Take a journey into a psychedelic world with our library books and CD’s
Guest blog by Ben Graham
In the mid-1960s, the college town of Austin, Texas had a unique psychedelic scene that developed independently of what was going on in San Francisco and New York. Geographically and culturally isolated, oppressed by social structures and facing harsh treatment from the local law enforcement just for having long hair, never mind anything worse, Austin band The 13th Floor Elevators nevertheless earned legendary status as psychedelic outlaws and garage-rock pioneers, eventually winning the grudging respect of the townspeople while inspiring almost religious fervour in their fans. The area also produced a host of more obscure but similarly wild and distinctive bands, from The Golden Dawn to Bubble Puppy. Texan expats, including a young singer named Janis Joplin, were also pivotal to the more well-documented San Francisco scene.
GETTY
After launching my book on Texas’s psychedelic heritage, A Gathering Of Promises, at the 2015 Austin Psych Fest (that year renamed Levitation after a classic 13th Floor Elevators song – the band reunited one last time for the event), I decided to document a notorious music festival that took place near my hometown of Halifax, West Yorkshire, in 1970. The Yorkshire Folk, Blues and Jazz Festival at Krumlin was known as a disaster, with a freak storm devastating this huge, DIY outdoor event on the exposed Yorkshire moors. Advertised bands like The Who and Pink Floyd failed to show up. But the festival did see an early performance by a then-unknown Elton John, as well as the cream of the UK’s folk-rock acts, such as Pentangle, Fairport Convention and Sandy Denny’s Fotheringay. There are even rumours that Nick Drake showed up.
Uncovering the true story of Krumlin in my book Pink Floyd Are Fogbound In Paris revealed a saga that was by turns both hilarious and heartbreaking. From the heart of Texas to small town Yorkshire, the psychedelic counterculture often found its most distinctive, oddest manifestations in the most overlooked locations.
Written by Ben Graham, a Brighton-based writer and poet, and a regular contributor to the Quietus website and Shindig magazine.
You can borrow copies of both of Ben’s books from Brighton and Hove Libraries:
Pink Floyd Are Fogbound in Paris: The Story of the 1970 Krumlin Festival
We also have a brilliant collection of local music at Jubilee Library, very generously given by local artists and record labels the collection features albums on both CD and tape. You can discover styles and sounds like, reggae, punk, indie rock, folk, electro and psychedelia, perfect for any music lover!
Brighton & Hove Libraries Blog 