40 years ago, the US Festival organized by Steve Wozniak became the biggest musical event of the 80s, opposing two of the biggest bands of the moment in a kind of ideological battle between consumerism and solidarity. In the midst of the fight and at the height of his fame, David Bowie took the box taking the highest collection. This is the story of a curiously forgotten pioneer mob event.
The all-time major festival record usually starts with Woodstock in 1969, to then jump in the calendar until reaching lollapalooza In the 90s The two versions of the American festival between 1982 and 1983, organized by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, are rarely shown despite attracting more than a million viewers to a remote area of San Bernardino, California, as well as the first of improvements and systems. which would become the rule in live outdoor music. Among them is the use of a giant central screen and amplifier towers in the middle of the field, so that all the public can enjoy the best sound.
Determined to organize “the Super Bowl of Rock”, Wozniak teamed up with famous live music businessman Bill Graham to develop these events after founding the company Unuson, an abbreviation of the phrase “unite us in the song” (let’s unite in a song).
The engineer proclaimed that if the 70s had been the decade of the “I”, the 80s should be a collaborative stage where “we” would be the protagonist. thanks to the culture developed around IT and its irruption in homes.
The Apple co-founder also said that if the alliance between live music and this new era dominated by computers does not work, he will return to the business.
By the end of 1983, having lost over ten million dollars at the American Festival, Steve Wozniak was back in the business that had brought him fame and fortune.
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The first release between September 3 and September 5, 1982 was divided by style. The first day was devoted to new wave and punk with Talking Heads, The Police, The Ramones, Gang of four and The B-52′s, among others. The second was for more traditional rock from artists like The Kinks, Pat Benatar, Santana and The Cars, while the third offered nostalgic overtones with The Grateful Dead, Jackson Brown and Fleetwood Mac.
Despite the considerable losses of this first edition with tickets that hovered around $100 at current prices, barely nine months later, between May 28 and May 30, 1983, plus a date of June 4, the American Festival called again days defined by sex. Day one featured INXS, A Flock of Seagulls, and Men at Work, among other new wave exponents; the second was for heavy metal with Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe and Scorpions among the most prominent, while the third day was for ordinary rock with U2, The Pretenders and Missing Persons, among others.
But there were three artists at the height of their popularity who became a headache and a stab in the pocket of the American Festival.
Van Halen, The Clash and David Bowie.
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“(…) no other artist will be paid more than Van Halen guarantees and if an artist receives more than Van Halen, Van Halen will be compensated equally.” On March 14, 1983, Noel E. Monk, manager of the Californian group, had included this clause in the contract of the American Festival for one million dollars. The game seemed to be in control. All that money for just one show on Sunday, May 29.
Monk was right, although he overlooked some details. The sum was exorbitant and listed in the Guinness Book of Records – Van Halen already had another record for a raider with claims of 53 pages – but the band had concluded the Hide your sheep tour on February 11 and 12, with some great shows in Buenos Aires. Starting Van Halen involved a series of costs between equipment, rehearsals and promotion. In addition, inspired by the customs of the Rolling Stones in the promotional tour of tattoo yourself in 1981, when they had opened for a few dates, they decided to throw a pre-gig party with four bartenders, trays of cocaine, and 500 guests.
Steve Wozniak was determined to get David Bowie in to close on Monday the 30th. The British star was enjoying the commercial peak. Let’s Dance Album , his new wave version, had been released in April 1983 and the single of the same name was a hit, but Bowie was touring Europe. The only possibility was that a 747 would fly the tour to Los Angeles. The maneuver amounted to one and a half million dollars, including the payment of the singer.
Wozniak gave the order to get it by any means, knowing that the Van Halen clause would force them to match the sum. In summary, David Bowie cost two million dollars, if we add the 500,000 extras received by the American group, when he demanded to match the stamp.
David Bowie presented a shortened half-hour show and did not allow it to be transmitted in audio and video, while Van Halen assumed those costs.
A month after the show, Eddie Van Halen called the whole US festival experience “a pain in the ass”. “They only talk about how many people have died in our time and how much money we make.”
Indeed, a drug deal during the day resulted in a person being beaten to death. But the guitarist was all the more pissed off that the gig had turned into a money leak. “We lost more than it was worth.”
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Payments to David Bowie and Van Halen have reached the ears of The Clash, day one headliners . The kings of punk also enjoyed extraordinary success thanks to singles Rock the Casbah And Should I stay or should I go from the album battle rock (1982), clouded by internal turmoil. Guitarist/songwriter Mick Jones’ relationship with the rest of the band was completely fractured, drummer Topper Headon had been fired for heroin addiction in 1982, and replacement Terry Chimes, a member of the 1977 debut album, never covered as the tour correspondent. When contacted for the festival, they had not played for six months. Peter Howard, 23, answered an ad in Melody Maker magazine, becoming the new drummer.
They had been engaged for $500,000 and David Lee Roth, warned that the British were upset by Van Halen’s cachet, hinted at a press conference that one of the band’s biggest hits was plagiarism.
“I love The Clash,” said Diamond Dave. “I like ‘Should I stay or should I leave’mostly because I loved it ‘Little Lupe Latin Lu’ of Mitch Ryder, all those years ago.
The Clash offered a trick to the press alleging they demanded the organization donate $100,000 from ticket sales to benefit the area’s poor, after learning tickets cost $25 and no $17, as they were told.
Unhappy with Van Halen’s salary, rock marketing, and the event itself, they appeared on stage two hours late. Obfuscated, they hung a canvas at the back of the stage with the caption “Clash is not for sale”.
Joe Strummer launches several rants against the festival and the American lifestyle, the same ones which will inspire years later Jorge González at the controls of Los Prisioneros.
“I know the human race is supposed to kneel down to all this new technology and embrace microchip circuitry,” he proclaimed. “I’m not too impressed when there’s nothing but ‘buy … or die.’ It’s America’s motto.”
The organizers did not miss the opportunity and projected the check with the payment to The Clash for playing an hour and a quarter . The band stormed offstage and brawled with festival staff because they refused the encore. Four months later, Mick Jones leaves the group.
“The only guy who had guts all weekend was Eddie Van Halen,” Joe Strummer later recounted. “Because with everything that was going on, he walked alone, without asking anything, to our trailer, and he stood there smiling, his hands open (…)”.
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“No virgins, Journey fans or sheep allowed on the track,” read the welcome sign on the Van Halen-edited reel as the gig approached. The footage was shown on a giant screen, a party full of absurd and poorly acted scenes, with bassist Michael Anthony trying to drag a video game machine thinking it was a mini bar, David Lee Roth half-simulating sex naked on a piano, and Eddie Van Halen pops balloons with a cigarette.
It was all a lie. The alleged celebration had been filmed a week earlier. Even so, Van Halen threw a pre-show party and David Lee Roth, as he very rarely did on American soil on the day of the concert, got drunk and called reporters.
Perched on a table, he cracks bad jokes and sees The Clash again. “(…) they’re trying to bring about a cultural change,” he said with a sneer.
When Van Halen came on the scene Diamond Dave forgot the lyrics to romeo’s delight , the first song of the night. Erratic, he improvises various monologues, boring and challenging the public.
“Hey mate, don’t throw water on me,” he told a viewer. “I’m going to fuck your girlfriend, partner.”
Halfway through the concert, they brought him a bottle of Jack Daniels, a regular number for the acrobatic singer. “I want to take this moment to say it’s real whisky,” he explained visibly drunk. “The only ones who put iced tea in Jack Daniels bottles are The Clash, baby…”
The rest of the group shone briefly by advancing equipment from 1984 the next album that would further raise the band’s notoriety.
On the final day, U2 also alluded to The Clash’s turbulent mood without quoting them, in that mix of commercialism criticism while billing half a million dollars.
“Nobody twisted my arm to be here,” Bono exclaimed from the stage. “I am here because I want to be here.”
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Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
