Your first Glastonbury

[sedra]

84 ( aged 24) sneaked in for free on the Sunday afternoon with some friends for a few hours so not sure that counts , but 1986 was first proper camping one. Parked car by the tent! I can’t for the life of me remember what I saw on the Friday night!  I remember seeing Billy Bragg in a tent with the rain pouring down so I think I must have missed THe Cure. I remember John Martin and on the Sunday - Robert cray band, the housemartins ( with Norman Cook aka FBS) and Simply Red! Didn’t get back until 95 but been to every one since except 2004 and 2008. Look forward to next year -my 20th full weekend, at 50th Anniversary having just turned 60 in June! ?

[LGH]

2014 was my first.

I'd had a fairly bad end to 2012 and not a great 2013, I'd lost a good friend in September 2012 the day before I was due to go back to uni and finish my degree. I didn't deal with it at all for 4 months which ultimately ended up causing me to fail my course.

Spent 4 months after university trying and failing to get full time work whilst living back at my parents, getting Glastonbury tickets with loads of my mates in October was about the one highlight of those months aside from maybe winning a pub quiz.

Cut forward to June, I spent Tuesday night coming home to near Bristol from my new place in Cardiff and packing 4 people's stuff into a Peugeot 106, tried to sleep at 1am, couldn't, got up at 4am to drive to the site. 

We spent 4 hours in the Wednesday morning queue after parking getting gradually more excited, no idea which gate I walked through but I remember the buzz and the anticipation and the colours. Finally setting up camp in Oxlyers and collapsing through exhaustion for the afternoon until I felt well enough to go for a walk around in the evening.

Getting dragged up to the Glastonbury sign by a mate and sitting down with a few cans looking at the sites and the lights as the sun set was absolutely magical.

The Friday changed my life in two ways.

Firstly I saw more live music that day than I had previously seen in my life, I think it went; Kaiser Chiefs, Blondie, De La Soul, Crystal Fighters, (then a lightning storm and a beautiful rainbow), Dub Pistols, Jurassic 5, Metronomy.

Secondly, on my way to De La Soul I bumped into an old flame from uni, we chatted for a while, compared where we were going and realised we were seeing 80% of the same stuff so swapped numbers and met up for Dub Pistols later on. I spent most of the rest of the weekend with her (apart from 6 hours Saturday evening where I passed out after the Manics and missed all subs and headliners).

We went to the next 3 Glastonbury's together and got engaged there on the Thursday in 2017 up by the sign!

We got married September this year and we're looking forward to our first as a married couple in 2020!

[Boilingtent]

On 11/28/2019 at 11:25 PM, lukethekid said:

My first also, that park stage line up!

[Ayrshire Chris]

lovely thread!!

Edited December 2, 2019 by Ayrshire Chris

[Ayrshire Chris]

Just love the memories and anecdotes on this thread. Just shows how much Glastonbury means to so many people and how much pleasure Michael and Emily has given to all of us. 

We had our first in 93, once the kids were big enough to be left with gran and we could afford the trip down!  We celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary in 2017 (married young!!) in our tent in Lime Kiln ground with the unparalleled views over the site and the Tor. There’s nowhere else on Earth we would rather have been! 

[Crazyfool01]

3 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Just love the memories and anecdotes on this thread. Just shows how much Glastonbury means to so many people and how much pleasure Michael and Emily has given to all of us. 

We had our first in 93, once the kids were big enough to be left with gran and we could afford the trip down!  We celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary in 2017 (married young!!) in our tent in Lime Kiln ground with the unparalleled views over the site and the Tor. There’s nowhere else on Earth we would rather have been! 

 

1 minute ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Just love the memories and anecdotes on this thread. Just shows how much Glastonbury means to so many people and how much pleasure Michael and Emily has given to all of us. 

We had our first in 93, once the kids were big enough to be left with gran and we could afford the trip down!  We celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary in 2017 (married young!!) in our tent in Lime Kiln ground with the unparalleled views over the site and the Tor. There’s nowhere else on Earth we would rather have been! 

lovely post ... and lovely the second tine too  

[Ayrshire Chris]

19 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

 

lovely post ... and lovely the second tine too  

ta

Summit up with this site, taking ages to load! 

Edit. Fixed!

Edited December 2, 2019 by Ayrshire Chris

[stuie]

23 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

ta

Summit up with this site, taking ages to load! 

Edit. Fixed!

Nah... it's still fucked.

Going to do some work instead.

[Crazyfool01]

Issues for a few days with me ... hopefully that shut down has sorted it ... I’ve had all kinds of error messages logging in 

[HattersBoy]

2016 was my first and only year and I remember seeing the lights across the site through the trees after the 13 hour wait in the queue and being in awe. Walked onto the site at about 2am Thursday morning just to get a view of things and we sat down and was chatting to strangers within minutes. We were then joined by a girl on her hands and knees talking to the flowers up by the bridge near West Holts, we got someone to help. We managed to see loads of bands over the next few days including New Order, Squeeze, Madness, Foals and ELO. Checked out the site from up by the sign and saw the rain clouds coming in. It was then a struggle through all the mud. We still loved it though. Highlights were A Guy Called Gerald Voodoo Ray for an hour in the Glade, the Spike when we wanted to chill and stay dry and New Order. Watched Coldplay and decided to go home after a good soaking and covered in mud. Still think there's Glastonbury mud on boots and some of our kit. Can't wait to next year, want to get to places like Silver Hayes and the SE corner which the mud prevented us in getting to. Please more sun though!    

[Padgey]

2011 for me and caught the bug straight away even though it was a muddy, although it wouldn't be until 2014 when I returned as we failed to get tickets in 2013.  Next year will be my 7th visit. Life has changed a lot in that time, got married (thankfully she understands how much Glastonbury means to me), moved house, little boy came along, but Glastonbury has always been one of the first things on the calendar.

[RossTC]

2007, wet, cold, muddy. Loved every second of it and haven't missed one since. 2020 will be my 11th and i cant wait! 

I honestly cant think of how id feel if i missed a year for whatever reason. The happiness and total passion i have for the place is beyond belief.

[Pinhead]

2 hours ago, RossTC said:

2007, wet, cold, muddy. Loved every second of it and haven't missed one since. 2020 will be my 11th and i cant wait! 

I honestly cant think of how id feel if i missed a year for whatever reason. The happiness and total passion i have for the place is beyond belief.

Quite. Year 22 for me this year and petrified I'll not get lucky soon and break the line, after which I'd likely re-evaluate and maybe call it a day.

 

[Freddyflintstonree]

This year was my first at Glastonbury and it was the greatest week of my life, hands down. 

While I recognise that perhaps it will never quite be the same experience that this first year was, it's so good to see that the magic doesn't disappear over time, and that it's still incredible year after year. Bring on 2020!

[upshitcreek]

1 hour ago, Freddyflintstonree said:

This year was my first at Glastonbury and it was the greatest week of my life, hands down. 

While I recognise that perhaps it will never quite be the same experience that this first year was, it's so good to see that the magic doesn't disappear over time, and that it's still incredible year after year. Bring on 2020!

Not only that, unlike a lot of great things in life - Glastonbury seems to get better and better the more you see. This years going to be a different one for me, but I'm sure, no less fantastic.  

[dondo]

On 11/29/2019 at 1:05 PM, scaryclaireyfairy said:

We were woefully under-prepared for the size and scope of the place. I don't think we saw acts anywhere except Pyramid and Other. I remember sitting in the early hours of Sunday morning in the big tea tipi down in what is now Block 9, I think, and just never wanting to go home.

2003 was my 1st too.

Had thought about it for years and eventually got around to getting a ticket- I remember getting a couple of tickets the day after they went on sale with no idea of who I'd go with.

Ended up going with my old school friend and had a blast.  We would see bands during the day/evening and as he wasn't into dance music too much I'd meet up with some people I knew off a clubbing website at the night time to go around the late night areas.

One of my highlights was this

First time I had ever heard them and was blown away- ended up seeing them several times over the years afterwards before Arthur died

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

On 11/28/2019 at 10:57 PM, upshitcreek said:

this year we're taking our 3 year old daughter and 7 month old son - (who I've yet to meet) 

I haven't read the thread in total, so this may have been asked before - are you with the forces or in a job that keep you away from home for such a long time? Or are you 'inside' posting on a sneaked in mobile that was once up yours or somebody else's arse? 

[upshitcreek]

8 hours ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

I haven't read the thread in total, so this may have been asked before - are you with the forces or in a job that keep you away from home for such a long time? Or are you 'inside' posting on a sneaked in mobile that was once up yours or somebody else's arse? 

Fortunately neither, ? he's still in the oven! He's coming out on Friday ?

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

1 minute ago, upshitcreek said:

Fortunately neither, ? he's still in the oven! He's coming out on Friday ?

Aagh, I see. In that case congratulations are in order. 

[grumpyhack]

Love were one of the first bands I got into, along with The Doors and other West Coast bands.

Their Glasto set was tremendous.  So another one from memory lane with a drumming marathon.

 

[WS_Jack_III]

2005 at age 14. What an introduction ?

 

Not missed one since.

[Purple aki squat]

98. Very underprepared. Tiny tent, no boots and no coat. Got fucking soaked through on the Friday. Brilliant weekend though, the tent was floating on mud not far from the dance tent.

Some proper shifty bastards knocking round though, the only time I’ve seen aggro at the festival.

Still absolutely loved it

[Walker2295]

2016 for me. Leaving from Edinburgh at 11pm and getting into the festival nearly 6pm the next day after being stuck in that traffic. But that minor bump didn't stop such an amazing weekend!! not going to lie, I did see Glastonbury as just another festival just on a bit of bigger scale but it wasn't until I saw Adele SMASH that headline pyramid set, that everything fell into place and just started to really GET the festival and what it was all about.

I would say I was pretty submissive to my friend requests of who we see throughout my first year, the site was overwhelming and didn't want to lose her for hours upon end. But ended up with a lucky ticket in the 2017 resale and going with friends I had made in 2016. During the build up and I found this site and started reading topics, stories and tips and gave me the confidence to be okay if you don't want to see someone and can just wander by yourself for a bit (Which I ended up doing.  Grabbing a pizza and wandering round different stages for a couple of hours) and made me love this place even more. For that I want to give a big shout out to everyone on this site, Truly is a special place and festival.  

[BeddyDriver]

2005 was my first.....Somehow the monsoon and swimming around a field didn't didn't put me off, and I went back and got soaked again in 2007 !

Been to every festival since, although after the wetness of 05 & 07 every year since has been a camper van  

Been a hell of a run 2005-2020 and seriously worried ticket luck is going to run out soon.

 

[jfaragher]

1993, 18 years old, camped somewhere out in what is the SE corner with a load of mates from school.  I think I saw the Orb (though that might have been another year), and Galliano, but beyond that, I have little memory what music I saw. I do remember the Tiny Tea Tent, getting caught up in a mounted police charge on a bridge full of dealers and the subsequent chaos, Turkish coffee for 30p (and having to scrape up coppers on Sunday to afford it...) from some travellers in the Greenfields, the incredible numbers of people selling black 'ash, trying to find parties after midnight and ending up at Joe Bananas or round a camp fire somewhere, veggie burgers from the Blue Moon Cafe, getting blasted on 'Brew and the aforementioned squidgy black with my mates.

Continued to go until 2003, then stopped for various reasons until I went back as a volunteer in 2016.