All Topics  
Castlemorton Common Festival

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Castlemorton Common Festival
 
 
  Topics Castlemorton Common Festival Topic Home

The Castlemorton Common Festival was a week-long free festival
Free party

A free party is a party "Freedom " from the restrictions of the legal club scene, which typically involves a Sound system #Freetekno/Free Party Sound systems playing electronic dance music from late at night until the time when the organisers decide to go home....
 and rave
Rave

A rave is a term in use since the 1980s, to describe dance party with fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties disc jockeys and other performers play Electronica, Trance music, and Techno ,...
 held in the Malvern Hills
Malvern Hills (district)

Malvern Hills is a Districts of England in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in Malvern, Worcestershire.The current local government district was formed on 1 April 1998 when the county of Hereford and Worcester reverted to its two former counties, Worcestershire and Herefordshire....
 near Great Malvern
Great Malvern

Great Malvern is a town in Worcestershire, England, positioned at the foot, and partly on the sides, of the Malvern Hills AONB.Great Malvern is the main part of Malvern, Worcestershire; other parts include Barnards Green, Little Malvern, Malvern Link, Malvern Wells, North Malvern, and West Malvern often referred to - along with the hills...
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 in 1992.

In May 1992 Avon and Somerset Police
Avon and Somerset Constabulary

Avon & Somerset Constabulary is the Home Office police force in England responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of Somerset and the districts of South Gloucestershire, Bristol, North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset; before 1996 these districts formed the now-defunct county of Avon, hence the force's name....
 tried to end the annual Avon Free Festival, which had been held in the Bristol
Bristol

Bristol is a City status in the United Kingdom, unitary authority area and Ceremonial counties of England in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff....
 area around the May Bank Holiday
Bank Holiday

A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population not employed in essential services receive them as holidays; those employed in essential services usually receive extra pay for working on these days....
 for several years. As a result, thousands of gypsies, new age travellers
New age travellers

The New age travellers or Peace Convoy were a group of people who often espoused New Age and/or hippie beliefs, and who travelled between music festivals and fairs in the United Kingdom in order to live in a community with others who hold similar beliefs....
 and raver
Raver

Raver is a word that has been used since the 1960s to describe people who are enthusiastic attendees of parties. For this purpose, the term is most common in the UK....
s en route to the area for the expected festival were shunted into neighbouring counties by Avon and Somerset’s Operation Nomad police manoeuvres.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Castlemorton Common Festival'
Start a new discussion about 'Castlemorton Common Festival'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Castlemorton Common Festival was a week-long free festival
Free party

A free party is a party "Freedom " from the restrictions of the legal club scene, which typically involves a Sound system #Freetekno/Free Party Sound systems playing electronic dance music from late at night until the time when the organisers decide to go home....
 and rave
Rave

A rave is a term in use since the 1980s, to describe dance party with fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties disc jockeys and other performers play Electronica, Trance music, and Techno ,...
 held in the Malvern Hills
Malvern Hills (district)

Malvern Hills is a Districts of England in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in Malvern, Worcestershire.The current local government district was formed on 1 April 1998 when the county of Hereford and Worcester reverted to its two former counties, Worcestershire and Herefordshire....
 near Great Malvern
Great Malvern

Great Malvern is a town in Worcestershire, England, positioned at the foot, and partly on the sides, of the Malvern Hills AONB.Great Malvern is the main part of Malvern, Worcestershire; other parts include Barnards Green, Little Malvern, Malvern Link, Malvern Wells, North Malvern, and West Malvern often referred to - along with the hills...
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 in 1992.

In May 1992 Avon and Somerset Police
Avon and Somerset Constabulary

Avon & Somerset Constabulary is the Home Office police force in England responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of Somerset and the districts of South Gloucestershire, Bristol, North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset; before 1996 these districts formed the now-defunct county of Avon, hence the force's name....
 tried to end the annual Avon Free Festival, which had been held in the Bristol
Bristol

Bristol is a City status in the United Kingdom, unitary authority area and Ceremonial counties of England in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff....
 area around the May Bank Holiday
Bank Holiday

A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population not employed in essential services receive them as holidays; those employed in essential services usually receive extra pay for working on these days....
 for several years. As a result, thousands of gypsies, new age travellers
New age travellers

The New age travellers or Peace Convoy were a group of people who often espoused New Age and/or hippie beliefs, and who travelled between music festivals and fairs in the United Kingdom in order to live in a community with others who hold similar beliefs....
 and raver
Raver

Raver is a word that has been used since the 1960s to describe people who are enthusiastic attendees of parties. For this purpose, the term is most common in the UK....
s en route to the area for the expected festival were shunted into neighbouring counties by Avon and Somerset’s Operation Nomad police manoeuvres. An estimated 20,000-40,000 people gathered on Castlemorton Common to hold a free party that lasted a full week, the biggest of its kind since the Stonehenge Free Festival
Stonehenge Free Festival

The Stonehenge Free Festival was a United Kingdom free festival from 1972 to 1984 held at Stonehenge in England during the month of June, and culminating on the summer solstice on June 21....
 in the mid 1980s.

Castlemorton hosted many of the large sound systems
Sound system (DJ)

A sound system is a group of disc jockey and Audio engineering contributing and working together as one, often playing and producing one particular kind of music....
 of the time such as Bedlam
Bedlam sound system

Bedlam sound system was founded in Dalston, East London, England in 1992. It was a free tekno Sound system run by Steve Bedlam and four other people....
, Circus Warp, Spiral Tribe
Spiral Tribe

Spiral Tribe is a free party Sound system which existed in the first half of the 1990s, and became active again in 2007. The collective originated in west London and later travelled across Europe and North America....
 and the DiY Sound System
The DiY Sound System

The DiY Sound System was one of United Kingdom's first house music sound systems, alongside Tonka . Created in Nottingham in 1989 as a reaction against the growing number of rave promoters whose bias was towards their own financial enrichment, rather than the joy of their party-goers....
, and bands such as Back To The Planet
Back To The Planet

Back To The Planet are a band from London, England....
 and AOS3
AOS3

AOS3 are a band based in South London, England. Their music combines punk rock, ska, and psychedelic music sounds....
. They played nonstop dance music. Big name DJs also attended and the immediate high-profile coverage in the national media only served to swell the crowd further, making it an impossible task for the authorities to close the festival down.

A great deal of media interest surrounded the festival. Simon Reynolds wrote that "during the next five days of its existence, Castlemorton will inspire questions in Parliament, make the front page of every newspaper in England and incite nationwide panic about the whereabouts of the next destination on the crusty itinerary."

Concerns about the festival and the way in which it was policed inspired the legislation which developed into the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994

The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the existing law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights and in greater penalties for certain "anti-social" behaviours....
. This wide-ranging Act effectively made illegal such outdoor parties that played music, which was defined in section 63(1)(b) to include "sounds wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats."

Whilst some have argued that Castlemorton, with its attendant publicity, led directly to the Criminal Justice Act and was the "final nail in the coffin of the unlicensed event", others have seen the Act as a draconian piece of legislation which was "explicitly aimed at suppressing the activities of certain strands of alternative culture".

See also

  • Spiral Tribe
    Spiral Tribe

    Spiral Tribe is a free party Sound system which existed in the first half of the 1990s, and became active again in 2007. The collective originated in west London and later travelled across Europe and North America....
  • Free party
    Free party

    A free party is a party "Freedom " from the restrictions of the legal club scene, which typically involves a Sound system #Freetekno/Free Party Sound systems playing electronic dance music from late at night until the time when the organisers decide to go home....
  • Teknival
    Teknival

    Teknivals are large free party which take place worldwide. They take place most often in Europe and are often illegal under various national or regional laws....
  • Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
    Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994

    The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the existing law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights and in greater penalties for certain "anti-social" behaviours....
  • The DiY Sound System
    The DiY Sound System

    The DiY Sound System was one of United Kingdom's first house music sound systems, alongside Tonka . Created in Nottingham in 1989 as a reaction against the growing number of rave promoters whose bias was towards their own financial enrichment, rather than the joy of their party-goers....


External links

  • retrieved November 1, 2006
  • retrieved November 1, 2006
  • retrieved November 1, 2006
  • retrieved November 1, 2006
  • retrieved November 1, 2006