PHOENIX FESTIVAL 2012!

[rexclark]

Always liked the look of the Phoenix line up but like others was too young to go at the time. If they get a decent mix of old and new acts I'd definately be interested in going next year.

[hoils]

sorry but I think your friends are mixing up days

The Prodigy played on Friday 19th of July

[glasto-worker]

The Prodge played twice in 96. On the main stage before Bowie on the Thursday and then in the dance tent after the main stage had shut on the Friday.

[amfy]

I was on the gate on Thursday night and people did miss Bowie. The organisation was appallingly inflexible in the circumstances. People were arriving after 10pm due to the traffic problems and were still being made to go to wristbanding (even if they only had day tickets!), way back along the runway, where the queue was a mile long. We were begging security to lighten up and let people in but they were immovable.

I will never forget one girl running towards the gate with her rucksack on her back and her sleeping bag all unravelled. She was in a right state with tears streaming down her face because she had travelled from Spain to see Bowie and was going to miss him. I asked Specialized Security if they would make an exception for her but they wouldn't (of course) so I said I would look after her rucksack and sleeping bag so she could move quicker to go and get her wristband. When they saw what I had done they went mad at me, screaming in my face that I was an idiot because I had no idea what was in the rucksack or whether she'd ever be back for it! (She returned at the end of the night and was really grateful for the little help I'd been able to give her, as she did manage to catch about half the set.)

I worked my next shift in the morning but then made my excuses and left the site. The violent assaults on people who tried to get in without tickets/wristbands were sickening. I was embarrassed to be part of it.

[Karlhippy]

I went 93, and the Sat night was a strange one......

[shoebox]

I went in '94, my first ever festival. Me and one friend, and we went primarily for The Wonder Stuff. I don't recall anything untoward, but then we just didn't have a clue how to behave at a festival, so probably ended up turning in soon after the headliners had finished.

Spent far too long queuing up at signing tents, spent an awful lot of our time in the comedy tent, whilst my mate spent far too much time sticking 20p pieces into Sunset Riders in the arcade.

I hate to think of some of the acts we missed due to poor planning.

I do remember it was a World Cup final that year. Italy vs Brazil and there was some fun and games with some Italian ice-cream sellers.

It was an experience for me, but not that memorable a festival. I also did Reading a month or so later and had an absolute blast!

[5co77ie]

anyone fancy guessing what month this will be in? I can't believe I'm thinking of going!

[JC-Mo'Fucka]

anyone fancy guessing what month this will be in? I can't believe I'm thinking of going!

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

Glasto weekend in june?

[HAPPY CHEF]

Back when Vince Powers was Mean Fiddler he had a habit of putting events on the same weekend as existing events,presumably in an attempt to kill off compition ie Tribal Gathering was the same date as Essential in Brighton.

My guess would be 2nd or 3rd weekend in July.

[kagey]

I f**king love this festival the line ups were amazing you could pop between stages easily

I'm soooooooo happpy to see its name back on the map and I shall certainly be there

[luckysalt]

I asked Andy Copping [Download Festival booker] what he felt about Phoenix Festival returning and does he see it as competition at all.

He Replied - ''They are stupid trying to launch another festival in an already over-saturated market...ridiculous''

I gotta say I completely disagree, I think theres the market the people who used to enjoy V's more indie based and Readings more Alternative line ups, rather than the chart music festivals

I think if theres one festival I may try to get to next year it'll be this one.

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

I asked Andy Copping [Download Festival booker] what he felt about Phoenix Festival returning and does he see it as competition at all.

He Replied - ''They are stupid trying to launch another festival in an already over-saturated market...ridiculous''

I gotta say I completely disagree, I think theres the market the people who used to enjoy V's more indie based and Readings more Alternative line ups, rather than the chart music festivals

I think if theres one festival I may try to get to next year it'll be this one.

[SweepingTheNation]

I gotta say I completely disagree, I think theres the market the people who used to enjoy V's more indie based and Readings more Alternative line ups, rather than the chart music festivals

[dreadydave]

I went to every Phoenix and eveyone was amazing - however it was a local festival for me back then and the line up was perfect for me. I think that's the biggest problem it will be a line up reliant festival and I'm probably a bit too old now to know half of the bands!!!

[glasto-worker]

Here is my pass for 1993 - I cant find any wrist band which may explain the second card but I did find wrist bands for 1997 so at some stage they switched bit not sure which year..

The Crew pass was a pain as ' Production On Stage ' had been blanked out but because some of it overlapped with ' Guest area ' this did cause some delay as I was working in the Guest Area so those words should not have had any ink on them.Most of the Security would let me in but there was a few who would argue the toss so I would ask them to call a Supervisor as by then I knew most of them.

The WBC Pass is unusual as that was the first pass to use a graphic { up to then they were all very plain } but I never was able to find out why they used a Witch.

Although the number is 101 the initial start number was 100 which my girlfriend ended up with which caused a few to wonder why we ended up with the first two numbers - at the time the WBC shared a office with the Organisation we were volunteers for so unlike the current system it was common to hand out the passes in advance so we picked up ours two weeks before the event.

Time will tell if it goes ahead and it will be interesting to see where its held.

[Flaminglippy]

I asked Andy Copping [Download Festival booker] what he felt about Phoenix Festival returning and does he see it as competition at all.

He Replied - ''They are stupid trying to launch another festival in an already over-saturated market...ridiculous''

I gotta say I completely disagree, I think theres the market the people who used to enjoy V's more indie based and Readings more Alternative line ups, rather than the chart music festivals

I think if theres one festival I may try to get to next year it'll be this one.

[eFestivals]

I asked Andy Copping [Download Festival booker] what he felt about Phoenix Festival returning and does he see it as competition at all.

He Replied - ''They are stupid trying to launch another festival in an already over-saturated market...ridiculous''

I gotta say I completely disagree, I think theres the market the people who used to enjoy V's more indie based and Readings more Alternative line ups, rather than the chart music festivals

I think if theres one festival I may try to get to next year it'll be this one.

What right has Copping got to say who can and can't start a new festival? Especially when he's done himself the exact thing that he's criticising.

If new or existing players can't launch a new festival because it might step on the toes of an existing festival then there will be no new festivals, and neither will there be any innovation, and the festivals that exist will look to cut corners because they'd be nothing that might usurp them.

It's new festivals that help ensure the ones we've got don't turn to shit.

[PastCaring]

What right has Copping got to say who can and can't start a new festival? Especially when he's done himself the exact thing that he's criticising.

If new or existing players can't launch a new festival because it might step on the toes of an existing festival then there will be no new festivals, and neither will there be any innovation, and the festivals that exist will look to cut corners because they'd be nothing that might usurp them.

It's new festivals that help ensure the ones we've got don't turn to shit.

[VCK]

So what sort of bands do people think they will they book? Looking at the old line-ups it seemed to have bands that would otherwise be playing Reading.

Maybe they should make it like Move Festival (another festival that needs to be brought back!), where the line-up is full of well establised and critically acclaimed Indie acts?

[eFestivals]

So what sort of bands do people think they will they book? Looking at the old line-ups it seemed to have bands that would otherwise be playing Reading.

Maybe they should make it like Move Festival (another festival that needs to be brought back!), where the line-up is full of well establised and critically acclaimed Indie acts?

I'd say that you'd probably get the best idea of who they're likely to have based on some of the acts they've had at Hop Farm.

Phoenix is a Vince Power festival (which Hop Farm also is), and if it does come back next year it's going to have to fight for its acts against the likes of Reading/Leeds, V, T in the Park, and IoW, which all try to get the acts for the top end of the bill on an exclusive basis.

Back in the past Phoenix was run by Mean Fiddler (now Festival Republic) which Vince used to own but no longer does; I presume Vince kept the rights to use the name when that sale was made. But this means he's fighting against the competition this time around, rather than being a part of the established major players.

Vince also owns (or part-owns) Benecassim, which might help him secure some acts for Phoenix that might otherwise be snapped up exclusively by the fests I mention above, but I suspect those bigger acts will have a first preference for those other fests when it comes to playing in the UK (particularly as one deal will get them more than one of those other fests, and the link from those festival organisers to big UK tours) ... so I reckon, just as appears to be the case with Hop Farm, that they'll be an amount of difficulty in getting what might be referred to as the 'top tier acts' which a big festival generally needs to be able to shift a huge number of tickets.

But perhaps I'm wrong - I hope that I am - and everything will fall into place easily, and Phoenix will be a great fest. I'm not hugely hopeful tho. We'll get to find out when the first acts are announced I guess.

[Flaminglippy]

So what sort of bands do people think they will they book? Looking at the old line-ups it seemed to have bands that would otherwise be playing Reading.

Maybe they should make it like Move Festival (another festival that needs to be brought back!), where the line-up is full of well establised and critically acclaimed Indie acts?

Edited September 13, 2011 by Flaminglippy

[PastCaring]

Oh dear, what a dismally depressing Thursday night on the main stage that would be

Maybe Mr Power will book Dylan again?

[allan14]

im to young to remember phoenix festival before so i dont know to much about it, thinking of giving it a try next year depending on which direction they take the line up in , if its like previouse years il be giving it a go... just asking is it a four day festival (iv notice people predicting Thursdays) or is there one or two acts on Thursday night?

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

Does the move of IOW fest suggest Phoenix may be heading for early/mid June?