Reading Rock Festival 1983

Matt Thomas… The Enid – Now that is a name I had forgotten all about

Andy Hemsley… Matt, Saw them play at The Crypt in the 80’s

Reid McDuffie… Matt, Saw them.about five years ago at the New Day festival in Faversham…very good!

Shaun Pont… I was there on the Saturday and Sunday.

Andy Hemsley… What a line-up! Book me in for the Saturday – no, on other thoughts I need a full weekend ticket

Reid McDuffie… Andy, Yeah, I’d go the weekend too. Sunday too good to miss out on, though I did see Thin Lizzy on that last ’83 tour…they were brilliant

Andy Hemsley… So many bands who were at the forefront of the new wave of Prog in the early 80’s Pallas, Twelfth Night, Solstice, Pendragon and the bloody Enid!

Judy Atkinson… saw the Enid at the Astoria some years ago – the bill included Caravan, John Wetton (Asia) & the Groundhogs

Reid McDuffie… Andy, I remember seeing Pendragon supporting a very young Marillion at The Marquee in about 1980 or 81. Marillion hadn’t even recorded the first album

Darren Johnson… I was there aged 17, it was a fantastic weekend. Lizzy, Suzi, Stranglers, Steve Harley, Marillion and many more all brilliant. I was right at the front for Sabbath but it was that rather strange version of Sabbath with Ian Gillan on vocals and they encored with Smoke on the Water.

Graham Belchamber… I was very too. An outstanding very hot sunny weekend with so many highlights; Thin Lizzy playing what turned out to be their last UK show with Phil Lynott, the newly emerging superb Big Country whose set was augmented by a ridiculously over the top pyrotechnic blast and flames when they played Fields of Fire (Stuart Adamson’s eyebrows were singed off!), Suzi Quatro who was outstanding, the previously unknown Stevie Ray Vaughan who had the crowd enraptured from his first song, The Enid as barkingly brilliant as ever, Little Steven (Steve Van Zandt from The E Street Band)…. and a truly dreadful Black Sabbath featuring Ian Gillan from Deep Purple on vocals and Bev Bevan from ELO on drums. Completely under rehearsed with a ridiculous huge Stone Henge stage set that could have been the inspiration for Spinal Tap. When they finished their main set the DJ/announcer had his work cut out to get a small percentage of the audience to call for an encore. When they did return they completely lost their way attempting an appalling version of Smoke on the Water.

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