The grounds of Knebworth House near the village of Knebworth has become a major venue for open air rock and pop concerts since 1974 when The Allman Brothers Band attracted 60,000 at the first large concert held at the venue. Since then, it has been the scene of outdoor extravaganzas featuring Pink Floyd (1975, 1990), The Rolling Stones (1976), Lynyrd Skynyrd (1976), Genesis (1978, 1990, 1992), Frank Zappa (1978), Led Zeppelin (1979), Mike Oldfield (1980), The Beach Boys (1980), Cliff Richard (1983, 1990), Deep Purple (1985), Queen (1986), Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Genesis and Dire Straits (1990), Oasis (1996), Robbie Williams (2003), Metallica (2009) and Linkin Park (2009). [edit] Major concerts  Poster for the Knebworth Festival, August 1979 - In 1979, Led Zeppelin performed at Knebworth for two gigs, their first concerts in the United Kingdom since 1975. The band played to record crowds in excess of 200,000 people.
- The 1985 event was the first UK gig by the re-formed Deep Purple.
- On June 30, 1990, the park was the location for The Silver Clef Award Winners Concert which was recorded and released on DVD. It included the performance of artists including Pink Floyd (with Candy Dulfer), Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Tears for Fears, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Ray Cooper, Robert Plant (with guest Jimmy Page), Status Quo and Phil Collins with Genesis.
- In 2003, Robbie Williams performed at Knebworth over a three day period, drawing crowds of over 300,000, and a further 3.5 million who watched live on television and online. This was reputedly the biggest UK pop concert ever and caused a huge traffic jam on the A1(M) as an estimated 130,000 cars[1] tried to reach the venue. A subsequent album, entitled "Robbie Williams – Live At Knebworth", was released, and reached number two in the UK charts. A DVD release followed.
[edit] Concert history | Date | Name | Artists | Attendance (approx.) | Ref. | | 01974-07-20 July 20, 1974 | The Bucolic Frolic | The Allman Brothers Band, The Doobie Brothers, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, The Van Morrison Show, Tim Buckley | 60,000 | [1][2] | | 01975-07-05 July 5, 1975 | Knebworth Park | Captain Beefheart, Linda Lewis, The Steve Miller Band, Pink Floyd, Roy Harper | 100,000 | [1][3] | | 01976-08-21 August 21, 1976 | Knebworth Fair | 10cc, Hot Tuna, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Don Harrison Band, The Rolling Stones, Todd Rundgren | 120,000 | [1][4] | | 01978-06-24 June 24, 1978 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Atlanta Rhythm Section, Brand X, Devo, Genesis, Jefferson Starship, Tom Petty, Roy Harper | 60,000 | [1][5] | | 01978-09-09 September 9, 1978 | Oh God Not Another Boring Old Knebworth! | Dave Edmunds, Frank Zappa, Nick Lowe, Peter Gabriel, The Boomtown Rats, The Tubes, Wilko Johnson's Solid Senders | 45,000 | [1] | | 01979-08-04 August 4, 1979 | Knebworth Festival | Chas & Dave, Commander Cody, Fairport Convention, Led Zeppelin, Marshall Tucker, Southside Johnny, Todd Rundgren | 200,000 | [1][6] | | 01979-08-11 August 11, 1979 | Knebworth Festival | Chas & Dave, Commander Cody, Led Zeppelin, The New BarbariansMarshall Tucker, Southside Johnny, Todd Rundgren | 200,000 | [1][6] | | 01980-06-21 June 21, 1980 | Knebworth '80 | Elkie Brooks, Lindisfarne, Mike Oldfield, The Beach Boys, The Blues Band, Santana | 45,000 | [1][7] | | 01981 1981 | The Jazz Years | BB King, Benny Goodman, Chuck Berry, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimmy Cliff, Lionel Hampton, Muddy Waters, Sarah Vaughan | 50,000 | [7] | | 01982 1982 | The Jazz Years | BB King, Benny Goodman, Chuck Berry, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimmy Cliff, Lionel Hampton, Muddy Waters, Sarah Vaughan | 50,000 | [7] | | 01982-08 August 1982 | Greenbelt Festival | Adrian Snell, Andy Pratt, Bryn Haworth, Calvin Seerveld, Jim Wallis, Noel Paul Stookey, Paradise, Patrick Sookhdeo, Maxine and the Majestics, Rez Band, Roger Forster, Servant, Talking Drums, The Barratt Band | | [7] | | 01983-08 August 1983 | Greenbelt Festival | 100% Proof, Cliff Richard, Jessy Dixon, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Sheila Walsh | | [7] | | 01985-06-22 June 22, 1985 | The Return of the Knebworth Fayre | Alaska, Blackfoot, Deep Purple, Mama's Boys, Meat Loaf, Mountain, Scorpions, UFO | 80,000 | [7][8] | | 01986-08-09 August 9, 1986 | It's a Kind of Magic | Belouis Some, Big Country, Queen, Status Quo | 120,000 | [7][9] | | 01990-06-30 June 30, 1990 | Knebworth '90 | Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Dire Straits, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Genesis, Mark Knopfler, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, Status Quo, Tears for Fears | 120,000 | [10] | | 01992-08-02 August 2, 1992 | Genesis at Knebworth | Genesis, Lisa Stansfield, The Saw Doctors | 90,000 | [10][11] | | 01996-08-10 August 10, 1996 | Oasis | Cast, Dreadzone, Kula Shaker, Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene, Manic Street Preachers, The Charlatans, The Bootleg Beatles, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy | 165,000 | [10] | | 01996-08-11 August 11, 1996 | Oasis | Cast, Dreadzone, Kula Shaker, Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene, Manic Street Preachers, The Charlatans, The Bootleg Beatles, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy | 165,000 | [10] | | 02001-08-11 August 11, 2001 | Ministry @ Knebworth 2001 | Bent, Jamiroquai, Lo Fidelity Allstars | | [12][13] | | 02003-08-01 August 1, 2003 | Robbie Williams Live at Knebworth | Ash, Kelly Osbourne, Moby, Robbie Williams, The Darkness | 125,000 | [14][15] | | 02003-08-02 August 2, 2003 | Robbie Williams Live at Knebworth | Ash, Kelly Osbourne, Moby, Robbie Williams, The Darkness | 125,000 | [14][15] | | 02003-08-03 August 3, 2003 | Robbie Williams Live at Knebworth | Ash, Kelly Osbourne, Moby, Robbie Williams, The Darkness | 125,000 | [14][15] | | 02007-06-30 June 30, 2007 | Wild In The Country 2007 | 2ManyDJs, Erol Alkan, Hot Chip, Justice, Sasha & John Digweed, Simian Mobile Disco, Tiga, Underworld | | | | 02009-08-01 August 1, 2009 | Sonisphere Festival | Airbourne, Alien Ant Farm, Anthrax, Bjorn Again, Bullet for My Valentine, Heaven & Hell, Linkin Park, Skindred, Soil, Taking Back Sunday, The Used | | [16] | | 02009-08-02 August 2, 2009 | Sonisphere Festival | Alice in Chains, Avenged Sevenfold, Buckcherry, Feeder, Killing Joke, Lamb of God, Limp Bizkit, Machine Head, Mastodon, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Paradise Lost, Saxon | | [16] | [edit] References [edit] External links |
