Ian Anderson, 1970

They’re celebrating the “50th anniversary of Glastonbury” on the wrong weekend, if you want to be pedantic. The first one – originally called Pilton Pop – was held on 19th September 1970 when, luckily, we were enjoying a bit of an Indian summer spell so lying on the grass in T-shirts was fine.

That might have been the extent of the luck that farmer/festival promoter Michael Eavis got that weekend. I don’t know how many ticket-buyers he was hoping for but none of the photos I have seem to show more than maybe 500.

The night before we’d been at the legendary Bristol Troubadour club celebrating the release of the first albums on what became quite a well-reputed ‘alternative folk’ label of the day, Village Thing. I’d been booked for this unknown festival, as had fellow Troubadour resident Keith Christmas. Various bods from the music press and artist friends like Al Stewart had come down from London for the Friday night, so the next day a whole gang of us – some rather the worse for wear! – piled into vehicles and pointed ourselves south.

The only festival that we were really used to back then was Cambridge Folk Festival which had been running for a few years with multiple stages and well-organised bars and catering. Glastonbury was – well – some wobbly planks on some scaffolding in a field, with canvas covering in case it rained (luckily it didn’t). The PA was minimal, there were no monitors for the musicians (but then that was what we were used to in those days), but all was perfectly fine for a small event. The security fence in front of the stage was a few stands of wire between wooden posts: very farm like! I have no recall of the state of catering or loo facilities, so they must have been OK.

I just remember our gang lounging on the grass, like everybody else as was the hippy habit in those days, and watching whoever came on. I’m not entirely sure that those appearing on the day bore much relation to the poster. Quintessence, Amazing Blondel and Stackridge (several times, i.i.r.c.) came and went.When it was time for my set, I did some solo things, then brought up hirsute bongo player, the late Ian Turner (aka “Heavy Drummer”) and guitarist Ian Hunt. We kept getting signals from the wings to keep going. Eventually, when we finally got the sign to finish we dragged up most of our gang – musicians, girlfriends, writers from Melody Maker and Sounds, hangers on – in a ramshackle attempt to summon up some “Woodstock Spirit” with a version of Country Joe’s Fixin’ To Die Rag.

Many years later, Al Stewart was fêted in a BBC Glastonbury broadcast for having “appeared at the first Glastonbury”: that was the extent of it, the cheeky blighter! (Re-written history now also wants to record that it was the “other” Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull who played in 1970. No it wasn’t!)

Many years later, Michael Eavis was quoted in the Guardian as saying “Marc Bolan was late arriving, and I was quite worried, but Ian Anderson saved the festival. He knew I couldn't pay him, but he played a great set that got everybody in right mood.” That was nice to know. (And I never did see Bolan – I’m not sure we stayed much further into the evening as it began to get chilly and we were knackered from the night before).

Of course we had absolutely no idea of what it would turn into over the years. And perhaps strangely, I’ve never been again since. Never was asked…