Andrew Kerr (29 November 1933 – 6 October 2014) was a co-founder of Glastonbury Fair, the 1971 forerunner of today's

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

. Kerr managed the festival site up to the mid-1980s, helping establish it as the UK's foremost music festival.

Glastonbury Fair

In June 1971, Kerr staged "Glastonbury Fair", along with Arabella Churchill and some other friends. Glastonbury Fair originated the use of the name 'Glastonbury', the June date, and the pyramid stage, inspired by the work of author

John Michell John Michell (; 25 December 1724 – 21 April 1793) was an English natural philosopher and clergyman who provided pioneering insights into a wide range of scientific fields including astronomy, geology, optics, and gravitation. Considered "on ...

. The position of the stage was dowsed by Kerr according with his belief in

ley line Ley lines () are straight alignments drawn between various historic structures, prehistoric sites and prominent landmarks. The idea was developed in early 20th-century Europe, with ley line believers arguing that these alignments were recognis ...

s, and the 'Glastonbury' part of the festival's name was introduced. Kerr was inspired to put on a

free festival Free festivals are a combination of music, arts and cultural activities, for which often no admission is charged, but involvement is preferred. They are identifiable by being multi-day events connected by a camping community without centralised ...

after his experience at the commercial

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. Th ...

in 1970. His original motivation for staging a free festival was outlined in a leaflet published at the time: To mark the 40th anniversary of the Glastonbury Fair, at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival Kerr organised a 'Spirit of 71' stage, with a number of the original performers. 'Spirit of 71' was also incorporated into the 2013 festival. In his book ''Groovy Old Men'' author Nick Baker says of Kerr:

Life

Born in

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a town in Surrey, England, south of Centre of London, central London and northeast of Epsom. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 34,872. The majority (73%) was in the NRS social grade, ABC1 ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, in 1933, Kerr's childhood during the war years was spent in south

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, but he was evacuated to

Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay towar ...

for a period, and immediately afterwards the family was farming in the area. He was at school at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley or the College of St. Peter at Radley, is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (independent boarding school) for boys near the village of Radley, in Oxfordshire, in the United Kingd ...

. He spent his National Service as a stores assistant at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, in which his father also served. For ten years following 1958 he was employed as personal assistant to Randolph Spencer Churchill, who was writing the official biography of his father,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. After organising Glastonbury Fair in 1971, Kerr continued to manage the Glastonbury Festival site up until the mid-1980s. In 1992, Kerr put on the Whole Earth Show in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, promoting organic agriculture and sustainable technologies. BBC Radio 4 carried the first wind-powered broadcast from the show, while Tibetan priests blessed the site and those present. Kerr was a consistent advocate of the benefits of aerobic

composting Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by Decomposition, decomposing plant and food waste, recycling organic materials, and man ...

, and has spoken on TV and radio about composting and the potential of compost funerals. Kerr spent his last years in Pilton, Somerset, home of the Glastonbury Festival.

Autobiography

Kerr's autobiography ''Intolerably Hip: The Memoirs of Andrew Kerr'' was published in May 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Andrew 1933 births 2014 deaths People from Ewell People educated at Radley College 20th-century English businesspeople English music managers Counterculture festivals activists Glastonbury Festival