Spalding’s famous Barbeque 67 rock festival inspires new BBC radio play
The historic events of Spalding’s landmark Barbeque 67 rock festival continue to echo to this day - and have now helped to inspire a new BBC radio play.
On May 29 1967 a heaving crowd squeezed into the Tulip Bulb Auction Hall to see Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Cream, Geno Washington and Pink Floyd join locals Sounds Force Five on the stage - giving Spalding chance to stake a claim as host of the first rock festival.
Now, on Monday, May 30 - the day after the event’s 55th anniversary - listeners to BBC Radio 4 will be able to tune into ‘Barbecue 67 - The Original Summer of Love’, a play that features both the festival and some voices of people from Spalding.
The play - featuring Hustle and Spooks star Robert Glenister - has been adapted from a story first shown to a sell-out audience at the South Holland Centre to mark the 50th anniversary.
Local people helped shaped the original with their memories of the night - and some of this material helps to inspire the upcoming radio play.
Writer Andy Barrett told the Spalding Guardian: “One of things that’s great about this version of the play is that we have used some of the interviews we did originally - so there are vox pops of audience members in the play.
“That means there’s some Spalding people who will hear themselves on Radio 4.”
As part of the adaptation for BBC radio, the new play now centres on the relationship between two characters - disaffected former farmer Doug (played by Glenister) and Romanian field worker Tereza (played by Bafta-winning actress Anamaria Marinca).
The pair bond over their shared love of Hendrix - and Doug’s memories of that night in 67.
That story allows the play to tackle modern day issues relating to immigration - but Andy says it will also hammer home the significance of an important event that is not widely known outside this area.
Andy said: “Hopefully the play does say that. It’s saying this was the first of its kind
“It’s a relationship between somebody that didn’t understand the immigration experience and was disenchanted with the way things were and how they were going and, by meeting and talking to a Romanian woman, his attitudes change.
“For all of that it’s also looking at the cultural impact of that moment and the fact that it was rooted in Spalding.”
He added: “I was drawn to the tulip heritage - when it happened it was Flower Power and Spalding was at the heart of the industry at the time.
“Also, it’s Hendrix as much as anything.
“It does feature live music. There’s music from Hendrix and we had a really good guitar player in the studio.
“Hopefully it’s a good mix of music, drama and vox pops.”
The 45-minute show draws on new interviews with Zoot Money (another act on the bill), Geno Washington and Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason - as well as broadcaster Alastair Stewart.
The former ITV and current GB News presenter was 14 at the time and the son of a RAF pilot who lived at a nearby airbase - and took the opportunity to come to Spalding to see the impressive line-up of rock stars.
Edits permitting, voices of Spalding residents with memories of the night should feature - as well as a quote from the coverage in the Spalding Guardian at the time.
- The play is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Monday May 30 at 2.15pm. It is then set to be available to listen to on catch-up.
