From the archive, 7 March 1972: The origins of the Bickershaw festival

Originally published in the Guardian on 7 March 1972Bickershaw is a tiny mining village near Wigan. It was last heard of for its colliery band, which kept winning prizes in the thirties, and rehearsed in the Foresters Arms. Now the pub is to become the headquarters of a three-day festival of "contemporary arts, crafts, and music" on May 5, 6, and 7 which could bring 150,000 people to community of 1,566."The Bickershaw Festival," the organisers claimed in a letter to the local council, "differs f...

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