One month into their famed Europe ’72 tour, the Grateful Dead performed at the Bickershaw Festival in Greater Manchester, England on May 7th, 1972. Noted as one of the “wettest festivals of all-time” the conditions were extremely muddy and uncomfortable for concertgoers. That didn’t stop the Dead from delivering two powerhouse sets at their lone festival appearance of the historic tour.
Yesterday, a six-minute video that includes an interview with Jerry Garcia about the state of the festival grounds and grainy footage shot by fans of the site and the band performing, all with the soundtrack of Mr. Charlie from that fateful evening, surfaced on YouTube. Let’s check it out…
3 Responses
It’s May 7 not April 7. The only Europe 72 show that features Dark Star and Other One.
Love this show – such an amazing vintage for the Dead’s music and obviously the terroir plays a significant part in the rosy bouquet of this seriously excellent show!
Nice article and a great video find. If you’re interested there’s more material about Bickershaw Fesstival at:
http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/setline.html
40 Year reunion video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er8m4Dffpw0