Pop, Politics and Protest.

As a new decade dawned, the Garden Party festivals came to a close with one of their seminal performances. On 7th June 1980, Bob Marley and the Wailers played their largest ever UK concert and drew a record breaking crowd to the Bowl - reputedly as many as 30,000 people. Getting high on a hit-packed setlist (amongst other substances), the encore saw Bob give a spellbinding solo acoustic performance of Redemption Song – at the time un-released. It was to be his London swansong on this, the final tour.

Meanwhile, the Garden Party name would go into hibernation for the rest of the decade, as the Crystal Palace Bowl came under new management and entered a very different era.

From 1981, the new Labour-led administration at GLC (Greater London Council) took over promotion of public events in London parks and so began a period of more politically charged concerts, protests and benefits - rallying the public behind a cause and significantly diversifying the acts appearing at the Palace.

On the same day as the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana, an alternative event was hosted at the Bowl: ‘It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Royal’, with Ian Dury and the Blockheads topping the bill.

The press christened this a ‘Republican Rock Festival, while council leader Ken Livingstone simply retorted “not everyone will want to sit square-eyed in front of a television all day – Its part of our programme of public benefit under socialism”

In 1983 Curtis Mayfield headlined the GLC Peace Picnic ‘Blues in the Bowl’, while in 1984 London Against Racism and a Free Nelson Mandela Benefit concert brought world music in the form of Jimmy Cliff, Hugh Masakela, Gil Scot Heron and Segun Adewale.
Speaking powerfully from the stage, Cliff vowed not to return to South Africa until the end of apartheid and introduction of majority rule for the country.

A 1985 Anti-Heroin benefit concert organised by Pete Townshend featured one of the more bizarre line-ups ever seen. Space rockers Hawkwind and post-punk outfit Spear of Destiny were followed with a rare appearance by forces sweetheart and wartime songbird Dame Vera Lynn, special guest for a bemused yet delighted crowd!

The Bowl also nearly pulled off one of the great musical coups when the Rolling Stones were close to performing a special benefit concert in support of the Miner’s Strike of 1984, brokered by Ken Livingstone and union leader Arthur Scargill. Alas the negotiations faltered and the Stone’s never made it to SE19. You can’t always get what you want…

After the abolition of the GLC in 1986, the concerts too came to a stop and the Bowl was to fall silent for nearly 5 years. A point was even raised during a Parliamentary debate by local MP’s in 1989, questioning what had happened to the popular outdoor concerts and why they’d been deprived of a most pleasant summer evening’s entertainment in the park. Their wait would soon be over.