The Rock and Reggae Festival first took place in the summer of 1979 sited on The Forest close to Hyson Green in Radford. A collaboration of musical styles it was a way of keeping racial harmony in good spirit and it certainly did that. It was also a showcase for local bands and artists to strut their stuff in front of the local inhabitants and it was free too. It grew in stature and by the early 1990’s had attracted some bigger name bands nationally but always kept the local connections. The festival became more than a musical event and due to a few problems and a shift in emphasis by the promoters plus the reluctance of the council to keep the funding going it came to end in 1994 and subsequently was called the “Music, Arts, Festival and Fair”, a family oriented event with a proposed entrance fee.

Here is the all important lists of acts. A very incomplete list at the moment and one that will probably have mistakes, missing many, but a reference all the same.

On Saturday 22nd July 1978 there was an Anti-Nazi League march from Market Square to The Forest where four acts entertained the assembled crowd. This may well have been a predecessor and catalyst for the first Rock and Reggae.

Gaffa
Some Chicken
The Interpreters
Quantro Sound System

1979

The first official Rock and Reggae event took place in the summer of 1979.

1980

No info

1981

No info

1982

from my personnel notes

Saturday 10th July
Medium Medium
Inner Roots
The Reactors
Visible Targets
Positive Vibes
The Laugh

Sunday 11th July
Mystical 133
The Howdy Boys
Humanity
Pinksi Zoo
Ossie & Co

1983

from my personnel notes

Sat 30th July
Visible Targets
The Realistics
No Tears
Inner Roots
Florida Snowshifters
Evidence

Sun 31st July
The Naturalites
Patterns In Peru
Humanity
American Actors
The Reactors
Indignant Desert Birds

1984

Saturday 28th July
Kick Partners
Neil Natural
No Tears
Silk and Satin
Left Wing Rednecks
Krysis

Sunday 29th July
The Realistics
Maestro
Fatal Charm
Humanity
Florida Snowshifters
LPH
Herd Instinct

Others
Ajah African Dance Group
The Assassinators Break-Crew
Radford Supreme Force Breakdance Group
Turbo Black Arts Co-op

1985

Saturday 27th July
Red Go Red
Gravity
Mists Of Time
Land and Cal Campbell

Sunday 28th July
Kick Partners
Freddie Cofie
Humanity

Prestige

1986

Saturday 26th July
THE BANDS
Scarehunters
Keati
Fuel To The Fire
Humanity
Sirens Of The Mind Machine
Box On
XV Triennial/Fabrique

Apache Dance (in the post)

THE PERFORMERS
Prem Geet
Rock-A-Trons
Turbo Black Arts
Glynis James
Henry Normal
Ex-Treeme-Team

IN THE KIDS AREA
Leda Theatre
Nearta Theatre

Sunday 27th July
THE BANDS
Naturalites
The Dinosaurs
Prestige
No Limits
Ssuraea
Patrick Simpson
Prem Geet
Sonia Robinson

THE PERFORMERS
African kalubush
Supreme Force
Pete Ramskill

IN THE KIDS AREA
Ev Silver
George Wilby
African kalubush

1987

Saturday 24th July
These Vagabond Shoes
Israel Movements
Woodrow Wilson In Transit
Freddie Cofie
Turbo Black Arts
The Cool Cool Runnings
Celebrate This!
Carlos Rigby (Nicaraguan poet)
Prestige
C-Cat Trance

Sunday 25th July
The Legendary Dolphins
Equal Nations
Tony Cofie
Him Prevail
Prem Sangeet
Clint Bestwood & The Mescal Marauders
All For One World
Left Wing Rednecks
Naturalites

1988

Saturday 30th July
Lipstick Killers
Him Prevail
Mystical Thirteen
Skeeta
Nayi-Roshni
One Beat
Clint Bestwood
Helen & Jules

Sunday 31st July
Naturalites
Katch Khan
Spellbound
Fabulous Dirt Sisters
Short Circuit
Emcee Logik
Me And Dean Martin
Pitman Browne & Single Bass

Legendary Dolphins (in the post)

Both days
Sounds Prophecy & Quantro, Sounds Success & Top Notch

1989

Saturday 29th July
The Killing Floor
Chant
Skeeta
Short Circuit
DJ Scratch
Junior C and Reaction
Zodiac Arts
Me And Dean Martin
Dale Hodgkinson
Other People

Sounds by Technique & V-Rocket

Sunday 30th July
Naturalites
Hophazard
Sledgehammer
Nayi Roshni
Mystro
Patrick Rose
The Wonderful Wild
Side Effect
Martin Christie

Sounds by Success & V-Rocket

There is a video on YouTube with some footage from 1989.

Snottingham
All footage is from 29th July 1989.
Daniel Lye- Commentary & Bass Guitar.
Stu Ghost- Camera and Editing.
A look round Nottingham’s Rock & Reggae Festival back in the 80s on the Forest Recreation Ground, Goose Fair site. Ignore the date shown by the camera, operator error Camerawork and canines from Every New Dead Ghost. Band at the end is the fab The Killing Floor.
RIP Daniel Lye 2020, wonderful genius.xxxx

Unrelated but of interest is a clip on YouTube of the Meadows Carnival.

1990

Saturday 28th July
Dr Egg and the Love Specialist
Asphalt Ribbons
Mystic Crew
Katskill Disciples
Martini Special
Now Club
Skeeta
Araoul Juke and the Ousiders

Sunday 29th July
20/20 Vision
Nayi Roshni
Hophazard
Sisters of Imani
Colin Wilson
The Freddie Kofi Band
The Swarm
Human Crisis

Cabaret – Sisters From Another Planet

Sound systems: Success, V-Rocket, Celebrity Roadshow

1991

Saturday 27th July
Circle Sky
Crunchbird
Mystic Crew
Barbara Brooks
Sisters of Imani
Reducer
Dr Egg and the Love Specialist

Sunday 28th July
Sunspell
Left Hand Right Hand
Every New Dead Ghost
Freddie Kofi
Promoter Les Cliffe
Patrick Rose
Ingrid Dunkley
MC JLC
Marcia Matthie
Highly Recommended

Techno Rave Marque: Tony Grooves, DJ Expression, One Step Ahead, DJ Coz

Treehouse
Positive Noise
House Apprentice

= = = =

1992

Saturday 25th July
Sunday 26th July

Harry Stephenson
Utah Saints
3:6 Philly & Subsonic 2
Back To The Planet
Bushfire
Ambush
Wholesome Fish
Crunchbird
Dr Egg and the Love Specialists
Solomon and Vibes
Serious Love Addicts
New Cranes
Helen McDonald
One Eyed Jacks

Scum Pups, Every New Dead Ghost, Bloody Lovely, Huge Big Massive

Some footage from the 1992 festival can be see on YouTube.

1993

Saturday 24th July
Sunday 25th July

There was a programme for this event which covers everything that was billed to happen.

There are two video clips on YouTube.
Part One
Part Two

Fundemental
Sensor
Emporer Sly
Rev Hammer
The Moonflowers
Dub Warriors
The Sea

Street Sounds Tent:
Ruth Joy
DJ Mink
JD Walker

1994

The aftermath. A new festival started in 1994 called the “Music, Arts, Festival and Fair“.

This was the first event under the name of “Music, Arts, Festival and Fair” and the first with an entrance fee. The “Rock and Reggae” is still mentioned in newspaper articles and it is possible it was actually still Rock and Reggae by name but I don’t think so.

The photo below is most likely from 1994. It is double exposed but the festival can be clearly seen.

Saturday 30th July
Sunday 31st July

Saturday
Atomic Kandy
Sunday
Whycliffe

Others billed
Angel Heart
Ribbon Tears
Sun Kings

1995