Barbeque 67/27 public meeting - 09/09/26 (12.30-2.30pm)
The Parish Church of St Mary and St Nicolas, Church Gate, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE11 2RA
In attendance: Emma Sheppard and Harrison Fuller (Past Present Possible), Revd Robert Parker-McGee (The Parish Church of St Mary and St Nicolas), Sarah Fletcher and Rachel Morgan (Spalding BID), Nettie Baker and Mark, Alan Barnesdale (Uptown Records), Amanda Reynolds (Spalding Library), Frank Watts (Red Lion), Kirsty Berry (Red Lion Hotel), Keith Copping (Spalding Consti Club), Doug Kendall, Callum Brazzo and Abbi (Diamond Dance), Jo (South Holland Centre), Tessa Sanderson (Find Your Happy Wellbeing), Cllr Jan Whitbourn (Lincolnshire County Council), Sharon Marshall (Springfields Designer Outlet), Amber (Rock School Bus), Anthony and Kay (Spalding Water Taxi).
Meeting Overview
- Planning meeting for the Barbeque 67 sixtieth anniversary festival in Spalding, May 2027
- Broad coalition of local organisations, creatives, and community members
- Goal: month-long festival inspired by the original 1967 event, not a recreation of it
- Core themes: oral history, youth engagement, live music, skills development, supporting businesses in the area.
Nettie Baker: Ginger Baker’s Daughter
- Attended from Ipswich; author of six books including Ginger Baker’s autobiography Hellraiser and a book covering every Cream gig ever played.
- Read an excerpt placing Barbeque 67 in context: sold-out bulb auction house, 4pm–midnight, £1 entry, lineup of Hendrix, Cream, Geno Washington, Pink Floyd, Move, Zoot Money
- Key historical dispute: order of Hendrix and Cream on the bill remains contested
- Consensus points: very loud, packed, incompetently run due to underestimated attendance, great atmosphere
- Offered to:
- Host a stall, do book signings, or run a Q&A
- Donate vinyl and CDs for a raffle
- Advertise via her verified Ginger Baker Facebook page
- Help with marketing generally
- Sons of Cream (her brother Cody Baker and cousin Robert) may be available in May
- Has their manager’s contact details
Geno Washington Concert (November)
- Geno Washington returning to Spalding in November at the South Holland Centre
- Tickets £20, selling well; he’s 83 and doing very few gigs
- Will play 90 minutes, with anecdotes from his career
- Support act still needed: preference for a soloist or small trio to complement his style
- Open to suggestions via email
Festival Vision and Structure
- Month of May 2027, bookended by the two bank holidays
- Launch on first May bank holiday; climax on 29th May (60th anniversary, a Saturday)
- Suggestion raised to compress to two and a half weeks with the anniversary as the centrepiece
- 29th May: big town centre event planned with Spalding BID
- Ambition: transform Spalding visually (Carnaby Street feel), with shop window displays and Transported Art installations
- Not trying to replicate Barbeque 67; harnessing its spirit for today
- Idea noted - bright pink phone boxes in the marketplace for people to listen to oral histories
- School holidays begin 28th May, capturing family audiences over the final weekend
Oral History and Archive
- Oral history project is the primary use of Heritage Lottery Funding
- Physical archive to be housed in Spalding; digitised in partnership with the Museum of Youth Culture for national reach
- Existing audio testimonials (some from people now deceased) held by one attendee, already transcribed – Doug Kendall
- Hoping people will donate artefacts: original posters, leaflets, personal memorabilia
- Original posters are rare and valuable; most were taken off walls and telegraph poles on the night
Youth Engagement and Skills Development
- Skills workshops and industry talks identified as a gap from the last meeting
- Rock School Bus (Amber): double-decker bus with drop-down stage, newly modified with Arts Council funding
- Offers ‘have a go’ sessions, song-creation workshops, dress-up, vinyl/CD activities
- Currently running a two-year primary schools project
- Available for regular Saturday slots location TBC
- Also has access to Bromley Memorial Hall
- Diamonds (dance group): 70 young performers aged 5–19; willing to create a 60s-themed piece for the Flower Parade
- Offered free use of Diamonds space for workshops
- Note: half-term and school holidays are historically the least popular time for youth attendance; term-time evenings and weekends work best
- Peterborough, Stamford & Boston College (filmmaking, hair and makeup) flagged as potential partners
- Idea floated: ‘Band in a Month’ workshop culminating in a short performance by the end of the festival
Confirmed and Proposed Events
- Colin Ward has booked a Jimi Hendrix tribute, a Pink Floyd tribute, and a Cream tribute (two in May, one in June) who will perform at the South Holland Centre
- Spalding Consti Club: bands on Flower Parade day, plus three bands each day on 29th and 30th May, 12pm–8pm, free entry, garden capacity 500; seeking a later licence for the 29th
- Red Lion: live music on Friday of Flower Parade weekend, Sunday evening of Flower Parade weekend, and Friday 28th May; restaurant space available for poetry/events throughout May; Clay Hall Hotel function also available
- Celebrating Spalding event moved to the 29th weekend; church venue with pew-cleared presentation spaces, a stage, and standing capacity
- Suitable for stalls, presentations, acoustic sets, and potentially a standalone concert
Confirmed and Proposed Events continued ...
- Brainache (Chris Hicks, absent): wants to host grassroots/original bands; has PA, sound engineer, photographers, and videographers; needs a venue with a stage
- Suggested match: Services Club & Consti Club (has the venue and similar programming interest). Details have been shared with Keith from the Consti Club.
- BID outdoor film screenings: 1967 films (Jungle Book, The Graduate, You Only Live Twice); ~1,000 attendees over a weekend in previous years
- BID - 60s-inspired fashion show: charity shops keen; hair and makeup from College students; possibly self-funding with proceeds to charity
- BID - 60s-inspired restaurant menus being explored with local restaurants
- Big Big Music Quiz: has run events for up to 500 people; available at any scale, works with the venue
- Jukebox Jury: Leicester-based contact has original BBC kit with audience voting hardware; works for free
- Mural/graffiti art: idea to commission a street artist during the festival so the public can watch the process; Arts Council bid includes some funding for this
- Guy Pratt (Pink Floyd touring member): one-man show mixing music and anecdotes; has reached out
BBC and Media Interest
- BBC Radio Lincolnshire documentary on Barbeque 67 already exists on BBC Sounds (series: Secret Lincolnshire)
- Carl Bird (documentary maker) raised the 60th anniversary with BBC bosses; they are “very excited” and considering broader BBC coverage, not just Radio Lincolnshire
- Two plays have been written: Barbeque 67 Revisited at South Holland Centre (three actors, one musician) and a BBC Sounds drama (Barbeque 67: The Beginning of the Summer of Love, featuring Phil Glenister)
- Film/TV documentary potential noted; Frank/Alan has reached out to film industry contacts with no response yet
- Eric Clapton and Roger Waters are aware of the event; Nettie offered to try to obtain a quote for funding applications
Accessibility and Inclusivity
- Park-and-ride scheme under consideration to free up town-centre spaces for those who need them
- Accessibility goes beyond ramps: noise sensitivity, neurodivergent needs, and scooter/wheelchair access all raised
- Suggestion for a talk on festival accessibility from a neurodivergent perspective
- Busking rules for under-18s need clarification (age limits, earnings rules vary by council)
- Grassroots busker competition proposed, targeting 16–18 year olds throughout May
Branding and Funding
- Spelling agreed: Barbeque 67/27
- Logo created by Emma, ready to share out.
- Creative Community Fund: ~£10,000 total from Arts Council bid; max £1,000 per event
- For groups that need a small top-up (e.g. venue hire), not full event funding
- Events expected to be largely self-organised and community-funded
- Pay-what-you-can model discussed as a way to keep events accessible while generating income for local groups
- Next meeting: 4th November, evening, in the church
- Minutes published publicly on the Past Present Possible website
Next Steps
- Share Sons of Cream manager contact details (Nettie) Cody Baker and Robert may be available in May
- Circulate support act suggestions for Geno Washington Email ideas to the organising team; preference for a soloist or small trio.
- Connect Brainache with venues – The Consti Club & The Service Club.
- Send Jukebox Jury and band contacts to the organising team Includes Brood (rock band, Chesterfield), the versatile solo/tribute artist, and the Jukebox Jury contact in Leicester.
- Reach out to Guy Pratt's team One-man show mixing Pink Floyd music and touring anecdotes; Frank Watts has already made contact.
- Clarify busking rules for under-18s with the council Age limits and earnings rules vary; needed before a youth busking programme can be confirmed.
- Email ideas and venue/event pitches to Past Present Possible. Anyone with pitches not covered today, or follow-up thoughts, to email in before the November meeting.