1990 - Welcome to Glastonbury! For x-daysofmusic

Another year of this #x-daysofmusic challenge set up by @backinblackdevil.

A steady job, a basement flat, a mortgage, a car. All of this happened in early 1990. Must be time to go to a festival, then.
I was aware of Cropredy and Reading Festivals, but Glastonbury was already seen as the required event, so off I went. The tent was a cruddy canvas thing I nabbed from my parents along with a camping gaz (sic) burner.
I camped at the top of the hill, near the farmhouse; which meant the ground stayed dry when it rained, was close to real toilets and a million miles from food or music.
My memories are patchy - I think I spent a lot of time wandering aimlessly and drunk (so no change there). Or maybe the hash cookies really did work?
It's highly possible I saw some awesome acts I just don't remember. I do remember that Julian Cope was supposed to be there but cancelled. The bands I remember seeing are all from the Sunday afternoon on the Pyramid Stage...

World Party - Way Down Now

From Goodbye Jumbo
World Party was a one-man-band of ex-Waterboy Karl Wallinger. Carefully produced and with some fine songs, the first album was very much in the Waterboys vein. He moved further away as the years progressed, but imagine The Beach Boys playing Brit-pop and you gete the idea.

Mano Negra - Mano Negra, Soledad, King Kong Five

A medley, because one track isn't enough
Mano Negra blew my mind! This was the band I'd been waiting for all my life. Punk, folk, Spanish rap, Arabic pop and all-out chaos on stage.
They imploded a few years later on a South American tour, leaving core member Manu Chao to a solo career which has become an exercise in samba whistles. But, I still remember watching in awe as band members hurled themselves around the pyramid stage.

Hothouse Flowers - I Can See Clearly Now

From Home
I picked this video because it begins with Liam having piano pedal problems. Which he did at Glastonbury as well, so I'm surprised they didn't fix the damn thing. Hothouse Flowers were plugging their second album, trying to consolidate on the Eurovision bounce that had lasted three years. 'Home' is a better album than 'People', but they'd lost the rough edge of the début and it didn't so as well.

For other Glastonbury 1990 reading, try this: http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/glastonbury-festival-1990.html
You can also read the full program, one page at a time. It looks familiar. I should have a copy somewhere.

Other gigs that year...

Gary Moore - Stormy Monday

From the gig I was at!
Thin Lizzy guitarist turned Chicago blues merchant. Gary Moore knew how to hold a guitar note. He would spend time in the sound-check finding the point on stage where he got the perfect feedback. The night got a bit long after a while - blues can lack variety and this was a good example. I confess I was holding out for some Lizzy classics which he was never going to deliver.

Fish - The Voyeur (I Like to Watch)

From Vigil in The Wilderness of Mirrors
Not from the Royal Albert Hall gig I was at, but the same tour. I missed Marillion, so wasn't about to miss Fish. I went with a bunch of school friends, and the night is still spoken of. First time at R.A.H., which is a lousy rock music venue, but never mind. Fish was in full throttle and the gig had enough Marillion songs to keep us amused. Not that the first couple of solo albums are anything but brilliant. But after that Fish sank from my view, and it was over 25 years before I saw him again.

Jeff Beck - Guitar Shop

From Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop
That's Terry Bozio on drums and Tony Hymas on keyboards. The finest power trio I have ever seen (and I've seen a few). Jeff Beck has been redefining guitar sounds since the '60s and the Guitar Shop album is a gob-smacking bit of metal-inflect jazz rock with a ludicrous sense of humour thrown in for good measure.
That was a bloody loud gig!

The Grateful Dead - THREE WHOLE NIGHTS

30th October

31st October

1st November

I was at all three, but I don't expect you to endure 9 hours of Grateful Dead.
Not without chemical assistance.
Because I could. Their final tour of Europe, and I had considered going onto the mainland for some of those gigs. I hear Paris was the best night of the tour.
On one night, someone's mobile phone conversation was picked up on the PA system during 'Space' and relayed to a bemused band and crowd.

My days of music: 1967 - 1968 - 1969 - 1970 - 1971 - 1972 - 1973 -
1974 - 1975 - 1976 - 1977 - 1978 - 1979 - 1980 - 1981 - 1982 - 1983 -
1984 - 1985 - 1986 - 1987 - 1988 - 1989