The Reading Festival: Music, Mud and Mayhem: The Official History

by Ian Carroll, Melvin Benn (Foreword)

A major festival since its inception, Reading is a favorite among music fans. Bands that have appeared at Reading over the last 36 years are a virtual who's who of festival rock, including such diverse acts as Black Sabbath, The Buzzcocks, The Chemical Brothers, Eminem, The Faces, Foo Fighters, Hawkwind, Iggy Pop, Iron Maiden, The Libertines, Lou Reed, Manfred Mann, Manic Street Preachers, Marilyn Manson, Motorhead, Neil Young, Nick Cave, Oasis, P.J. Harvey, Paul Weller, Peter Gabriel, and Prodigy. Many of the acts who have appeared over the years have chosen to contribute their memories of the festival to this compendium, giving it a unique inside perspective. But Ian Carroll's account of the festival is much more than a roll-call of bands and artists. It is also the story of the festival itself, its complex relationship with the media and with local government, business, and the police. Above all, this is the story of the fans and their annual pilgrimage to the festival site by the Thames. Rain or shine, heatwave or mudslide, they make the Reading Festival what it is, and ensure that its special atmosphere will continue for many years to come.

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2007

Reviews

[Alyce Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough, for a fan of the festival, but it's not as well-written as it could have been. The sections on the actual history of the festival (conception, bookings, site) are very small, while the quotes from obscure and defunct bands often take up three quarters of a column.
It's just not very well edited. Consider the the basic incorrect facts - Dizzy Rascal, Brendan Urie and the Alien Ant Farm cover of Michael Jackson's 'Smooth Operator'. Combine this errors with the grammatical mistakes, bad spacing leading to quotes being cut off mid-sentence and the crazy usage of the !!! (yep, three exclamation marks in a row at more intervals than I care to remember)... It means you're in for a bit of a bumpy ride.
This could have been a lot smaller and a lot more meaningful, if there had been a serious try with the editing process. A lot of the earlier quotes are just from people saying they didn't think they'd been at the festival, or that they couldn't remember it - that makes it seem like it didn't make an impact on them, rather than that they were too drunk or too stoned to remember, which doesn't really sell the festival that well.
A nice read, filling a gap in the market, but I still think there's opportunity to write a good, in-depth book about the history of a brilliant festival.