Tales of Deeply Vale Festival by Chris Hewitt, the full story of how Deeply Vale started the Rochdale and Heywood counter culture scene

The Deeply Vale Box Set

Chris Hewitt, the man who staged managed the Deeply Vale festivals in the seventies, has spent years putting together the most comprehensive anthology of Deeply Vale material ever collated. Consisting of a book and six discs of music from bands who took part, including atmospheric live recordings, the collection charts the story of the legendary festival that ran between 1976 and 1979 on the moors above Rochdale.

Those around at the time will enjoy reminiscing and for those who weren't this box set is a genuine embodiment of the mood of that time; read the book first to get a feel of the culture and then dim the lights, put one of the discs on your sound system, light the joss sticks and prepare to let the music take you back over 35 years and paint a mind scape for you. A time when Rochdale may not have been at the heart of the cultural revolution but was still, in the words of Andy Sharrocks, "a unique microcosm of alternative culture". And from the idealistic minds of the likes of Sharrocks, Dave Smith, Dave Edwards and Andy Burgoyne, inspired by the ethos of the hippie, counter-culture, and free festival movements of the early seventies, came the idea of a free music festival in Rochdale.

The festival began in 1976 with a few hundred gathered in the Cheesden Valley and ran until 1979 when 20,000 turned up to what was then the largest free festival in England.

Hewitt's book tells the story in great detail, with contributions from those who dreamed up and organised the festivals, musicians who played and the people who didn't just watch but 'took part', the very essence of the free spirit that made the festivals the huge success they were. Throughout the book can be found literally hundreds of photos that help bring to life the characters and paint the scene of the time in a way which words alone just cannot do.

In putting together the words and the photos of his 270 page, A4 size book with the music on the six discs, Hewitt has undoubtedly succeeded in producing a compelling set that old and young will enjoy.

Highly recommended, the book is a good read, the music will be listened to time and time again - well worth the asking price for the box set.

Three of the five people that sat round the kitchen table and planned the original Deeply Vale Festival in 1976, Dave Smith, Chris Hewitt and Andy Sharrocks, will be reunited for the box set Rochdale launch this weekend  (note: the event is already sold out).

To order your box set (£84 including post and packing): paypal to hawkethos@which.net or phone 01565 734577 with card number and details.