Latitude July 17, 2006

I have been to my first big Festival of the summer. A new one, inspired by “Glastonbury”, in a similarly remote place, but without the holy grail about it. Indeed without a real sense of “I simply have to be there”. But hold on, this is the debut summer for “Latitude”. Give it a chance!

The danger for the new festival, of which there are many, is that, given the high demands of being well organised, they become a bit like all-seater stadia in football… a bit too safe. Actually, I don’t think football or festivals can be “too safe” given what has happened when they were less than safe. Rather then they become super-market, “choice” festivals where although everyone is there together in effect they are each to their own really and it’s all about choice and suiting the “customer”.

Latitude, in easternmost England, in a park surrounded by woods, with a lake and rolling fields was simply superbly organised. Surely it will be back next year with a doubling of attendees. And the moving further apart of the stages so that Patti Smith and whoever don’t have to ask “what’s that racket?”.

Artistically the festival allowed me to create some new pictures to add to the “Festival” body of work I am doing. New titles include : “The two posh tarts with the paper-padded bras perfect their deckchair debacle”... “Camille on the uncut stage”... “Laura smoking instead of breakfast”...”Latitude-man under a tree asleep”... “Carling-couple in the woods”...”Boy-squirters hide beneath the A-board”...”Guitarist trying to get it on (scenes 1&2)”... “ The tent of the body of the unknown Rodeo Cowboy, or girl”... “Man alone on a bench in the Guest Arena power-naping”... “The multi-coloured sheep-of-dreams all counted and correct”.

Yes, Latitude had red, blue and yellow and green sheep grazing by the lake adorned with a thousand candle-lights.