Glastonbury Festival 2013
Intolerably Hip
Andrew Kerr, with Arabella Churchill, put on the unforgettable Glastonbury Fair of 1971. Forty years later he tells the story of his life - nothing too weird to begin with - until he works for Arabella’s father, Randolph Churchill, and then, by contrast, drops out and makes it happen at Glastonbury.
Recalling the years with Randolph, who was engaged upon the biography of his father, Sir Winston, Kerr’s memory is prompted by diaries and letters. His boss was a very difficult man, permanently at war with the press. After Randolph dies, ‘young’ Winston, his son, complained that Andrew had gone “intolerably hip”.
It was true. Back in London, he was having the time of his life. Then, while leaving the Isle of Wight festival, Kerr had a vision of what this country really needed, which was a ‘proper festival’. He put all he had into the Glastonbury of ‘71. In fact, Michael Eavis, who owns the farm where the festival is held, had put on an event in the previous year and has sustained the festival ever since. But it was Kerr’s ideology which linked the festival to midsummer and the ancient landscape of Avalon. The tor worked its magic on the day and the sun shone. England had been waiting for this!
Then came his wandering years, firstly to a Highland croft, then at sea in a variety of sinking ships, before he settled as a gardener and finally returning to Somerset. These days he is remembered by journalists as a catalyst to the sequence of festivals - though sadly, his co-founding pioneer, Arabella, died in 2007. Though not a celebrity himself, the author has met more than a few, including Jackie Kennedy, Princess Margaret and Jimi Hendrix. With them comes a legion of Rock stars, crofters and druids plus one or two presidents and a trillionaire to enliven his tale and Kerr a generous yet light handed writer, knows how to tell it!
Looking back over the years, he is writing about our lives too as he describes the uncertainties of the era and reminds us of the importance of great gatherings and shared experience.