The 'Bucolic Frolic' that kept going

A new music event billed as a "Bucolic Frolic" opened its gates in 1974, and 50 years later Knebworth Park is still going strong as a festival venue.

Set in the grounds of an English country house in the rolling Hertfordshire hills, it might have seemed an unlikely setting, but it caught on after that first gig, and rock and pop bands have kept frolicking.

Knebworth Park is regarded as Britain’s largest regular music venue and has played host to many of the greats - Queen played their last show with Freddie Mercury there in 1986 while Robbie Williams played to a total of 375,000 people over one weekend in 2003.

An exhibition at the stately home has been telling the history of its musical achievements over the past five decades.

The venue, just outside Stevenage and just about walkable from the town's railway station, can accommodate 125,000 music fans (30,000 more than Wembley Stadium), making it the largest single-stage capacity venue in Britain.

Knebworth held its first concert on 20 July 1974 with performances from the Allman Brothers, Van Morrison, The Doobie Brothers and others.

Since then it has hosted rock royalty with the likes of Pink Floyd, Genesis, the Rolling Stones and Deep Purple taking to the stage.

Its 1975 concert saw Pink Floyd include a Spitfire in their performance of Dark Side of the Moon and they debuted their new studio album Wish You Were Here.

The following year The Rolling Stones played on a giant inflatable red lips and tongue stage. Its creator, Bill Harkin, had previously designed the first Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.

The stage has played host to both firsts and lasts in its time.

Led Zeppelin played their last ever UK gigs in their original line-up at Knebworth in 1979 while The Beach Boys played their last UK gig in their original line-up in 1980.

A 1990 charity gig at the venue featuring Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Genesis and Mark Knopfler, among others, was broadcast to a global audience by MTV.

And the venue numbers make for some eye-watering reading.

In 1996, about 250,000 fans watched Oasis play two shows at the height of Britpop.

After a film - Oasis Knebworth 1996 - was released, Liam Gallagher returned to the park in 2022 to play to 160,000 people - the biggest shows of his solo career.

Robbie Williams is at the top of the Knebworth statistics table, however, when in 2003 he played to 375,000 fans over three shows.

From 2009-14 the park played host to the Sonisphere Festivals featuring international heavy rock/metal bands including three performances from American group Metallica, and in 2010 the largest live audience in the UK ever for a non-English language concert for the German band Rammstein.

An exhibition of memorabilia and film clips from the full 50-year history of Knebworth shows is open at the park daily until 2 September.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830