Deeply Vale Festivals

Deeply Vale Festivals
Genre	Punk rock,
Location(s)	Bury in northwest England
Years active	1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979
Founded by	Chris Hewitt

The Deeply Vale Festivals were unique free festivals held near Bury in northwest England in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979. They are regarded as significant events that united punk music into the festival scene.

Deeply Vale Free Festival

In the 1970s Rochdale resident and associate of John Peel (through his links with the band Tractor,) Chris Hewitt was one of the main organisers of the event between 1976 to 1978 along with residents of a commune further up Oldham Road in Rochdale, Hewitt's inspiration for Deeply Vale Festivals was partly triggered working on Bickershaw Festival with Jeremy Beadle in 1972 and an event at Rivington Pike in August 1976. Chris went on to produce many other festivals and concerts and start a record company Ozit/Dandelion Records. Starting with an audience of 300 camping for two days in 1976 watching space rockers Body and John Peel favourites Tractor, the festival grew to 3,000 in 1977 (bands including Andy McCluskey's Pegasus, a forerunner of OMD in 1977) and by 1978 and 1979 to 20,000 people watching bands and camping for six days. The Home Office-sponsored body that reported on many pop festivals from the mid-1970s - Festival Welfare Services - said in a report on the 1978 that the 20,000 people event at Deeply Vale Festival "was actually better organised than the large Bob Dylan concert at Blackbushe the same summer" "In fact in 1978 it was a model for how festivals should be run". It was the biggest free festival in England ending its annual run in the actual valley of Deeply Vale after four years in 1979. The festival carried on on a smaller scale at Pickup Bank (Edgworth/Darwen)in 1980 and 1981.

As with the 1970s festivals, Deeply Vale hoped to bring together music of all styles, to create new styles and genres and maybe break a few. Since music seems to follow trends set already in history by names such as the Beatles, the Kinks, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Doors and many others who broke the musical mould of the 1950s and 1960s turning the times into a psychedelic outlook on life. Deeply Vale has been credited as a catalyst for many current bands who have formed since the 1970s festivals. Amongst people who claim to have been in the audience at Deeply Vale from the next generation of musicians and Deeply Vale inspired them to pursue a musical career are Andy Rourke of The Smiths, David Gedge from the Wedding Present, Dave Fielding, Mark Burgess and Reg Smithies from the Chameleons, Jimi Goodwin from the Doves, Boff Whalley from Chumbawamba Steve Cowen from the Mock Turtles and Ian Brown from the Stone Roses.

The Deeply Vale Festivals were also the first of the hippy music festivals to mix punk bands on the bill in amongst festival stalwarts like Steve Hillage, Nik Turner, the Ruts, Misty In Roots, Tractor (who had already achieved some notoriety as a John Peel band), Here and Now and the Fall. The Fall were regulars at the festival at a young age (and Mark E. Smith still holds the event in high esteem today), and Durutti Column played their fourth ever gig on the Deeply Vale Festival stage. Both these bands were introduced by a young Tony Wilson who had just started his own record company and offered to help his friend Chris Hewitt by compereing at Deeply Vale in 1978. In September 2009, two buildings associated with Deeply Vale Festivals, Factory Records, Tractor and John Peel, one building in Heywood and one in Rochdale had blue plaques unveiled to commemorate the important part the buildings played in the geneaology of rock music. The blue plaques campaign was put together by Peter Hook and Chris Hewitt. A 272-page A4 book tracing the history of- the four festivals in the Deeply Vale valley 1976/77/78/79, the two (Deeply Vale 1980 and 1981) festivals at Pickup Bank, the Rivington Pike Free Festivals 1976 and 1977, and the Manchester 1978 Rock Against Racism concerts- was released in October 2014. The book came in a box set and also contained eight hours of Deeply Vale related music spread over 6 cds.On 20 March 2015 Deeply Vale Festival 2015 took place in Heywood with Steve Hillage, with Mark E Smith from The Fall there to watch him, plus other performances from Notsensibles, Nik Turner,Segs from The Ruts,Victor Brox, George Borowski, Andy T, Graham Massey and Graham Clark, Andy Sharrocks and Accident On The East Lancs,Wilful Damage, Physical Wrecks, Movement Banned and Brian Eastwood and Pie.

Truly, Madly, Deeply Vale

Luke Bainbridge (journalist and editor of the Observer Music Monthly- and attendee of Deeply Vale Festivals as a youngster) said in the 2004 ITV documentary Truly, Madly, Deeply Vale that the Deeply Vale Festivals were far more organised than Glastonbury by 1978.

In July 2007 the DVD "Deeply Vale Festivals" was released, it contains 3 hours 40 minutes of archive band performances and interviews and the 49-minute Truly, Madly, Deeply Vale film plus other rare interviews, crowd footage and band performances.

Deeply Vale 2015

Following the release of the documentary, there were plans to resurrect the festival in this century. One idea was to merge with relaunching the Bickershaw Festival to become the Deeply Vale Bickershaw Festival. In the end Deeply Vale happened again after the release of the 2014 Box set - the event took place in March 2015

See also

• List of punk rock festivals
• List of historic rock festivals

References

• Haslam, Dale (2005-05-25). "Get set for hot summer of rock". Rochdale Observer. Retrieved 2007-09-09. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Deeply Vale Festival
• Deeply Vale Free Festival 1976-1979, ukrockfestivals