Which artists have played Knebworth?

20 July 2024, 09:00 | Updated: 9 August 2024, 16:18

For 50 years, Knebworth Park has played host to the greats of rock and roll - but just who's played over the years? From The Stones and Queen to Oasis and the Chili Peppers, here's the full story.

By Radio X

@RadioX

For 50 years, Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire has been the home of the huge rock 'n' roll event. Starting out on 20th July 1974 with a modern event featuring The Allman Brothers, Knebworth took the ethos of the emerging rock festival scene and began to attract some of the biggest names in music history...

Here is the full story of the bands and artists that have played Knebworth over the years!

1. The Bucolic Frolic, 20th July 1974

   The very first time the grounds of Knebworth House were opened to fans of rock and roll was 50 years ago, on 20th July 1974. For the princely sum of £2.75 a ticket, "Bucolic Frolic" was headlined by The Allman Brothes, and also featured the Doobie Brothers, Van Morrison, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band and Tim Buckley, who performed what would have been his final British gig before his untimely death in June 1975.

   

2. Pink Floyd, 5th July 1975

   100,000 people rocked up at Knebworth to watch a pair of Spitfire planes herald the start of Pink Floyd's set. The first half showcased the recently-released Wish You Were Here album (complete with Roy Harper on Have A Cigar) and a preview of a pair of tracks from the forthcoming album Animals.

   The second half turned out to be the final time Floyd played Dark Side Of The Moon in its entirety with Roger Waters. Also on the bill were the Steve Miller Band, Captain Beefheart, Roy Harper and Trigger and Linda Lewis. John Peel was the DJ and Monty Python star Graham Chapman added a few bizarre touches between sets. All for £2.75 in advance.

   

3. The Rolling Stones, 21st August 1976

   Legend has it that Queen were booked to play this show, but were elbowed to one side when The Rolling Stones stepped up and offered to plug their new Black & Blue album at Knebworth (Queen did a free gig in Hyde Park a month later which actually drew a bigger crowd, just to show 'em).

   

   Also on the bill were 10cc, Lynryd Skynyrd, Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Hot Tuna and the Don Harrison Band. An advance ticket was £4.25, which is kind of mind-blowing when you think about it. In fact, there were rumours floating around that this would be the very last Stones show ever which, as it took place 48 years ago, is perhaps even more mind-blowing.

   

4. Genesis, 24th June 1978

   Titled "A Midsummer Night's Dream", this huge show saw the prog giants down to a trio of Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks. Also on the bill were Jefferson Starship (minus Grace Slick, whose battle with the bottle would soon see her ousted from the band), Tom Petty & The Heatbreakers, Brand X and the Atlanta Rhythm Section. Baffling some sections of the audience were DEVO, whose new-wave synth-pop weirdness was an uncomfortable fit for some people. £5.50 in advance, mate.

   

5. "Not Another Boring Old Knebworth!" 9th September 1978

   The Genesis show had gone so well that the promoter quickly put another date in the calendar later the same summer to make more use of the stage set-up. Appearing at this (ironically titled) day of music were joint headliners The Tubes and Frank Zappa, former Genesis man Peter Gabriel, The Boomtown Rats, Rockpile and Wilko Johnson's Solid Senders. Tickets were the same price as the Genesis show: £5.50.

   

6. Led Zeppelin, 4th and 11th August 1979

   These two shows turned out to be Zeppelin's final dates on British soil, due to the death of drummer John Bonham in September 1980. Their final studio album, In Through The Out Door, was due for release later that month, but they only showcased two songs from it: In The Evening and Hot Dog.

   Filling out the bill were Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Southside Johnny And The Asbury Jukes, The New Commander Cody Band, Fairport Convention (first show only) and Chas and Dave. Tickets were £7.50, 90p for a programme. Stairway was played at both shows.

   

7. The Beach Boys, 21st June 1980

   Knebworth '80 as it was known saw the Californian surfin' enthusiasts top the bill, even though their latest album, Keepin' The Summer Alive had stalled at Number 54 in the UK - although this show featured Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine and Mike Love on the same stage, which is pretty impressive.

   Also on the bill were Mike "Tubular Bells" Oldfield, Elkie Brooks, Lindisfarne, The Blues Band and special guest Santana. All for 9 quid, including camping.

   

8. Deep Purple, 22nd June 1985

   Between 1981 and 1983, Knebworth had variously played host to the Capital Jazz Festival and Greenbelt, the Christian music event. "The Return Of The Knebworth Fayre!" cried the posters in 1985 as, a month before Live Aid.

   Deep Purple topped a very metal bill that included German rockers the Scorpions, UFO, Mountain, Blackfoot, Alaska, Mama's Boys and special guest Meat Loaf. £12.50 in advance, £14 on the day, and they threw in a display by the Marlboro Aerobatic Team, too.

   

9. Queen, 9th August 1986

   A momentous occasion, which proved to be Queen's final live show with Freddie Mercury, who lost his battle with AIDs five years later. Joining them on "A Night Of Summer Magic" were Status Quo and Big Country.

   

   Apparently "sophisti-pop" act Belouis Some opened the show - we wonder what the Quo fans made of that. Advance tickets were £14.50, but incredibly they were also offering tickets on the day for £16. Call that credit card hotline now!

10. Pink Floyd, 30th June 1990

    Following Queen's stellar farewell performance, Knebworth went a bit quiet until this star-studded event four years later. The uninspiring title "Silver Clef Award Winners" hid a host of gems: the re-consituted Pink Floyd topped the bill, which also included Paul McCartney, Dire Straits, Genesis, Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Tears For Fears and Cliff Richard.

    

    It was all in aid of the Nordoff Robbins music charity and proceeds from this show, its TV special and accompanying album went towards founding the BRITs school. So, in a way, this gig was responsible for bringing the world Adele. £30 a ticket this year - aren't gigs expensive these days?

11. Genesis, 2nd August 1992

    90,000 people queued to see prime Collins-era Genesis bring their We Can't Dance tour to Knebworth Park. £22.50 got you in to see a 20-song set, plus Lisa Stansfield and The Saw Doctors. A second show on the Saturday was cancelled and ticket buyers could rock up on the Sunday, according to the helpful Genesis Archive.

    

12. Oasis, 10th and 11th August 1996

    After years of Knebworth being for prog dinosaurs and self-congratulatory charity shows, the Brothers Gallagher made the venue a rock landmark again with their history-making two shows in August 1996. £22.50 was your ticket price, although 2.5 million people tried to get their hands on them.

    

    Saturday saw support from Ocean Colour Scene, Manic Street Preachers, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy and The Bootleg Beatles; the Sunday saw Cast, Dreadzone, Kula Shaker, the Manics (again) and The Charlatans. Oasis played to a quarter of a million people over this weekend, beating all previous attendance records. That is, until....

    

13. Robbie Williams 1st, 2nd, 3rd August 2003

    The next big shows at Knebworth - overlooking a smaller event in 2001 held by Ministry Of Sound - were the former Take That man's trio of shows in 2003. Robbie deliberately booked one more date than Oasis to continue the on-going beef between himself and the Gallaghers - and pretty much won this round, playing to an estimated 375,000 people across this August weekend.

    On the bill for both shows were Ash, Kelly Osbourne, Basement Jaxx, Moby and The Darkness. Price: £35 and a lifetime queuing to get out of the car park afterwards.

    

14. Red Hot Chili Peppers, 23rd June 2012

    Knebworth played host to a dance event, Wild In The Country, in 2007 and then became the regular location for the rock-friendly Sonisphere festival between 2009 and 2011. The next artist to take on a headline show was the Chilis who played a show that featured Dizzee Rascal, The Wombats and Reverend & The Makers.

    

15. Liam Gallagher, 3rd and 4th June 2022

    The younger Gallagher took on the challenge of replicating his old band's Knebworth triumph - and he pretty much succeeded. Taking place over Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee weekend, Liam was supported by Kasabian, Paolo Nutini, Amyl & The Sniffers and Pastel on the Friday and Kasabian, Michael Kiwanuka, Fat White Family and Goat Girl on the Saturday. Biblical. And they released an album of it!