Weeley Festival

Weeley Festival was a British rock festival that took place in August 1971 near the small village of Weeley outside Clacton in Essex.

History

Weeley Festival was organised by Clacton Round Table as a small charity fundraising event for around 5,000 people. When plans for that year's Isle of Wight Festival fell through, focus shifted to Weeley and the festival grew in importance. Advance ticket sales were over 100,000, and estimates of attendance were between 110,000 and 150,000. The festival took place over the August Bank Holiday. The event was promoted as being non-stop music with acoustic acts scheduled to appear between the electric acts, and the music went on day and night.

The opening act were Hackensack, who played an extended set as no other acts had yet arrived. The Pink Fairies were not originally booked to play. They simply turned up and performed for free to the campers; they were so popular, however, that they were asked to play on the stage.

Evergigging band Stray were famous for exploding dustbins on stage, and they managed, according to their website, be over enthusiastic with the pyrotechnics and caused the local coastguard to be alerted. The band had to apologise to the coastguard.

Weeley

Weeley is a small village in Tendring, East Essex, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 1,768. It is served by Weeley railway station on the Sunshine Coast Line. It has bus links to Clacton-on-Sea and Colchester.

The parish church is St Andrew's, Weeley, which shares a priest with neighbouring Little Clacton. There is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school, also dedicated to St Andrew, which traces its foundation to the early date of 1797.

Weeley has two small local parks, and was host to the Weeley Festival in August 1971. Other local facilities include a village hall, a McDonald's, famously attended by Chelsea manager José Mourinho and a Premier Inn.

Weeley has a personal weather station in the village, which provides 24/7 live weather conditions and weather forecasts for the area.

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Coordinates: 51°51′N 1°07′E / 51.850°N 1.117°E / 51.850; 1.117