Construction of Blackbushe, on Hartfordbridge Flats, during the Second World War was completed at the end of ’42 and was originally called RAF Hartfordbridge, and was used by RAF squadrons throughout the remainder of the war for reconnaissance, defence and strike operations using Spitfires and Mosquitoes.
Blackbushe, Yateley had been used for drag racing after ’62 and was the location for Dragfest. It was suggested as an outdoor music venue on numerous occasions. On 15 July 1978 it hosted an all-day open-air concert, The Picnic at Blackbushe, which was attended by some 160-200,000 plus people – one of promoter Harvey Goldsmith’s biggest ever events – although with a large volume of counterfeit tickets it may have been more.
Bob Dylan headlined, with Eric Clapton, Joan Armatrading, Graham Parker & The Rumour, Lake, and Merger also on the bill. This was Dylan’s last European appearance in ’78, and first UK date in 9 years, and Armatrading was flying in from the US just for this concert. The gates opened at noon, with the concert running from approximately 2pm to 10:30 that night. If you were at the back, with all those other punters in front of you, there wasn’t a great deal to see. During the event a few thousand ‘card parachutes’ were dropped from a helicopter over the audience promoting Dylan’s “Street Legal”.
Armatrading performed in a rugby shirt; Billy Connoly finds himself standing next to Dylan to watch Clapton; and when Graham Parker & The Rumour came on, Parker yelled: “Anyone here from the One Oak?” – of course there was. Dylan performed in a Savoy doorman’s top hat and plays for almost three hours. In the audience – well probably backstage – are Jenny Agutter and Ringo Starr.
In ’80 it was suggested by the media that Pink Floyd might do on outdoor show at Blackbushe, but this never came to fruition and to our best knowledge there has been no other live music event at Blackbushe. In 2017, “The Picnic at Blackbushe”, a hardback book in a metal flight case, is written/compiled by Jerry Bloom.
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Just to point out that this wasn’t Dylan’s first UK date in 12 years – he played the Isle of Wight in 1969, so this was his first in 9 years. Cheers!
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Cheers Graham, will get that corrected.
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