lizzy Peter Gabriel 1978 The Jam Status Quo Patti Smith 1977 Golden Earring Thin Lizzy Alex Harvey 1976 Gong Rory Gallagher Osibisa 1975 Hawkwind Yes Wishbone Ash Supertramp 1974 The Sensational Alex Harvey Band Traffic Focus 1973 Rory Gallagher Faces Genesis 1972 Curved Air Faces Quintessence 1971 Arthur Brown East of Eden Colosseum 1970 Family Taste Deep Purple 1969 Pink Floyd The Who The Nice 1968 The Herd The Nice Traffic 1967 Small Faces The Nice Cream 1966 Small Faces The Who Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames 1965 The Yardbirds Manfred Mann The Animals 1964 The Rolling Stones Chris Barber Band Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen 1963 Chris Barber s Jazz Band Acker Bilk s Paramount Jazz Band 1962 Chris Barber s Jazz Band Kenny Ball s Jazzmen 1961 Chris Barber s Jazz Band Ken Colyer s JazzmenBottling incidents EditBottling acts off stage being forced off stage by a barrage of audience thrown bottles and cans is a frequent occurrence at the festival 48 During the 1970s and 1980s there were often mass participation can and bottle fights and unpopular bands have been bottled offstage throughout the festival s history since the first large scale cannings of 1973 and 1974 49 Examples include Punk band The Hellions featuring ex Damned guitarist Brian James were booked on an otherwise 100 heavy metal line up on the Friday of the 1980 Festival and left the stage in less than a minute following an assault of cans bottles and pork pies I Canned The Hellions at Reading T shirts were on sale at souvenir stands within the hour 50 In 1983 reggae act Steel Pulse left within moments of arriving on stage under an avalanche of missiles launched by punks and rockers waiting to see The Stranglers John Waite and the No Brakes Band quit the stage on the Saturday of the 1986 festival when their drummer was hit in the head by a 12 vinyl disc citation needed In 1988 Bonnie Tyler completed her set despite being pelted with bottles and turf The same day s headliner Meat Loaf left 20 minutes into his set after being hit by a full two litre cider bottle After an initially positive reception Meat Loaf angered the audience by berating them for their treatment of his friend Bonnie Tyler earlier in the day then stormed off stage when met with a volley of burgers and bottles He eventually returned shouting Do you wanna rock n roll or do you wanna throw stuff Ten seconds later the cider bottle struck him in the face at which point he left the stage permanently citation needed In 2000 Daphne and Celeste were scheduled on the main stage for a short two song set and were bottled throughout 51 In 2003 Good Charlotte stopped their set 20 minutes short and encouraged the crowd to throw bottles all at the same time after a count of three after being pelted by bottles throughout their set 52 In 2004 50 Cent was pelted with bottles mud and an inflatable paddling pool during his set 53 50 Cent was on stage for just under 20 minutes before throwing his microphone into the crowd in anger The Rasmus were also bottled off after one song 54 In 2006 at Reading Panic at the Disco lead singer Brendon Urie was struck in the face with a plastic bottle and fell unconscious forcing the rest of the band to stop mid song as he lay on the floor Urie received medical treatment from his road crew for several minutes before regaining consciousness and the band subsequently continued the song from the point at which it was interrupted 55 The same year My Chemical Romance were heckled by a small group of angry audience members Lead singer Gerard Way encouraged the crowd to throw bottles at them instead and the band were pelted with golf balls and bottles of urine among other items citation needed In 2008 a crowd of approximately 3 000 people attended the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading to see unsigned band The FF ers following rumours that it would actually be a secret Foo Fighters gig and the band were subjected to a large amount of abuse from the audience including several bottles launched at the band 56 In 2016 Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots was attacked and robbed as he attempted to crowd surf in the Radio One Tent Reacting unfavourably to his behaviour the hostile audience threw him to the ground ripped off various items of his clothing and stole his ski mask Joseph was eventually rescued by security guards who carried him to an elevated platform where he announced that the band s set was over 57 See also EditList of historic rock festivals Love Not Riots Reading and Leeds Festivals line ups List of music festivals in the United Kingdom Workers Beer Company Workers Beer CompanyReferences Edit Reading Festival set for extra 5 000 revellers in 2019 www bbc com 18 March 2019 Retrieved 22 July 2022 History Festival Republic Retrieved 10 July 2022 Festivals part company with Carling Archived from the original on 9 April 2008 Reading Festival 2011 Archived from the original on 14 March 2011 Leeds Festival capacity to rise to 90 000 music fans Archived from the original on 2 January 2011 An extra 5 000 tickets are granted for the Leeds Festival Archived from the original on 25 February 2012 Retrieved 22 March 2011 Make Christmas Villages easily with My Village Archived from the original on 19 February 2008 Retrieved 3 May 2018 a b In praise of the Reading festival The Guardian London 25 August 2006 Archived from the original on 14 July 2014 Retrieved 30 June 2014 Reading Rock Festival Reading 1978 Archived from the original on 7 January 2011 Reading Rock Festival Reading 1979 Archived from the original on 10 March 2008 Tours Tickets amp Things to do from Tour Operators Worldwide by Viator Archived from the original on 16 June 2008 Explore the Collections Reading Festival Archived from the original on 24 February 2008 Retrieved 24 January 2018 Worst Festival Sets Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler Virgin Media Archived from the original on 6 October 2014 Retrieved 21 August 2014 Prain Susannah 1 February 2001 How I Got Here Fiddling all over the world The Independent London Archived from the original on 3 December 2007 Retrieved 22 May 2010 BBC BBC Seven Ages of Rock Events Nirvana headline Reading Festival Archived from the original on 15 March 2013 Reading Festival Special cover of the Melody Maker 12th September 1992 6 April 2009 h2g2 The Stone Roses The Stone Roses Edited Entry Archived from the original on 26 August 2007 Reading 1999 FC Luzern In English Archived 7 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine Justcantbeatthat com Retrieved on 17 July 2013 Festival and Events Management Google Boeken Books google com Retrieved on 17 July 2013 Festival marred by violence BBC News 26 August 2002 Archived from the original on 20 January 2008 Retrieved 22 May 2010 READING Little Johns Farm LEEDS Branham Park Wetherby 22 24 August BBC News Archived from the original on 9 May 2004 Retrieved 22 May 2010 Happy campers BBC Leeds Entertainment Archived from the original on 1 April 2012 Youngs Ian 25 August 2009 Festival fans receive a flag ban BBC News Archived from the original on 28 August 2009 Retrieved 29 November 2009 Reading Festival 2019 Sells Out IQ 22 July 2019 Retrieved 29 January 2020 Klancnik Urban 10 December 2019 How Rock Are You The Best Festivals for Headbangers Viberate Archived from the original on 29 January 2020 Retrieved 29 January 2020 Carling festival main page Archived from the original on 6 May 2008 New Stages Announced Retrieved 14 January 2008 dead link The Alternative stage Retrieved 14 January 2008 dead link Reading and Leeds festivals called off until 2021 BBC News 12 May 2020 Retrieved 12 May 2020 a b Beaumont Thomas Ben 31 August 2020 Reading and Leeds festival announces 2021 lineup The Guardian Retrieved 3 September 2020 Reading festival final day marred by violence and tent burning the Guardian 29 August 2022 Retrieved 29 August 2022 Leeds Festival death Family pay tribute to David Celino 16 BBC News 29 August 2022 Retrieved 29 August 2022 Your First 2023 Lineup Announcement Is Here readingfestival com 9 December 2022 Retrieved 14 December 2022 Reading and Leeds festival 2022 announce lineup with Arctic Monkeys Dave and more TheGuardian com 8 December 2021 Retrieved 22 March 2022 Stormzy announced as Reading and Leeds Festival 2020 third headliner RadioX News 11 February 2020 Retrieved 11 February 2020 Reading and Leeds Foo Fighters The 1975 Post Malone to headline BBC News 12 November 2018 Retrieved 12 November 2018 Reading amp Leeds Fest on Twitter twitter com Archived from the original on 20 February 2018 Retrieved 3 May 2018 lcarter festivalrepublic com 6 October 2017 Reading Festival 2017 Archived from the original on 23 December 2017 Retrieved 24 January 2018 astrid ferguson festivalrepublic com 4 October 2016 Reading Festival 2016 Archived from the original on 23 December 2017 Retrieved 24 January 2018 hroberts 6 October 2015 Reading Festival 2015 Archived from the original on 23 December 2017 Retrieved 24 January 2018 bfraserharding festivalrepublic com 3 September 2014 Reading Festival 2014 Archived from the original on 23 December 2017 Retrieved 24 January 2018 kate sullivan Festivalrepublic com 16 January 2014 Reading Festival 2013 Archived from the original on 23 December 2017 Retrieved 24 January 2018 Reading Festival 2012 28 November 2013 Archived from the original on 23 December 2017 Retrieved 24 January 2018 Reading Festival 2011 28 November 2013 Archived from the original on 23 December 2017 Retrieved 24 January 2018 Reading Festival 2010 28 November 2013 Archived from the original on 23 December 2017 Retrieved 24 January 2018 Reading Festival 2009 28 November 2013 Archived from the original on 23 December 2017 Retrieved 24 January 2018 Reading Festival 1998 28 November 2013 Archived from the original on 23 December 2017 Retrieved 24 January 2018 Bands Bottled at Reading Festival Archived from the original on 28 July 2009 25 Things You Never Knew About Reading amp Leeds Photos NME COM 3 NME NME com Archived from the original on 25 August 2008 Retrieved 25 August 2008 Reading Rock Festival 1980 recollections of attendees www ukrockfestivals com Retrieved 5 March 2021 Jonze Tim 29 March 2015 Daphne and Celeste They hated us so much The Guardian Retrieved 23 February 2020 Handbag Project 24 August 2003 Good Charlotte This Year s Daphne amp Celeste Music News Drowned In Sound Archived 14 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine Drownedinsound com Retrieved on 17 July 2013 Phoemail 25 August 2007 50 Cent at Reading 2004 Archived from the original on 20 August 2012 via YouTube Jonze Tim 25 August 2007 Hitting rock bottom The Guardian London Archived from the original on 16 July 2014 Retrieved 25 August 2008 Panic At The Disco speak after bottling NME COM Archived from the original on 21 May 2011 FF ers Leeds Festival 2008 Archived from the original on 19 June 2015 Retrieved 29 November 2009 Perryman Francesca 28 August 2016 Twenty One Pilots Tyler Joseph s rips shirt and loses shoe in Reading Festival crowd surf attack Get Reading Retrieved 3 July 2018 Further reading EditCarroll Ian 2007 The Reading Festival Music Mud and Mayhem The Official History Reynolds amp Hearn Ltd ISBN 978 1 905287 43 7 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reading and Leeds Festivals Reading Festival official website Leeds Festival official website Reading amp Leeds at the BBC Reading Festival official ticket agent Leeds Festival official ticket agent Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Reading and Leeds Festivals amp oldid 1146611393, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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