Los Angeles, California: In June 1971, Worthy Farm in Glastonbury, England, staged what remains one of the most legendary free festivals in rock history, Glastonbury Fayre.
Over the course of five days, an estimated audience of 12,000 witnessed epochal performances by Hawkwind, the Edgar Broughton Band, Fairport Convention, Terry Reid, Arthur Brown, Traffic, David Bowie and more.
And then there was the trippy psych rocking Pink Fairies and folk minstrel Melanie, two acts from the furthest ends of the musical spectrum, but bound together regardless by their shared roots in the counterculture revolution of the 1960s.
Out now, “(Some Say) I Got Devil” by Melanie and the Pink Fairies unites a vintage Melanie melody and vocal performance with a scorching Paul Rudolph guitar - the Fairies’ own tribute to the late singer, of course, but also a reminder of the all-pervading sense of community that bound together performers, audience and organizers alike throughout that magical week.
The Single: https://orcd.co/ylm0e2o
“It was so chaotic,” Melanie recalled of the festival, “but in the best possible way. There was a schedule but really, bands were left to play for as long as they wanted, so nobody had a clue when they’d be onstage.
“I was sitting at the front when I got the shout to go on. A bunch of bikers had invited me to have a drink with them and suddenly ‘Melanie! You’re on!’ If you watch the movie [Peter Neal and Nic Roeg’s Glastonbury Fayre], you can see me clambering onto the stage from the audience. It wasn’t they most dignified entrance I’ve ever made.”
Watch Melanie at Glastonbury here:
“(Some Say) I Got Devil” is the latest in a string of acclaimed Melanie collaborations released by Cleopatra over the past year. Others include her anthem “Beautiful People” with David J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets), “Aloha Lucifer” with goth-folk duo Charming Disaster, “Rag Doll” with garage rockers The Courettes, “I Will Walk You Home” with The Adverts, “The Nickel Song” with Linda Gail Lewis, Clem Burke and Danny Harvey, and a positively incendiary take on Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze,” recorded with 70s hard rock heroes Cactus.
And look out for more in the new year, including further trips back to Glastonbury 1971.
