Knebworth Festival

Pink Floyd in 1975

Rolling Stones in 1976

The grounds of Knebworth House near the village of Knebworth in Hertfordshire, England has become a major venue for open air rock and pop concerts since 1974 when The Allman Brothers Band attracted 60,000 at the first large concert held at the venue.

Since then, the Knebworth Festival, has been the scene of outdoor extravaganzas, featuring Pink Floyd (1975; 1990), The Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd (1976), Genesis (1978; 1990; 1992), Frank Zappa (1978), Led Zeppelin (1979), Mike Oldfield and The Beach Boys (1980), Cliff Richard (1983; 1990), Deep Purple (1985), Queen (1986), Status Quo (1986; 1990), Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Phil Collins and Dire Straits (1990), Oasis (1996), Robbie Williams (2003), Sonisphere Festival (2009; 2010; 2011; 2014), Red Hot Chili Peppers (2012).

Major concerts

Poster for the Knebworth Festival, August 1979

In 1979, Led Zeppelin performed at Knebworth for two gigs, their first concerts in the United Kingdom since 1975. The band reportedly played to record crowds in excess of 200,000 people, even though official admission records 109,000 people. The New Barbarians, Ron Wood's solo outfit with Keith Richards played at the second show on 11 August.
The 1985 event was the first UK gig by the re-formed Deep Purple.
On 9 August 1986, Queen performed their last show with their classic line-up; the band did not perform live again until after the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury, at his tribute concert.
On 30 June 1990, the park was the location for The Silver Clef Award Winners Concert which was recorded and released on DVD. It included the performance of artists including Pink Floyd, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Tears for Fears, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Ray Cooper, Robert Plant (with guest Jimmy Page), Status Quo and Phil Collins with Genesis.

File:OASIS KNEBWORTH.jpg

Poster for the Oasis concert, 1996

In 1996, Oasis, who were supported by The Charlatans, Kula Shaker, Manic Street Preachers, The Bootleg Beatles, The Chemical Brothers, Ocean Colour Scene and The Prodigy, played two shows with an audience of 150,000 per night. Over 2.6 million people applied for tickets for the shows, making it the largest ever demand for concert tickets in British history.
In 2003, Robbie Williams performed at Knebworth over a three-day period, drawing crowds of over 375,000, and a further 3.5 million who watched live on television and online.^[1] This was reputedly the biggest UK pop concert ever and caused a huge traffic jam on the A1(M) as an estimated 130,000 cars^[2] tried to reach the venue. A subsequent album, entitled Robbie Williams – Live At Knebworth, was released, and reached number two in the UK charts. A DVD release followed.
In 2009, Metallica and Linkin Park headlined the first ever UK Sonisphere Festival. Other bands included Nine Inch Nails and Heaven & Hell. The festival took place again in 2010 with Rammstein and Iron Maiden headlining plus performances from other big acts such as Alice Cooper, Iggy and the Stooges and Mötley Crüe. In 2011, the festival hosted the first UK performance of the Big 4 bands of thrash metal.

Concert history

Date	Name	Artists	Attendance (approx.)	Ref.
20 July 1974	The Bucolic Frolic	The Allman Brothers Band, The Doobie Brothers, Mahavishnu Orchestra, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Van Morrison, Tim Buckley	60,000	^[3]^[4]
5 July 1975	Knebworth Festival	Pink Floyd, Captain Beefheart, Linda Lewis, Monty Python, Steve Miller Band, Roy Harper	100,000	^[3]^[5]
21 August 1976	Knebworth Fair	10cc, Hot Tuna, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Don Harrison Band, Rolling Stones, Todd Rundgren	120,000	^[3]^[6]
24 June 1978	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Atlanta Rhythm Section, Brand X, Devo, Genesis, Jefferson Starship, Tom Petty, Roy Harper	60,000	^[3]^[7]
9 September 1978	Oh God Not Another Boring Old Knebworth!	Dave Edmunds, Frank Zappa, Nick Lowe, Peter Gabriel, The Boomtown Rats, The Tubes, Wilko Johnson's Solid Senders	45,000	^[3]
4 August 1979	Knebworth Festival	Chas & Dave, Commander Cody, Fairport Convention, Led Zeppelin, Marshall Tucker, Southside Johnny, Todd Rundgren	109,000	^[3]^[8]
11 August 1979	Knebworth Festival	Chas & Dave, Commander Cody, Led Zeppelin, The New Barbarians, Marshall Tucker, Southside Johnny, Todd Rundgren	60,000	^[3]^[8]
21 June 1980	Knebworth Festival	Elkie Brooks, Lindisfarne, Mike Oldfield, The Beach Boys, The Blues Band, Santana	45,000	^[3]^[9]
1981	The Jazz Years	BB King, Benny Goodman, Chuck Berry, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimmy Cliff, Lionel Hampton, Muddy Waters, Sarah Vaughan	50,000	^[9]
1982	The Jazz Years	BB King, Benny Goodman, Chuck Berry, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimmy Cliff, Lionel Hampton, Muddy Waters, Sarah Vaughan	50,000	^[9]
August 1982	Greenbelt Festival	Adrian Snell, Andy Pratt, Positive Earth, Bryn Haworth, Calvin Seerveld, Jim Wallis, Noel Paul Stookey, Paradise, Patrick Sookhdeo, Maxine and the Majestics, Rez Band, Roger Forster, Servant, Talking Drums, The Barratt Band		^[9]
August 1983	Greenbelt Festival	100% Proof, Cliff Richard, Jessy Dixon, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Sheila Walsh		^[9]
22 June 1985	The Return of the Knebworth Fayre	Alaska, Blackfoot, Deep Purple, Mama's Boys, Meat Loaf, Mountain, Scorpions, UFO	80,000	^[9]^[10]
9 August 1986	A Night of Summer Magic	Queen, Status Quo, Big Country, Belouis Some	120,000	^[9]^[11]
30 June 1990	The Silver Clef Award Winners Concert	Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Dire Straits, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins with Genesis, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, Status Quo, Tears for Fears	120,000	^[12]
2 August 1992	Genesis at Knebworth	Genesis, Lisa Stansfield, The Saw Doctors	90,000	^[12]^[13]
10 August 1996	Oasis	Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene, Manic Street Preachers, The Bootleg Beatles, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy	150,000	^[12]
11 August 1996	Oasis	Oasis, Cast, Dreadzone, Kula Shaker, Manic Street Preachers, The Charlatans	150,000	^[12]
11 August 2001	Ministry @ Knebworth 2001	Bent, Jamiroquai, Lo Fidelity Allstars	35,000^[14]	^[15]^[16]
1 August 2003	Robbie Williams Live at Knebworth	Ash, Kelly Osbourne, Moby, Robbie Williams, The Darkness	125,000	^[17]^[18]
2 August 2003	Robbie Williams Live at Knebworth	Ash, Kelly Osbourne, Moby, Robbie Williams, The Darkness	125,000	^[17]^[18]
3 August 2003	Robbie Williams Live at Knebworth	Ash, Kelly Osbourne, Moby, Robbie Williams, The Darkness	125,000	^[17]^[18]
30 June 2007	Wild In The Country 2007	2ManyDJs, Erol Alkan, Hot Chip, Justice, Sasha & John Digweed, Simian Mobile Disco, Tiga, Underworld
1 August 2009	Sonisphere Festival	Airbourne, Alien Ant Farm, Anthrax, Björn Again, Bullet for My Valentine, Heaven & Hell, Linkin Park, Skindred, Soil, Taking Back Sunday, The Used	55,000	^[19]
2 August 2009	Sonisphere Festival	Alice in Chains, Avenged Sevenfold, Buckcherry, Feeder, Killing Joke, Lamb of God, Limp Bizkit, Machine Head, Mastodon, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Paradise Lost, Saxon	55,000	^[19]
30 July 2010	Sonisphere Festival	65daysofstatic, Alice Cooper, Delain, Europe, Gary Numan, Terrorvision, Turisas	55,000	^[19]
31 July 2010	Sonisphere Festival	Anthrax, Apocalyptica, Corey Taylor, Family Force 5, Fear Factory, Gallows, Lacuna Coil, Mötley Crüe, Papa Roach, Placebo, Rammstein, Sabaton, Skunk Anansie, Soulfly, Therapy?	55,000	^[19]
1 August 2010	Sonisphere Festival	Alice in Chains, Bring Me the Horizon, cKy, The Cult, Dir En Grey, Fightstar, Funeral for a Friend, Henry Rollins, Iggy & The Stooges, Iron Maiden, Madina Lake, Pendulum, Skindred, Slayer	55,000	^[19]
8 July 2011	Sonisphere Festival	Anthrax, Diamond Head, Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer		^[19]
9 July 2011	Sonisphere Festival	Architects, Bad Religion, Biffy Clyro, Cavalera Conspiracy, Sylosis, You Me At Six, Weezer		^[19]
10 July 2011	Sonisphere Festival	Arch Enemy, Limp Bizkit, Mastodon, Motörhead, Parkway Drive, Slipknot, Volbeat		^[19]
23 June 2012	Red Hot Chili Peppers	Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dizzee Rascal, The Wombats, Reverend and the Makers.

References

^ "Robbie Williams Live at Knebworth".
^ "Robbie Williams @ Knebworth". 5 August 2003.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Knebworth House Rock Concerts: The Seventies". Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2006.
^ "1974 Knebworth Festival, The Bucolic Frolic @ www.ukrockfestivals.com". Retrieved 13 June 2006.
^ "The 1975 Knebworth Concert @ www.ukrockfestivals.com". Retrieved 13 June 2006.
^ "The 1976 Knebworth Concert @ www.ukrockfestivals.com". Retrieved 13 June 2006.
^ "The 1978 Knebworth Concert @ www.ukrockfestivals.com". Retrieved 13 June 2006.
^ ^a ^b "The 1979 Knebworth Concerts @ www.ukrockfestivals.com". Retrieved 13 June 2006.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Knebworth House Rock Concerts: The Eighties". Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2006.
^ "www.deep-purple.net".
^ "www.geocities.com". Archived from the original on 26 October 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Knebworth House Rock Concerts: The Nineties". Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2006.
^ "Genesis". Retrieved 28 May 2006.
^ Classic Rock Knebworth supplement, circa June 2010
^ "Virtual Festivals: Ministry @ Knebworth 2001". Retrieved 28 May 2006.
^ "eFestivals: Knebworth '01". Retrieved 29 May 2006.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Knebworth House Rock Concerts: Robbie Williams Live at Knebworth". Retrieved 28 May 2006.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Virtual Festivals: Robbie Williams @ Knebworth 2003". Retrieved 28 May 2006.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Sonisphere Festival".

External links

[1] "Robbie Williams Live at Knebworth".

[2] "Robbie Williams @ Knebworth". 5 August 2003.

[ref1-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Knebworth House Rock Concerts: The Seventies". Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2006.

[ref2-4] "1974 Knebworth Festival, The Bucolic Frolic @ www.ukrockfestivals.com". Retrieved 13 June 2006.

[ref3-5] "The 1975 Knebworth Concert @ www.ukrockfestivals.com". Retrieved 13 June 2006.

[ref4-6] "The 1976 Knebworth Concert @ www.ukrockfestivals.com". Retrieved 13 June 2006.

[ref5-7] "The 1978 Knebworth Concert @ www.ukrockfestivals.com". Retrieved 13 June 2006.

[ref6-8] "The 1979 Knebworth Concerts @ www.ukrockfestivals.com". Retrieved 13 June 2006.

[ref7-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Knebworth House Rock Concerts: The Eighties". Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2006.

[ref8-10] "www.deep-purple.net".

[ref9-11] "www.geocities.com". Archived from the original on 26 October 2009.

[ref10-12] "Knebworth House Rock Concerts: The Nineties". Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2006.

[ref11-13] "Genesis". Retrieved 28 May 2006.

[14] Classic Rock Knebworth supplement, circa June 2010

[ref12-15] "Virtual Festivals: Ministry @ Knebworth 2001". Retrieved 28 May 2006.

[ref13-16] "eFestivals: Knebworth '01". Retrieved 29 May 2006.

[ref14-17] "Knebworth House Rock Concerts: Robbie Williams Live at Knebworth". Retrieved 28 May 2006.

[ref15-18] "Virtual Festivals: Robbie Williams @ Knebworth 2003". Retrieved 28 May 2006.

[ref16-19] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Sonisphere Festival".

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