Remembering Lost Vagueness

For those that remember…

…or those that don’t!

Lost Vagueness was the ultimate party for those in search of a little bit more.

As teenagers we’d been jumping the fence at Glastonbury for a few years until it all got a little out of control. Even in our immature minds we realised things couldn’t go on as they were. This magic bubble of this pop-up city couldn’t sustain the number of party goers and the popularity of Glastonbury was heading to be its very downfall.

glastonbury ravers 1990's

In 1995, the year after Glastonbury was first broadcast on TV, we jumped the fence with 80,000 others, doubling the on-site population. By 2000 we joined an estimated 125,000 others without tickets pushing the capacity dangerously to over 250,000 people. I’m not proud of breaking the law, but come on, did anyone actually know a legitimate ticket holder under the age of 25?

Glastonbury came back in 2002 with the infamous million-pound ‘superfence’ and after walking the entire perimeter amongst a very hostile vibe, we admitted defeat and took our only year off for this epic adventure.

In 2003 we bought tickets and caught the Lost Vagueness bug.

For me, festivals have always been about the jagged corners of life that push the boundaries of reality. Escaping the institution and boredom and surrounding yourself with happy people who don’t care where you come from, who you are, or where you’re heading. We’d grown up in a rave generation of baggy clothes and worn out trainers spending an average weekend

driving across the country in search of ‘that elusive party’. Discovering the decadence of Lost Vagueness and having an excuse to pop on a ridiculous ball gown and dance all night to swing and all manner of other genres of mashed up mayhem helped me discover myself.

Thank you Lost Vagueness. The memories are faint but the roots are deep.

Lost in Vauegness – Brighton Sat 16 Jun The Old Market

The never-before-told story of the rise and fall of Lost Vagueness at Glastonbury Festival, and its maverick founder Roy Gurvitz comes to Brighton for one night only. The story of Glastonbury’s iconic sideshow – a one night immersive event including the screening of Lost in Vagueness.

A night to celebrate, re-live and rejoice in the world that was Lost Vagueness in our home town of Brighton See the film, dance to the music and party at this one-off immersive night for the very wrongly behaved!

The film Lost In Vagueness is the untold backstage story of Glastonbury Festival and how antihero Roy teamed up with Glastonbury founder Michael to create a place of decadence and muddy opulence. Oh, and it saved the festival from cultural bankruptcy in the process.

As an anarchic punk traveller, Roy scoured Europe searching for a community where he could escape his oppressive upbringing. But failing to find a home, he therefore returned to Glastonbury to work as one of the regular site crew.

There, he created an ironic faux casino as a joke for the other site crew. Little did he know that it would set the dominant cultural style of the naughties.

After the film, come and party in the spirit of Lost Vagueness! The after-party will showcase Brighton-based dance pair extraordinaire, The Two Wrongies and the incredible 10-piece cabaret band The Future Shape of Sound followed by Lost Vagueness original DJ, DJ Bollocks.

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