Doctor Who_ The Devil Goblins From Neptune - Keith Topping [5]
So Nick had done the only thing he could: booked lots of second-division rock bands whose labels were keen to get them on to the prestigious festival circuit, a couple of folkie songwriters who wanted the exposure, and, of course, Glandring the Forehammer (It's from The Lord of the Rings, man'). Quite how he'd secured the services of the leaders of the flowering Northampton sci-fi commune scene was still the subject of much debate. In truth, Nick had simply promised more money than was actually available, got them to the site, and then told them that if they didn't go on, he would announce that they were a bunch of uptight breadheads who were refusing to play There was already a group of French anarchists going around trying to tear down the fences, so Glandring the Forehammer (It's from The Lord of the Rings, man') wisely decided to take the stage and perform an acoustic version of their concept triple-album Lederhosen, Restaurant, Benzedrine, Fusilier.
The helicopters continued wheeling overhead.
'We're into the progressive scene.' said Glandring's singer/lyricist Zak Wigmore. Zak was in the middle of a rant about how Glandring's music was a product of society, the war, and of his being thrashed by his nanny as a six-year-old after she caught him trying on her underwear.
He then introduced 'Gemini Descending', a free-form jazz workout in which saxophonist Mac played whatever he felt like and Zak bellowed incoherent poetry at the audience. It was the closest thing they had to a pop single. Then, just as Zak was getting to the bit about Venus being 'like a penis' (that always got a good reaction), he pointed to the sky. 'Far out!' he said loudly. For a split second the rest of the band thought it was just the industrial-strength acid sucking his brains out through a straw, like that time in Doncaster when he confidently stated that electricity comes from other planets. Then they looked at the sky too. And stopped playing.
Nick Blair saw the lights a second after Zak. The sky was awash with colour, a shimmering pyrotechnical display. Some time ago he had watched a large meteor shower over America, but this was different, more magical and otherworldly. He stared until the diffuse patterns began to hurt his eyes.
On stage, Zak had the microphone and was taking a message from the planet Freak-Out. 'What you are witnessing.'
he said, 'is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. It's in Revelation, people. They're coming. They're going to wipe the Earth clean. And we can all live in the sea like dolphins. Or crabs...'
Everyone was looking at the sky now, a cloth of gold daubed with blood and fire. A ball of flame crashed into the sea with a gushing hiss that brought an ecstatic moan from the onlookers. And then the lights in the sky faded. The festival watched in awe as a mist began to reach out to them from the water.
Nick glanced at the stage. Zak picked up a fallen microphone and asked the band if they knew the chords to
'Fly Me to the Moon'.
Close to the edge of the festival grounds, Becky and Ray were holding each other. They were from Norwich, and it had taken them four days to hitch-hike here. By the time they arrived, every decent vantage point was taken and they were at the back of a two-hundred-thousand-person queue for the toilets. So, they did what any sensible young couple would do in the circumstances they went down on to the deserted beach and made love during Glandring the Forehammer's set.
'Look at the sky.' said Becky, breathlessly.
'Yeah,' grunted a slightly underwhelmed Ray 'Awesome.'
'Let's go for a swim, and be in harmony with the ocean.'
continued Becky with a blissful look in her eyes.
Ray shrugged impassively. 'OK.' he said. They ran naked into the cool, frothing