How a Greater Manchester village was 'invaded' by thousands of freaks, Hell's Angels and 'spaced out' hippies

In 1969 the Grateful Dead sensed trouble when they flew to a derelict speedway track in California for a free concert. They got back on their plane and left without playing a note.

Their fears were well placed. Altamont became the most infamous Rolling Stones performance and shorthand for the end of the sixties. Four people died as 300,000 attended a chaotic, dark, event, tarnished by murder and bad drugs. An 18-year-old man was stabbed to death close to the stage.

Three years later, 'The Dead' - by now a major band - flew into the UK for another concert - and this time they stayed, and played. It was in fields next to a Lancashire coal mine.

Bad weather, 30p tents and four-hour sets... the lost festival that "invaded" a Greater Manchester village

The San Francisco band were at a creative peak and their live shows were legendary for improvisation. They were much more than self indulgent jam experts for stoned hippies. They had transformed from a 1960s jug band to garage-blues rockers yet reflected and covered all of America's indigenous music - folk, jazz, bluegrass, country, and rock n roll.

Their fanbase was colossal. Yet they appeared in a rain-drenched meadow in the pit village of Bickershaw, near Wigan. And they were not the only big names to take to the same stage during a three day festival from May 5, 1972.

Also performing were the most British of rockers, The Kinks. In the 1960s they had a raft of aggressive singles, like "You Really Got Me"; "Till the End of the Day"- plus reflective gems like "Waterloo Sunset". Their success had continued into the next decade with 1970's "Lola" and "Ape Man". On the first day of the Bickershaw concert they had released "Supersonic Rocket Ship," which made number 16 in the