This arrived from Craig McFarlane, who I remember as an energetic Scottish bagpipe player. His period at the Assembly Rooms was indeed missed, though since it was after the millennium I'm not going to find extra space for it. I will include it here though. There are no dates included, but I am assuming that it was around 2001 onwards:
I enjoyed your book but wonder why you left the story of the Rooms in the way you did, implying that it put its its head down and continued quietly in the background with nothing much happening after the successful continuation and flourishing of the space as an Assembly Rooms. This being the same period as I got involved (luckily for the Rooms).
This being the period where I got personal loans and grants and put in £12000 of my own ‘Opus’ sound system, my friend Simon (striking lighting) putting in stunning light shows for the hundreds of great gigs we done, the rooms putting in £4000 (interesting story to that 4000) of stage lighting, my getting monthly 1am extensions for dance nights and special events, the legendary Drum and Bass nights where kids queued out the alleyway and down round the bottom of the street…incidentally these nights changed a full dynamic in the town, including the perception of ‘town’ parents on the aseembly rooms, and indeed the ‘alternative’ scene..quite a few of those young DJs are now pretty successful producers, citing the rooms as where it began for them.
The first two Gong Conventions happened there, I had Steve Hillage through a few times, Nik turner loads of times. Here & Now loads (they done a live album there, as did Zoorch), the world linked Earthheart dance nights, numerous quality Reggae soundsystems from London Leeds and Bristol, battle of the bands nights…ALL the cross quarter community nights. new central heating got fitted, the downstairs rooms got properly sorted out ... blimey … the 10 years until I left were amazing... not just down to me obviously, but I steered the Rooms out of its rough period. It's no mistake I appeared when I did ... Glastonbury gets the people it needs, when it needs them.
I have excellent records of this full period ... two scrap books of stuff from local papers, special event flyers, correspondence with council … I look forward in due course to all of this being used in the history of the start of the new millenium in Glastonbury. The Assembly Rooms reared up on its backlegs and shook the dust out of its mane in those years ... It most certainly didn't, as the full town knows, plod on quietly with its head down.
I enjoyed your book but wonder why you left the story of the Rooms in the way you did, implying that it put its its head down and continued quietly in the background with nothing much happening after the successful continuation and flourishing of the space as an Assembly Rooms. This being the same period as I got involved (luckily for the Rooms).
This being the period where I got personal loans and grants and put in £12000 of my own ‘Opus’ sound system, my friend Simon (striking lighting) putting in stunning light shows for the hundreds of great gigs we done, the rooms putting in £4000 (interesting story to that 4000) of stage lighting, my getting monthly 1am extensions for dance nights and special events, the legendary Drum and Bass nights where kids queued out the alleyway and down round the bottom of the street…incidentally these nights changed a full dynamic in the town, including the perception of ‘town’ parents on the aseembly rooms, and indeed the ‘alternative’ scene..quite a few of those young DJs are now pretty successful producers, citing the rooms as where it began for them.
The first two Gong Conventions happened there, I had Steve Hillage through a few times, Nik turner loads of times. Here & Now loads (they done a live album there, as did Zoorch), the world linked Earthheart dance nights, numerous quality Reggae soundsystems from London Leeds and Bristol, battle of the bands nights…ALL the cross quarter community nights. new central heating got fitted, the downstairs rooms got properly sorted out ... blimey … the 10 years until I left were amazing... not just down to me obviously, but I steered the Rooms out of its rough period. It's no mistake I appeared when I did ... Glastonbury gets the people it needs, when it needs them.
I have excellent records of this full period ... two scrap books of stuff from local papers, special event flyers, correspondence with council … I look forward in due course to all of this being used in the history of the start of the new millenium in Glastonbury. The Assembly Rooms reared up on its backlegs and shook the dust out of its mane in those years ... It most certainly didn't, as the full town knows, plod on quietly with its head down.
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