Pink Floyd at the Knebworth Festival. Knebworth Park, 5th July 1975
Line-up: Pink Floyd; Steve Miller Band; Captain Beefheart; Roy Harper and Trigger; Linda Lewis; Graham Chapman (Monty Python); DJ’s John Peel & Pete Drummond.
This was my second visit to Knebworth, after seeing the Allman Brothers headline at the first festival in 1974. A group of mates had organised a coach to take us down there; it left on the Friday night (after closing time of course) from outside the Londonderry pub and got us to the site in the early hours of Saturday morning. The line-up for the day was pretty strong, but we were all there to see the Floyd play Dark Side of the Moon. Attendance was much higher than the previous year, there seemed to be a lot of people there. Ticket price was a bargain at £2.75 (one day I really must try to do a comparison with today’s prices). Linda Lewis opened the day and was her usual chirpy self; a great start to the festivities. Jesus was dancing down the front. Monty Python’s Graham Chapman kept popping up to entertain us between bands, although some of his humour was lost in the vast space between stage and crowd. Peel was DJ for the day (as was the norm for festivals in those days) along with Pete Drummond. 
Next up was Roy Harper, a favourite of mine whose set was in two parts; the first featuring Roy playing acoustically with a small orchestra conducted by David Bedford. He then strapped on his electric guitar and was joined by his band Trigger which featured Chris Spedding on guitar (ex Jack Bruce band, and soon to be solo star with “Mororbikin'” 🙂 ), Dave Cochrane on bass and Bill Bruford on drums (ex Yes and King Crimson). Roy had a chat with us all, as he always did, and played some great songs including the classic “Another Day”. The late great and magnificent Captain Beefheart booglarised us, confusing some of the audience who just thought he was weird (which of course he was, but he was also excellent). Steve Miller was next. We’d all heard the classic song “The Joker” of course, but looking at published setlists of his performance that day, it seems that he didn’t play it (which I find hard to believe, bet we were disappointed); to be honest I don’t recall much about his set. There was then a long wait before Floyd came on. Soon two spitfires were flying overhead to herald Floyd’s arrival on stage. The show was similar to that which I had seen at Newcastle Odeon a year previously; they had their large circular screen, and the first half of their set featured new songs which would ultimately appear on Wish You Were Here and Animals. The second half was Dark Side of the Moon, with Echoes as the encore. 
Just before the start of Dark Side of the Moon a plane flew down over the crowd (travelling down a wire from the lighting tower) and crashed into the stage. And then came the familiar opening voice “I’ve been mad for f***ing years, absolutely years…..” and the haunting laughter….and we were off, witnessing the last performance of DSOTM by the Floyd with Roger Waters. It would be another 30 years until I saw this line-up play some of it again at Live 8 in Hyde Park; but that’s a story for a few days time. The sound wasn’t great from where we were sitting, but it was amazing to see them perform their classic album in a field on a cool summer’s evening. Echoes was the perfect closer for the day. Then it was out of the field through the crowds and campsites (and chants of “Wally”) and back on bus, and up the A1. Actually I think we were missing one guy, and had to wait a little before the driver decided he would leave without him. We then saw the guy hitching at the side of the road and picked him up. We were back in the early hours of Sunday morning, tired but with the sound of Echoes still running through our heads.
My friends John and Susan were also on the coach. Susan’s memories of the day: I don’t remember very much about the acts apart from Pink Floyd and I think that was because I was so thankful that it meant the festival was almost over! I remember the day as sitting on a blanket in a damp field amongst thousands of people (and a few small dogs), with mist and drizzle falling pretty much all day, being absolutely starving and having to use the most horrendous bathroom facilities I had ever encountered. I remember being terrified that we would miss the bus home, and I have never been so thankful as I was to see the Toll Bar on that Sunday morning!
Setlist: Raving and Drooling (Sheep); You’ve got to be Crazy (Dogs); Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1 to 5); Have a Cigar (with Roy Harper); Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6 to 9); Speak to Me; Breathe; On the Run; Time; Breathe (Reprise); The Great Gig in the Sky; Money; Us and Them; Any Colour You Like; Brain Damage; Eclipse. Encore: Echoes. The image of Knebworth House is reproduced here through the permissions of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
22 Jan
Pink Floyd at the Knebworth Festival. Knebworth Park, 5th July 1975
Posted January 22, 2014 by vintagerock in Captain Beefheart, John Peel, Linda Lewis, Monty Pythons Flying Circus, Pink Floyd, Roy Harper, Steve Miller. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, music, pop, rock. 15 Comments
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Posted by Bob whiteheaf on April 23, 2016 at 10:17 pm
I was perhaps a little more “awake ” but clearly remember “the joker” from Steve Miller band and “on the my oh my “from captain beef heart and the floyd sound was quadraphonic going round the the bowl area was iffy (I was lucky saw them at Wembley arena sound quality SOO much better) but the festival atmosphere madrone worth stand out like you went with friends we camped overnight it train home next day
Posted by vintagerock on April 24, 2016 at 6:07 am
Happy days Bob Cheers Peter
Posted by John O'Sullivan on May 1, 2016 at 7:46 am
I thought I remembered the spitfires correctly and the disgusting toilet facilities. I recall queuing for ages to get a slice of toast with beans on a paper plate. Fantastic memories though.
Posted by Gazza Townsend on March 22, 2017 at 4:06 am
i remember my and a girlfriend couldnt find her car, s we slept in a field with our jackets covering the both of us. i was woken up by a dear sniffing my ear.
Posted by Alan Jackson on August 6, 2017 at 10:39 am
Best concert of my life, and I’ve been to hundreds.
Posted by Mugsey on January 2, 2022 at 9:52 am
Linda Lewis’s PA packed as I recall, and she finished her set with just the stage moniors.
Posted by vintagerock on January 2, 2022 at 12:19 pm
Thanks Mugsey. Can’t say I recall that. But my memory is not good these days! A great day. Peter
Posted by Stan Beggs on January 25, 2023 at 3:41 pm
6 of us travelled by train from Birmingham. Linda Lewis check, Steve Miller check, spaceship/plane on a zipwire check, Pink Floyd probably, Darkside of the Moon errrrr. Way too many substances check !
Par for the timeline.
Posted by vintagerock on January 25, 2023 at 3:44 pm
Thanks Stan. A great day check! Happy days Peter
Posted by George Cope on January 31, 2023 at 9:29 am
I was there on that day. It was and still is the best festival I have ever experienced. I was eight days off my 20th birthday, I am 67 now and remember it as though it was yesterday.
The Floyd will always be my most memorable group, I still play all of their albums on a regular basis.
Posted by vintagerock on January 31, 2023 at 12:32 pm
What more can I say George? It was a memorable great day that we will all remember forever. Happy days Peter
Posted by George E Cope on February 2, 2023 at 9:39 am
A few years ago, I was viewing a few things on YouTube, I entered the festival date into the search engine and after a few minutes viewing I spotted myself and my friend Eddie. For about 2 or three seconds, I am visible, my younger self enjoying the most memorable music festival I have ever been to. I was proper made up, long hair, John Lennon glasses, brown cord jacket and flared jeans, this was topped off with a chocolate brown, silk shirt with pale blue flowers, it cost me just over £7 to buy that shirt from a small shop in Birmingham and it was worth every penny.
Posted by vintagerock on February 2, 2023 at 11:01 am
Hi George what a lovely find! And your shirt sounds fantastic. You could probably play the video full-screen, stop it at the point you appear and screenshot your picture at that point. You could then save the image or print it out for posterity! Worth a try. Happy days. Peter
Posted by George E Cope on February 9, 2023 at 10:17 am
Thanks Peter, will give that a go. Seeing myself on the verge of becoming 20 years of age was a thrill, my grandkids could not believe how I was dressed. Suddenly I became ‘Cool’ in their eyes.
Posted by vintagerock on February 9, 2023 at 1:26 pm
Hope you find the picture again George happy days Peter