Your first Glastonbury: how you ended up going and why you came back!

[TheSulkingTent]

'98 was my first Glastonbury. I think I just read about it in the NME but didn't know what a big deal it was. I was 16 going on 17 and a massive blur fan and just wanted to see them and have a weekend away with my friends.

Looking back I was totally naive and a probably a bit of a hick (Ireland in 98 being a very different place!). I got my tickets by sending a postal order off to the Glastonbury ticket office with a letter requesting two tickets. A couple of weeks later, said tickets arrived. The only problem was I still hadn't convinced my Mam to let me go. In the end my Mam (to my eternal shame) found a number for the Glastonbury town police and rang them and asked was it safe to let me go! In fairness to them they were very decent and said that every kind of experience was available there but it was generally safe and it came down to whether you trusted your daughter or not.

Anyway I went, life was never the same again and each year my life seems to revolve around the event. There really is nowhere like it on earth. We have a group of friends that go now and although a lot has changed, with people getting married, having kids, moving away for work and all the other treacherous things friends do after college, Glastonbury is the glue that holds us all together.

Also I apolagise in advance for the fact that I went from a lurker to a spammer in the space of two days. I blame excitement and booze.

[dan05delaney]

Thats class!

my first time was in 2010 and not sure what finally made me want to go but over the years watching it on TV and reading about festivals I went to V in 07, and it was ok but I knew there was more to life, so I registered for 2008 but didn't have money, then in 2010 I had the money and bit the bullet, I went solo and was the greatest thing ever, then went to 2011 and this year...

[snipe]

First was in 2000. Can't remember who suggested it though I knew a few of the group I was heading over with had gone in 1999. All I knew at the time was that it was infamous for mud. Think Nine Inch Nails got announced and that was enough for me to get on board.

Remember we had no real idea what we were doing... we flew in late on the Wednesday and missed the last train to the festival. I'd made the mistake of trusting that people had checked things like when the last train was. We ended up getting a taxi from Bristol and got dropped off somewhere at the foot of a massive hill ( I suspect near Gate B? ). Awful walk up in the dark. Then we reached the gate and it turned out half the lads had to pick up tickets at the box office which we didn't realise was in Castle Cary at the time so they ended up sleeping in a random field somewhere nearby as they weren't allowed in (probably should have jumped). Myself and one other lad had actually got our physical tickets and got in and had to setup camp in the dark.. we managed to find a patch near the pyramid that was empty... in the morning we found out why.. right under the pylons!

One of the lads we were separated from had a mobile... we spent the first few hours of the Thursday morning trying to meet back up with them as we made phone calls from the pay phones on site to a very dinky 1990s era mobile on its last legs. Amazingly we got through and got reunited just as some rain started to fall. Bailed into our tents... already we saw some of the legendary mud. This wasn't looking good. Then the rain stopped, spliffs were rolled and someone started playing the Beatles over the PA on the Pyramid stage. Things started looking a lot better.

I don't think I really appreciated the scale of the festival at the time. I remember it being amazingly packed. We spent most of our time going between the Pyramid and Other stage and probably didn't realise there was more (or cared). I don't think we went to the stone circle... or drank cider. We only had a quick wander through the green fields at one point. It was just so busy I had no idea what was going on and mostly concentrated on seeing bands but I did really love it and knew it was something special.

I think after it took the break in 2001 we started going to Reading instead and we stuck with that after rumours that Glastonbury was tame now because of the fence filtered back to us from 2002. I still kick myself for believing this nonsense and not going in 2003 when a bunch of workmates were heading. Took till 2005 before I could go again. That's 3 lost Glastonburys to being stupid.

[preacherman_1]

combination of on of my best friends in primary (and to this day) always used to disappear the last week or so of school and I never understood why and it always sorta intrigued me, like what was this magical place you go to? and then I finally found out n heard all the stories etc. etc.

also from quite a young age i've always really enjoyed music and especially dance music (possible a by-product of being a 90s child) just what was available on the radio mind you so stuff like the prodigy - firestarter & chemical brothers - hey boy, hey girl.

the next year now knowing what glastonbury was and stuff I watched what I could on the bbc and the chemical brothers were playing the pyramid one night and I was sitting in the living room with all the lights off in front of the tv with this happening:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhuGwSqMDhM

it totally mesmerized me so much so I can remember it in pretty good detail!

both those things are what made me wanna go in the first place. eventually in 2009 I had been outta school just under 2 years, was unemployed after woolworths went into administration and then suddenly 19th birthday at the end of april and i got a fair whack of money off of relatives etc. and also some sorta savings account in my name had matured and had about £1200 in it (ended up blowing it all on a summer of festivals and trips to berlin & amsterdam aha). so anyway maybe 5 weeks before the festival in 09 I realise I have no responsibilities and have money that I can do what I like with so lets check and see if glasto tickets are still on sale! i didn't have high hopes as I was sure they woulda sold out but luckily I had registered previously on the off chance I decided to go or found people to go with. now as I say i don't know how quickly it sold out in 09 or if the struggled to sell resale or whatever or if it's that I just got lucky and checked at the right moment but they were still on sale, and i very quickly purchased one which arrived a week later, sorted travel etc.

luckily the friend from school who always went and her family were going so they kindly took my tent and set it up for me and i arrived on thursday, got the tour (a good 4 hour walk) and then mostly went off on my own although spent some time with my friend and her family as well and had a fantastic weekend seeing some of my favourite DJs and bands at the time and going off exploring. It was just such a friendly, anything goes, everyone welcome sorta vibe compared to every other festival I had attended up til then and also just seemed so much more value for money with regards to actual acts you can go see and less of a rip off once inside when it comes down the little details like the late night stuff and the production that goes into it, the food (the variety & price), being able to take alcohol around the entire site etc. basically it opened my eyes to what a festival should be!!!

I've been back every year since, finally fulfilled a dream and seen the chemical brothers headline glastonbury albeit the other stage in 2011 and it was even better seeing it in person. also in 2011 which was my 3rd year I was still finding areas I'd never been to before and this year have 2 mates who I've been bugging to go since 09 finally making the trip!!!

Edited June 24, 2013 by preacherman_1

[frostypaw]

First went on an "oh what the hell why not" - after years of hearing about it from a few wilder friends and never quite daring I was at a big low point in my life and needed something exciting. In 2003 it was a fairly relaxed process getting tickets and I got talked into it by someone else going for the first time and a bunch of us newbies went.

They were quite poppy though and I'm not sure they strayed far from the main bits and didn't keep coming back. I remember going to bed at the same time as them all for the first night but not being able to sleep - the roar of the place was too much and I got back up, found myself wandering til dawn dancing in bars to Orbital and having stoned chats with folk from everywhere and I was sold.

The next three days blinked by in an ecstatic blur and I came out the other side totally out of my depression and with new purpose in life - and the reassurance of knowing I was far from alone. Not missed one since - nothing like that yearly dose of faith in humanity and the reminder of how life could and should be

[dr monkey]

92 five of us, 4 lads one girl hired a car and set off Friday morning. Id never been to a festival before but had been doing all the illegal raves in the north west and beyond.

The week before one of the lads said do you fancy goin to Glasto, I said yeah ill have a bit of that.

So off we go with a 2 man tent for 3 of us, we managed to blag our way on to the car park and then wondered around looking for somewhere to jump over the fence ( it was quite easy back then )

I don't think we seen one band on the Fri night as we met up with some other lads dropped a load of acid and walked round all night looking for this mystical rave, we never found it. Instead I ended up in the harry chrishna tent tripping off my lid. After a while I realised every song had the same words and freaked out thinking they were trying to get into my head and legged it out of the tent.

Next day we left the others to look for raves and went to watch some bands. I still cant believe how we managed to split to see different bands and meet up again without have phones.

That night I had an amazing time (tripping again) watching The Orb then sitting off at the stone circle.

We had to get off on Sun as we had college on the Monday but my life had changed.

I couldn't go in 93 because of exams and was depressed as feck. I said id never miss one again and I didn't until 2 years ago when I was the only one who got a ticket and didn't wanna go by myself. Yet again I was depressed all weekend.

Only 2 of us going this year but im back baby and I cant wait

Edited June 24, 2013 by dr monkey

[Mrs*E*]

I first went in '98, the original plan was to go with my friend who had been a few times and had convinced me that this was the place for me. So checked out with the family and got a ticket. Well the weather hadn't been kind, and my friend came down with a mystery illness. I didn't think it would be bad, so I asked my brother if he would like her ticket. She refused payment and said he could have it for free, very generous. So we duly packed our stuff on the Thursday morning and off we went. Me and my brother were so excited. Found the site and parked up. Gathered our meagre belongings and got onto the site and camped opposite the Other Stage. We had an absolute blast. We paced our selves the first night and then basically went on a 48 hour dance til you drop - literally. Our first visit to the dance tent, (what's that smell?) and we had the best time. when that closed we wandered around the site, following our ears, from one lovely sound system to another. I had to buy some wellies which I still have and use. They were a tenner then! not too pricey and they were a godsend, for the lakes of mud we encountered.

The first 3 times I went with my brother. Then finally in 08, I convinced my husband that he should go with me and he has every time it's been on.

we are so excited and cant wait that on Thursday we will me going again. In fact my 19 yr old daughter, tells me to calm down - yeah ok

[bexj]

94 was my first one, I'd been to Reading since the late 80's and was getting bored of the same formulaic structure, and friends were losing interest too. Meanwhile other friends spoke highly of Glastonbury, spoke of this wild edgy place where everything goes....and thought I wasn't enough of a party animal to go! Then some new friends said they were going in 94, so I hopped to our local record shop a couple of weeks before and got tickets. 4 of us went in my little blue Polo while the others took all the stuff in a van. I remember trying to lug my canvas 4 man frame tent across the pyramid field, stopped with exhaustion, looked around and knew from that moment I was hooked!

So roll on nearly 20 years, I met my husband in 95, who'd also been in 94, and we've both been to every one since. Friends have come and gone, some years we've been just the two of us but it would take something very extraordinary to not go now, it's part if my life and helps to define who I am.

And each year I get more stupidly excited :-)

[ukmountie]

I moved to the UK in 2000. Glasto doesn't have the profile in North America that it does here. So I knew about it but not much.

Went to a couple of small festivals with friends, and while the festivals were OK, they didn't seem fantastic. Meantime most of my friends slagged off Glasto as being "Too Big", "Filthy Toilets", the usual objections.

Things like 2005 and 2007 just reinforced my decision, but in 2009 Bruce was playing, and I had a friend who was going so I could stay in his Campervan. Didn't think I'd actually get tickets, but I did.

I was very nervous going. All my other festival friends said I was mad. Then I got there and was blown away. My first Pyramid headliner was Neil Young, and I think most people would agree it was a fantastic show. Got talking to a random in the crowd while waiting and was amazed at how friendly it all was.

In the end Bruce was a letdown. Not his best show, but still OK. I've been to every Glastonbury since, and I will be at every future one as long as I can get tickets. It really does change you.

Edited June 24, 2013 by ukmountie

[Pipine]

Me and my brother decided to go after Pulp played that amazing stand in set one year (95?) and we were at home wishing we could be there, It was a fallow year in 96 so we had to wait another year but we went in 97 - one of the epic muddy rainy years... despite the horrendous conditions we loved it and kept coming back and since then we've never missed a year.

This year my brother is about to become a father so he won't be there, which I'll probably have a teary moment or two about while I'm sat up at flagtopia looking over the festival.. I know he'll be back though and I get a good reason to check out the kids field at last

[Amii]

Great stories guys!! Mine's a bit more of a mood killer....

2010 was my first Glastonbury, but it wasn't meant to be. I had tickets for 2009, and was all set and ready to go. However, a few months prior to the festival my then-boyfriend decided I wasn't allowed to go. I was gutted.

In early 2010, I finally found the confidence to leave said-ex, and found my wonderful new partner Joe. Joe had been going to the festival for around five years, and convinced me to buy tickets again. We'd been together for four months at the point I went, it was our first holiday together, already making it a very special place.

Unfortunately, two months before the 2010 festival, ex-partner and two friends attacked me and now-boyfriend. As these things do, I completely introverted and stopped going out, developing stress and anxiety related disorders. I didn't leave the house for a month, and to this day, am very wary of walking on my own and large crowds.

But at Glastonbury, something odd happened. All that fear and anxiety faded away - I didn't care about walking alone, or the large crowds, or people I didn't know. Something about the festival felt right, and homely.

Me and Joe have now been together almost four years, and whilst I've fully recovered from previous years events, I will always return to Glastonbury because of the special place in my heart it holds from providing comfort when it was needed the most. A very magical place.

[mungo57]

My first 1 was 2009, up until then I used to go to Reading Festival and I had no friends who wanted to do Glasto (I had always wanted to go) and I was 16/17.... Then I got together with the girlfriend and we got tickets to 2009, we've been every year since with her dad good times

[Pinhead]

Got dragged along by mates in '94....

And to think I hesitated.

Can still remember 'Swamp Thing' by The Grid on perpetual loop down in Babylon.

[bexj]

Amii, hope you have a wonderful festival, that's such a sad story:-(

[NorthernScum]

92........ Id never been to a festival before............. I still cant believe how we managed to split to see different bands and meet up again without have phones.

.... my life had changed..... I said id never miss one again.....

Edited July 2, 2013 by NorthernScum

[Sketchead]

After going to Leeds festival in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, I was sick of it. I found I wasn't actually having that good of a time, whether it was the company or the festival, I don't know.

In 2011 me and my then girlfriend went to Glasto and we both found it to be an amazing place. We had a great weekend despite not really caring so much about anyone on the lineup. From the moment I left the site I knew I'd come back. Something I find strange is that before Leeds, I used to get a little nervous and never be able to let myself go there. Things are much different in the build up to Glastonbury.

I'm not with said girlfriend anymore but I'm going with my best friend this time. I can only imagine it'll be even more fun, and probably more cuddles at the end of the night as well... not to mention our favourite band are headlining on Friday!

Bring it on!

Edited June 24, 2013 by Sketchead

[siblin]

Good stories. All of them seem fairly emotional, so allow me to add my own.

My first year was 2008. I was 26 and after a break-up I was feeling very low, with a pretty one dimensional life (go to work, come home, have food, sleep).

Speaking to a guy at work he mentioned he was going to glastonbury in a few weeks, and I said i've always wanted to go but a) my ex didnt like festivals, and I always missed the ticket sales. Fate seemed to be smiling on me, I knew that "A" wasnt a problem any more, but my friend informed me that (as you will remember) the tickets hadn't sold out. I was straight on buying a ticket.

Without sounding like a hippy too much, the festival with its highs and lows was a massive healing experience. It's always hard to explain how a £200 music gig in a field can do that but for me its the rollercoaster. The weather that year was great and I walked around meeting many new people. As well as rebuilding self esteem I remember being at the other stage for most of the saturday (Duffy, Elbow, Hot Chip, Massive Attack). And I was suddenly inspired to turn things around when I got home. When I did get home I unpacked a MIDI keyboard I had acquired and plugged it into my computer and started to play with DJ'ing/dance production and all of a sudden my life wasnt as one dimensional. Last year I started playing synth in a band.

So people had already told me it was life changing, I never believed them until I'd experienced it.

Why i go back each year? I'm always trying to re-create that, and I usually take some inspiration away from it. Its never quite as good as your first though

[Mrs*E*]

Amii, what a horrible thing to happen to you and Joe. I sincerely hope that you have a wonderful festival and that you have lots of happiness to come.

[Peroni]

2009... my boyfriend at the time, was really into it and his family had been going for years. I thought (being new to the relationship what nice thing to do, it was worth it as we are now married!!!) that I should really make an effort and do something he really liked, and we got tix.

That year, I was talking about it in the pub with my brother and sister and they decided they would come with us as well... logged on got tix no problem nearly a month after T day would you believe it!!

We arrived that Thursday, not having a clue what was going to happen to us... and like magic it got under our skin and we've tried to get tickets ever since....

What makes us come back??

Well like others - its the one time of year we all get together (our group is over 20 this year) and there's always a newbie who needs to be broken in, and I just couldn't bear it not being there....

[Phil-itfc]

I went to some pretty rubbish festivals in 2007 + 2008,(I'd outgrown reading, despite being 21/22 at the time and V was appalling) I was at a Gatecrasher festival about 4 weeks before G in 2008 it was shit, the main stage got cancelled and the organization was rather poor.

Some of the group I was with suggested I come to Glasto with them, Glasto had been properly on my radar having seen the Chemical Brothers set on the tele in 2007.

I had to turn down their offer as due to a lack of funds. Later in the year I went to another V festival to see the Chemical Brothers (they had been due to play the Gatecrasher festival, but were forced to cancel). After that day I vowed never to go back to V and to make sure I give Glasto a go.

A few months later I made a half arsed attempt to get tickets for 09 and to my surprise got straight through on Seetickets on my first attempt (wouldn't that be nice now) so went. The group I go with has evolved from tagging on with a friends and his friends to a small group of my friends going together.

[Redwinevino]

2009.

Mate's family lived near ish Wookey Hole and someone there sorted us out with two trader tickets like 5 days before the festival.

Brilliant fun doing it all at the last moment.

And I keep going back as it is brilliant been to a few festivals in Europe and it is the best (Though Roskilde does a few things better)

[sedra]

1984- went for the Sunday with a group of friends meeting up with others on site- slipped in for free. Returned in 1986 - tickets paid for by Wilts CC as I was taking 16yr old lad as a leaving care present from the residential home I worked in. Rocked up in my mini and camped right by the car! Remember seeing Billy Bragg in a tent with rain outside. The Housemartins, Robert cray band and Simply Red were on too. Didn't go again til 95 but have only missed 2004 and 2008 since. See you all there again on Weds!!!

[haznutuk]

'83 was my first. I was living at Greenham Common and somehow ended up in a converted ambulance heading for Glastonbury to give a talk about peace camps. But the ambulance broke down half way there so we were towed onto site by the AA. I remember sleeping in a marquee and wombling through the market area. But can't for the life of me remember how I left the site :-)

Been going on and off ever since but not this year. Though I have just helped the two daughters pack their stuff and waved them off as they are going on site today on working tix.

Have a good one everyone :-)

[ukdaasfan]

1995. To piss off my Ex Girlfriend. Long story.

[sparklypseudonym]

I went with my dad - I was 19 (1989) I can't for the life of me remember how I got there but it was fun.