William Harkin (1938 – March 2021) was a British architect and stage designer. Born in Liverpool he studied art and architecture there before embarking on a career in stage design. In 1970 he chanced upon

Andrew Kerr Andrew Kerr IV (October 7, 1878 – February 17, 1969) was an American football, basketball, and track and field coach. He served as the head football coach at Stanford University (1922–1923), Washington & Jefferson College (1926–1928), Col ...

while walking on

Glastonbury Tor Glastonbury Tor is a hill near Glastonbury in the English county of Somerset, topped by the roofless tower of St Michael's Church, a Grade I Listed building (United Kingdom), listed building. The site is managed by the National Trust and has be ...

. The pair decided to hold a music festival and secured the agreement of

Michael Eavis Sir Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis (born 17 October 1935) is an English dairy farmer and the co-creator of the Glastonbury Festival, which takes place at his farm in Pilton, Somerset. Personal life Eavis was born in Pilton, Somerset on 17 Oc ...

to hold the 1971 Glastonbury Fair, which later became the

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 ...

. Harkin was responsible for designing the first Pyramid Stage, which became emblematic of the festival. Afterwards he carried out work for the

Eden Project The Eden Project () is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay clay pit, pit.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Explorer Map 107 – Fowey, Looe & Lostwithiel''. . The complex is dominated by two h ...

and taught at the

Wimbledon College of Art Wimbledon College of Arts, formerly Wimbledon School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college specialises in theatre, screen and performance arts and design ...

Early life and career

Harkin was born in Liverpool 1938 and grew up in the city where he attended

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

gigs at

The Cavern The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened on 16 January 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The club becam ...

. He studied art (painting and 3D construction) at the

Liverpool College of Art Liverpool College of Art has an unbroken history dating back to 1825, making it the oldest English school of art outside London. From 1883 it was located at 68 Hope Street, Liverpool, England, in a building designed by Thomas Cook, which is no ...

on Hope Street and exhibited works at the

Liverpool Academy of Arts The Liverpool Academy of Arts was founded in Liverpool in April 1810 as a regional equivalent of the Royal Academy, London. It followed the Liverpool Society of Artists, first founded in 1769, which had a fitful existence until 1794. Two local a ...

. Harkin went on to study architecture but became fed up of coursework and left to enter the workplace as a set designer. He designed lighting set-ups and stages for concerts at the

Bluecoat Arts Centre Built in 1716–17 as a charity school, Bluecoat Chambers in School Lane is the oldest surviving building in central Liverpool, England. Following the Liverpool Blue Coat School's move to another site in 1906, the building was rented from 1907 ...

and, later, for

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. By 1970 Harkin was designing car launches for

British Leyland British Leyland was a British automotive engineering and manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formed in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It wa ...

Glastonbury

Late in 1970 Harkin was delivering products to health food shops in

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

. He decided to walk up

and there met

. The pair had a discussion about spirituality and utopian ideals and decided that a music concert would promote this. Harkin and Kerr approached local farmer

, who had hosted the Pop, Blues & Folk Festival on his Worthy Farm at nearby

Pilton, Somerset Pilton is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the A361 road in the Mendip District, Mendip district, 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Shepton Mallet and 6 miles (10 km) east of G ...

, to discuss a festival to be held in 1971. Eavis was impressed by Harkin's enthusiasm and agreed to host the first Glastonbury Fair (now the

). Harkin designed the festival's centrepiece, the Pyramid Stage. He claimed the vision of the stage came to him in a dream, where he imagined himself on stage with a pyramid before him formed from two beams of light. Upon waking Harkin took the morning off work and sketched up the outline of the design. The structure, which took three months to build, was constructed of scaffolding and plastic sheeting, purchased from Taunton cattle market. The Pyramid Stage has since become synonymous with the festival. It was upgraded in 1981 and burnt down in 1994. It returned in 2000 as a permanent structure, four times the size of Harkin's original but still based on a pyramid shape.

Later life

After Glastonbury Harkin established his own architecture and events business and carried out works for the

. He also taught at the

. Harkin died, aged 83, on the weekend of 6/7 March 2021. Eavis paid tribute to him for leading an "inspirational life" and said he was "simply loved by us all".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harkin, Bill 1938 births 2021 deaths Architects from Liverpool Scenic designers Lighting designers Glastonbury Festival