I used to love this festival, and I thought I'd start a thread in homage to it, especially now we have the medium of video to do it with. I really wish Stratford Council hadn't destroyed this festival, it brought so much joy to so many people.

I'm somewhere in the crowed you can see at the front, I can't have been more then 16 years old at the time. This was the first time I saw the prodigy too, and it was absolutely mind-blowingly brilliant.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjebfmsaQQQ[/YOUTUBE]

Here's some Suede as well, I was in the crowed for this one somewhere as well. I'd never even listened to them before that night, and became an instant fan. THey absolutely played their hearts out.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pum-Z6BQc_A[/youtube]

I was at the very last one where I sold water, bananananas, melons and ate suspicious cakes. Wonderful.

Ron, I think I may very well have bought a watermelon off you, what a small world.

Phoenix ruled, bring it back I say. Especially the guys who turned up one year selling boot-leg 'Pheonix' T-shirts.

Was your behaviour after eating them a bit suspicious too?

i was at the 97 show,
i worked on the burgerstands
i worked through the night so i got to see all the bands through the day.
dont think ya can go wrong with that free entry, back area access and all the food and drink you wanted and a couple of hundered quid to polish of the week
my frav band i seen there for me was fun lovin crims and david bowie

I remember watching both of those very clearly too. The Fun Loving Criminals were so much better then I thought they'd be, and Bowie was just out there. We had back stage passes that year, as we had a disabled friend. I saw the bassist to the Fun Loving Criminals trying to hail down a cab, and I nearly got run over by JK from Jamiroquai on a scooter. My friend met the Lightning Seeds too.

Ahh, good times. Thanks for bringing back a few more memories Cragz.