GD - THE HOLLYWOOD FESTIVAL footage, May 24th 1970.

 Greg Bailey fills us in on the fate of the film

HiI know about the filming. As I remember it there was a meeting of Deadheads from my film partnership Solus and a couple of likeminded BBC chums. Our agenda was to find the ways and means to film the Dead at the forthcoming Hollywood gig. We managed to wangle a budget from the BBC to film the whole weekend for BBC2. I think it was Bob Edwards a BBC staff Producer and fellow D.H who accomplished this. I booked the Pye Mobile with it's magnificent 4 tracks to record the festival and our company provided 3 16mm cameras....

We filmed the 1st day and all went well. The BBC got their Mungo Jerry so they were o.k.
Shortly before the gig a rather nice girl backstage was walking around offering purple pills from a cowboy hat. So I took a handful for me and my chums.

Most of us techies were dopers and had tried a bit of relatively gentle mescaline but we certainly weren't ready for Owsley's finest. "They looked so small."

A spark (electrician) spent most of the afternoon being a dog and attempting to bite policemen. The police in fact were very laidback but eventually got worried enough to call an ambulance to take this bloke (who ever after was known as Johnny Rainbow ) to the local hospital. There was an interview with the Dead attempted in the group's caravan. The acid was kicking in and Uncle Trips recognised the signs and was suitably cryptic. I wasn't there for the interview but watched it in wonder afterwards.

The boys gamely attempted to film the gig but as I remember it all falls apart during the 2nd number. The BBC still own and occasionally show clips from the festival. We had in fact filmed some other material with the Dead viz. the group arriving at Heathrow, interviews and a rehearsal at the Roundhouse.

 We did in fact make a rough cut of the material when the final clincher came from the the M.U via the BBC. The Dead had no work permit , so all the rushes came back stamped "not for transmission under any circumstances". In those days there were very strict reciprocal arrangements with the American M.U and the Dead's management had arranged nothing!

 Eventually Dick Pope took all the material including the 4 track tapes to San Francisco and deposited it in the Dead archive.
I do however still have 1/4" mono tapes of some of the gig.

Some other great fan recollections:

http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/Hollyrecmart.html

I was amazed at how spaced out Weir is at 22 (offstage) and how much shit they give him (when rehearsing). He's like a little kid.

Pig comes off as somewhat shy and very mellow, always looking for a drink.

It's great to see Jerry always noodling on a guitar while pontificating on something or another. He's using his red Gibson SG with America sticker onstage. 

Billy is a bad ass. Acts ready to punch out anybody, even his bandmates.

Mickey is very high and always wants to be on camera.

Phil is a smart ass perfectionist.

When they get on stage everything changes. In an interview, Jerry say he doesn't think they played al that well, especially in the beginning.

Crew and managers are in it, too.

The beauty of the official release is the non-concert footage -- seeing the band back then "natural" as they arrive at the airport, hang the hotel, go to a party, rehearse backstage. You get a real sense of who the band was at that point in their career

This you tube footage is not the footage in the official release, but will give you an idea about the festival itself....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThRhFFMQsn8

Here's some outtakes that show the quality of the entire 90 min or so

https://youtu.be/HPU1mCGgSTE

https://youtu.be/AKX-b3yjT7w

China Rider transition:

https://youtu.be/55hhP2O5pMQ