📰 Memory Of A Free Festival – Review : Jun. 1970
- David Bowie
- Jun 27, 1970
- 2 min read
A brutally honest one-page review in Melody Maker tears into David Bowie’s “Memory Of A Free Festival” single, dismissing both parts as rambling, repetitive, and lacking any real impact.
The critic paints a vivid picture of the festival experience as miserable and chaotic, then extends that disappointment to the record itself.
This June 27, 1970 Melody Maker review captures Bowie at a difficult pre-fame moment, when his experimental, theatrical style was still struggling to connect with the rock press.
🗞 Melody Maker
📅 Date: June 27, 1970
⏱ Length: 4 min read
📰 Key Highlights
• Harsh criticism of both parts of “Memory Of A Free Festival” as rambling and nonsensical
• Vivid description of free festivals as chaotic, uncomfortable, and unpleasant
• Comparison of the guitar work to Peter Frampton, but overall dismissal of the song’s concept
• Frustration with the song’s length and lack of structure
• Reflection on the gap between Bowie’s ambitious ideas and their execution at this stage
📰 Overview
Published in the June 27, 1970 issue of Melody Maker, this single review reflects the scepticism many rock critics still held toward David Bowie before his glam breakthrough. The reviewer uses the song’s festival theme as a springboard to vent about the realities of open-air events, then concludes that the record itself fails to deliver anything memorable or coherent.
📰 Source Details
Publication / Venue: Melody Maker
Date: June 27, 1970
Format: Single review
Provenance Notes: Verified directly from the preserved page; dense text columns with no accompanying photograph, typical of short single reviews of the era.
📰 The Story
The review begins by describing the grim reality of free festivals — rain, mud, bad sanitation, and discomfort — using it as a metaphor for the song’s own failings. Part 1 is called a tedious ramble, while Part 2 is labelled “a giant hen-up” and repetitive nonsense.
The critic acknowledges some energetic guitar playing reminiscent of Peter Frampton but argues that the overall concept never gels. Bowie’s ambitious, theatrical approach is seen as overreaching at this stage, resulting in a record that feels pretentious rather than compelling.
📰 Visual Archive
Plain text-only review layout with two columns of dense type under the headlines “DAVID BOWIE: ‘Memory Of A Free Festival Part 1’” and “Part 2.” No photographs or illustrations.
Caption: Melody Maker single review of David Bowie’s “Memory Of A Free Festival,” June 27, 1970.
📰 Related Material
See tabs at foot of page
📰 Closing Notes
This June 1970 Melody Maker review is a fascinating artefact from Bowie’s pre-Ziggy years, when his eccentric style often met with bafflement or outright dismissal from the rock press. It highlights how far he still had to travel before the theatrical brilliance of the glam era would win over both critics and the public.
📝 Copyright Notice
All magazine scans, photographs, and original text excerpts referenced in this entry remain the property of their respective copyright holders. This Chronicle entry is a transformative, non-commercial archival summary created for historical documentation and educational reference. No ownership of the original material is claimed or implied.
Comments