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Edition timeline
The Hollywood Music Festival took place 23–24 May 1970 on farmland near Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.
The Hollywood Music Festival took place 23–24 May 1970 on farmland near Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.
It is especially notable for the Grateful Dead's first performance in the United Kingdom.
It is especially notable for the Grateful Dead's first performance in the United Kingdom.
Other documented performers included Free, Ginger Baker's Air Force, Colosseum, Family, Black Sabbath, Traffic, José Feliciano and Mungo Jerry.
Other documented performers included Free, Ginger Baker's Air Force, Colosseum, Family, Black Sabbath, Traffic, José Feliciano and Mungo Jerry.
Onista Ltd, linked with the Red Bus organisation, promoted the event and subsequently encountered serious financial problems.
Onista Ltd, linked with the Red Bus organisation, promoted the event and subsequently encountered serious financial problems.
Film and audio fragments survive; later archive releases assembled some of this material.
Film and audio fragments survive; later archive releases assembled some of this material.
Why this event matters
Hollywood was the opening salvo of Britain's extraordinary 1970 festival summer. It is historically valuable because it came before Bath and Isle of Wight and shows both ambition and financial fragility already in place. The Hollywood Music Festival took place 23–24 May 1970 on farmland near Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.
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Place, site and audience
It is especially notable for the Grateful Dead's first performance in the United Kingdom. Other documented performers included Free, Ginger Baker's Air Force, Colosseum, Family, Black Sabbath, Traffic, José Feliciano and Mungo Jerry.
What the audience experienced
The audience encountered music through the practical realities of travel, waiting, weather, food, movement and temporary facilities. Onista Ltd, linked with the Red Bus organisation, promoted the event and subsequently encountered serious financial problems.
Problems, conflict and practical limits
Film/BBC claims vary in detail; distinguish intended professional filming, surviving footage and later commercial compilations. Film and audio fragments survive; later archive releases assembled some of this material.
Follow the festival beyond the field
Timeline
Related genres
More routes will be connected as the archive grows.
Related band guides
More routes will be connected as the archive grows.
Explore by sound
More routes will be connected as the archive grows.
Essential listening
Sources and further reading
- General cross-check – Hollywood Music FestivalEditorial source spine · accessed 23 July 2026
- UK Rock Festivals archive – research leadEditorial source spine · accessed 23 July 2026
Image credits5 licensed images
The Grateful Dead in 1970. Hollywood marked the group's first UK performance; this is artist context rather than Staffordshire festival photography — Herb Greene — Wikimedia Commons — Public domain · source record · Public domain
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
Black Sabbath in 1970, close-period artist context for a documented Hollywood performer and not an image made at the festival — Warner Bros. Records — Wikimedia Commons — Public domain · source record · Public domain
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
Free in 1970, close-period context for the documented Hollywood bill. The image was not made at the Staffordshire site — Rob Mieremet — Wikimedia Commons — CC0 · source record · CC0
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
Ginger Baker with Jack Bruce in 1967, artist context for Ginger Baker's Air Force at Hollywood and not festival documentation — Unknown author Unknown author This is a retouched picture , which means that it has been digitally altered from its original version. Modifications made by Dcameron814 . — Wikimedia Commons — Public domain · source record · Public domain
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
A 1970 Traffic trade advertisement, release-period context for a documented Hollywood act and not a performed-set photograph — Liberty Records / United Artists — Wikimedia Commons — Public domain · source record · Public domain
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.