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55.
Original poster announcing Phun City, held at Ecclesden Common near Worthing in West Sussex, July 24th-26th (1970).
Offset litho. 76.3x51cm.
Intended as a benefit for IT, the festival was organised by Mick Farren, together with fellow former Worthing High School pupil, Gez Cox, Dave ‘Boss’ Goodman and Ed Barker, who designed the poster.
Lists appearances by, among others, the MC5 (who headlined), The Pretty Things, Kevin Ayers, Shagrat, the Edgar Broughton Band, Mungo Jerry, Mighty Baby and the Pink Fairies (who removed all their clothes during their performance), as well as by Jeff Nuttall, Alexander Trocchi and William Burroughs.
Advertised in the underground press as “a three-day environment designed to meet the needs and desires of the freak, not just a situation set up to relieve him of his money”, the event accidentally became the first large-scale free concert in Britain after time ran out to erect fences and turnstiles. Plans to recoup some of the financial costs by selling the film rights came to nothing (Hoppy’s TVX crew headed off from the Arts Lab to film the event but were beaten to it by Ronan O’Rahilly’s Lion TV colour video unit), bands were paid expenses only (Free were billed but refused to play for free), and in the end the audience effectively took over the event.
Despite the organisational shambles, Farren wrote of Phun City in his memoirs that “Enough of my mission had been accomplished for me to be happy”, and quotes Hawkwind manager Doug Smith as saying “It was exactly what would happen if you let Boss and Mick put on a festival.”
Paper thinned and faintly discoloured at both top corners from tape removal; faint signs of old tape removal from lower corners, with creasing to lower right edge; tiny paper fragment affixed near to printed date at right-hand margin; a little handling wear and light creasing; o/w Very Good plus.
