LEEDS FESTIVAL TURNS TO RIOTS

local | 27.08.2001 16:23 | Culture | Free Spaces | Repression

The Leeds Festival 2001 turned to rioting last night as thousands of festival goers decided to burn the toilets...

The Carling Weekend. That is, Leeds and Reading Festival. So you can tell from the name of the event that capitali$m is already ruining our festivals.

On Sunday night once the headliners had all finished their sets, music lovers from all over the North of England, Scotland and Ireland moved to Campsite K, which has the closest set of toilets to the arena. After destroying the Security's watch tower the previous night, they had no problems wiping out maybe 50 portaloos and a generator before torching them all. Then people starting moving towards the next toilets, the BIG ones. Again, we destroyed torched, danced and moved with very little hassel form the police. Then we started chanting 'Red Camp, Red Camp' We gathered the crews together, but when we arroved at the next set security were there, but no police. Security Guards all holding metre long metal poles. None of the hippys yeielding weapons. Swinging them around caused a crush, so we brought down the lamposts. Ha! they fenced us in, and started driving at us in jeeps, knocking many people over, including myself. A young girl was badly injured. This pissed alot of people off who managed to break fences down for weapons and we ran after the vans who couldnt get past the lamposts. We managed to get free and take down the next set of toilets. Then came the riot police, forming c a circle around the fire, the damn fools, with many unexploded toilets and gas canisters. Then came in the hardcore front line rioters who were scanging the floor for bottles. And jesus were there a lot of empty bottles. The police threw many back, and beat the crap out of anyone they could, even those unarmed arrested people.

We managed to push them back into a small lane where we closed the gate on the and blocked it with poles.

We pushed the piggys right back to where they came from and had a fun night. It would have been better if it wasn't for the severe brutality of both the AP security guards and the West Yorkshire riot police.

PLease post any photos if you have them, i know many professional photographers took some, but nobody working for the media was there...

local

Comments

Hide the following 32 comments

why?

27.08.2001 18:48

don't understand what the point of smashing toilets is....

Don't dig it, man

27.08.2001 20:09

When I last went to the Reading Festival, we rolled joints, rolled in mud, ate hash cookies and chilled to the groovy beats. Corporate Festivals sponsored by Beer must be shit, man.

Halcion

leeds toilets

27.08.2001 21:51

corporate life is a shithouse so lets burn it burn it down

dwight heet

reading riots

27.08.2001 21:54

last night similar events occurred at reading, people started pulling down the lampposts erected around the campsite. which caused the stewards to get quite angry, which meant that they radio'd for support from the security.

whilst the lamp posts were being pulled down and the campsite was being electrically isolated, groups of youths collected around the side of one of the large "port-a-loo" blocks and started running into them and trying to bring the metal fences (around the bogs) down. this along with the attacks on lamp posts caused the event security to arrive and then bundle people into jeeps and landrovers and drive them away, this large group seemed to disappear, so i left the scene and returned to my tent.

i went back later when we heard more noise, this group had reformed and had attacked more toilets and took out a large empty white tent. i saw one person in the crowd wearing white overalls (?) but i'm not sure of the relevance of this yet. the group then started chanting about attacking the large scaffolding tower used by the stewards, so the stewards left and more security arrived so the crowd dispersed, i left at this point. from my tent i could see people climbing the scaffold and hear people shouting, but because we had heard of this group attacking other campers tents (?) we didn't return straight away, we only returned when we saw big plumes of smoke coming from the toilet block.

when we arrived the crowd had collected around the toilet block and the police were keeping them away, maybe 20 pigs keeping 2,000 people away from the fire and exploding cubicles. the large tower was also lying in pieces on the floor. the whole block ended up being damaged and there was only one toilet still upright in the morning. the flames were huge and the fire brigade came and put them out :) to boos from the crowd. i took some photos of the fire and of what everything looked like the next morning, but it isn't that interesting.

i failed to see the point of all the violence and much of it appeared to be just plain aggression, seeing port-a-loo's burn was quite funny, but not watching a large group of dicks target individuals who were only trying to stop people from committing stupid violent acts, and then watch the same large group give no resistance to the police presence. i also appreciate that by finding port-a-loos burning funny i am showing my level of maturity :). i reckon rancid were the best act all weekend, and the number of people wearing silly "che" t-shirts was upsetting. i was also disappointed to see that the SWP had set up a stall outside the entrance selling their lovely papers (losers), thought the number of circled-A’s was reassuring. i'd like to dedicate this post to linea 77 for dedicating a song to carlo g. and apologise for my bad grammar and formatting. :?

jimmer
mail e-mail: japoulte00@hushmail.com

Please explain.... (to: Leeds rep)

27.08.2001 23:10

What exactly is the point of trashing loos and watch towers?
You (and most others at the festival who weren't working for free) paid to go to this "capitalist" event. Frankly, if it caused you so much grief as to burn portaloo's (nb: burning plastic is in general- not clever. noxious and toxic gasses, bad for both environment and health of others = v. selfish and childish).
If you were simply up for a ruck, wouldnt it have been easier to start a fight with one of the afformentioned "pigs" who were trying to protect the rest of the campers from unneccesary brutality from adrenalin-fuelled-teenage kicks? Or would that have cause more hassle than was needed? Power en mass and all that... yes yes... but the POINT... what exactly was the POINT?

If you wanted to protest over the capitalism and corporate sponsorship of the event, there are plenty of other ways to go about it, and far more enjoyable and less violent options at that (see the artical on upcoming pink n' silver drum march w/ rhythms of resistance for example).

If you were a bit miffed that you paid a lot of money to attend an event which should have been about community spirit etc, bare in mind that Reading/Leeds ("the Carling Weekender") was created to sponge money from the increasing 'trendyness'/student culture/middle class bohemia of other festivals such as Glastonbury.

Displays like the one you mention above (and in Reading also) do nothing but highlight media attention on the negative points of protest.

So, I ask again... The Point?

xoe

reading festival

27.08.2001 23:32

I live round the corner from the Reading Festival site and although there were a few bands I wanted to see I chose not to go this year. Sponsered by Carling at £45 a ticket it's simply another way of lining the pockets of business. I have been to independent festivals at a fraction of the price and w/out sponsorship. Instead of paying to trash toilets, use your nrg setting up your own festivals, making your own entertainment and sending out positive messages....
F**k Reading Festival is an example, the Cannabis Festival a couple of months ago in London another.

...

Mean

28.08.2001 00:59

Mean Fiddler are fuckin' fiddling' everyone who goes to one of their festivals. Fuck em.

Corporate Fucker

Not a protest

28.08.2001 10:09

I don't really think the above can be called a protest. Reading festival seems to be populated by 15 year old raawk kids who can't handle their cider and who have no political ideals or identity other than the ones they get from Slipshod and Emenem (we’re so different and nobody understands us - boo hoo hoo). Its just pissed kids on the rampage really

Still - anything that brings a corporate event into disrepute gets my mark

Bod

Strawberry Fair

28.08.2001 10:18

Go to Strawberry Fair in Cambridge next year. It's not corporate sponsored, there are no major signed up bands and best of all - it's free. Plus there are plenty of protest organisations with stalls and fascists are given a good kicking if they hand out their Nazi pamphlets. Sadly, it's only for one day (around the end of May or beginning of June). But it's worthwhile going to, I think, especially if you hate that corporate bullshit.

Dan Brett
mail e-mail: dan@danielbrett.co.uk

The point was...

28.08.2001 13:11

the point was that i got to throw bottles at nazis. the policemen with no identity numbers on them. the policemen that were randomly beating people.

i didnt burn anything. i was just there around the fire skinning up. i only stepped in when the police came.

just having a bit of fun man, take it easy...

local

toxic & pointless

28.08.2001 13:44

I was working at 1 of the stages and had heard about last years 'riot', so to hear it was happening again while we were taking the stages down, nice one I thought.
During a break I went to check out what was happening, if burning generators and plastic toilets and tossing calor gas containers into the flames for no real reason, is your idea of a good riot, count me out.
If your grievances was with the cops and the mean fiddler it should be directed at them, not at polluting and spreading toxic shit all over the land, just because you've drunk to much CARLING LAGER.
A friend of mine also decked one pillok at Reading for throwing a fire extinguisher into one of the fires so it would go off when people (not cops) were walking by!
Festival riots, my arse, idiot macho games!

tim

so much effort, so little point

28.08.2001 14:15

i was at both leeds yk2 and leeds y2k1 - both of them had the same sorta 'riots'

but this year seamed stupid, last year it was a case of throw a match in the loos and watch em burn

this year seamed to be a planned event - i wonder if anyone went just to set fires? - again alot of security where evactuated and the site was left to fend on its own - i guess you all heard/know about the rape that happened @ reading... i am supprised a lot more didnt happen at leeds being as all the security where gone and even if you phoned the police to them it was a no-go area

end of the day, all you people who think you have a point to make against corporation or whatever your telling people your reasons are just so you look rebelious to your mum and dad

you really should stop drinking, you cant handle it!

expect next years reading/leeds festival weekend tickets to be around the £100/£150 mark and there to be less freedom in the camp site

if you want to read some more of what i seen @ this years festival including the family i seen running for there lives @ 2am, check out

http://www.crashedstar.com/

thats all

cs

crashedstar.com
mail e-mail: fuckthisemail@crashedstar.com
Homepage: http://www.crashedstar.com/

Don't you understand???

28.08.2001 15:36

Don't you understand that Portaloos are the ultimate symbol of the fascist/capitalist state in which we live? The simple phrase 'spend a penny' is nothing more than a running sore of continual oppression of the working classes. The caplitalist oppressors know that as long as chemical toilets exist, then the revolution will always be held up by huge queues for the last remaining loo with a roll of bog paper. Mao refused to use toilets, while Lenin restricted himself to the hard shiny bog paper that never gets the last bit of shit off your arse as a continual reminder to himself.
Stand up for the working classes and all the oppressed by refusing to sit down on a nice clean toilet seat!!!
--- This analysis makes most sense when read after consuming huge amounts of alcohol (eg Carling) at the end of a crap 'music' festival.

Paul Edwards

wankers

28.08.2001 16:49

You're not on anti-capitalists, you're just wankers, spoilt brats. It's like claiming that football hooliganism is the same as anti-capitalist demonstrating. Bollocks.

The security guards being paid less that 50 quid for a 12 hour shift after being bussed down from Glasgow can hardly be described as part of the establishment.

These claims of smashing up of random shit being anti-capitalist protests are bollocks and are very dangerous for 'the movement' which is already struggling gain widespread support.

If you don't like the corporate festies then don't go or even better go and leaflet them with info about the shit the organisers are doing and about free festie alternatives.

eyes

calm down

28.08.2001 18:47

Burning toilets is a very subjective and revolutionary act. Whats wrong with getting pissed and starting on security guards? It's all very well saying that they were only doing their jobs - so were the Waffen SS.

I find the argument about people being put off by the violence in the movement laughable. Demos have been getting increasingly more violent each time - yet the last one in Genoa clocked 300,000 people.

j.p

nothing to do with politics

28.08.2001 20:01

what the fuck was the point? i went 2 reading 2 enjoy the music and politics didnt come into my head the whole time. there was nothing political about buring toilets. people got drunk and decided 2 trash stuff. that has nothing to do with politics, it's just pissed people having "fun". i just enjoyed a weekend of smoking pot and watching great bands like rancid, system of a down and mad caddies. if "protesters" were so pissed off bout going to a corporate festival why did they even go in the fist place?

sore throat

Riots

28.08.2001 20:44

yeah, they were no real points to the riots, what were you rioting againts?? music festivals???
the girl knocked over was my friends G/F, it looked worse then it was...she only has a sprained arm...the festival will endup getting cancelld if the riots keep going!!

SkaPunk
mail e-mail: bell-a@cableinet.co.uk

that wasn't a protest

28.08.2001 22:15

no way was that a protest, but you gotta admit it was very pretty to watch. burning mountanside. War-painted maniacs dancing. Most amusing.

Jiminy Jetson

that wasn't a protest

28.08.2001 22:15

no way was that a protest, but you gotta admit it was very pretty to watch. burning mountanside. War-painted maniacs dancing. Most amusing.

Jiminy Jetson

local = twat

28.08.2001 23:39

indymedia is about activism and social justice, not about dickheads burning toilets for no reason. please don't post stuff like this on here, it's a waste of my time.

table

Oh Dear

29.08.2001 02:20

I do SO hate the wankers who smash stuff and ruin everyone's time, just slightly more than the damn fools who think they're well funny for shouting 'bollocks' all night. As to it's relevance on this site, well, this is what happens when something like the anti-capitalist/corporate protests have been popularised - any 14 year old virgin drunk for the first time is now a working class hero, eh?

DG
mail e-mail: rgreenfield@btinternet.com

Reading riots

29.08.2001 08:11

I remember there was a riot at the Reading Festival back in 1978 when Sham 69 played there and it was caused by their moronic followers who were just out to cause trouble. This is the same type of thing.

Tod Morton

bloody northern monkeys

29.08.2001 11:59

Turn out for a good fest. get pissed, get stoned, and a bunch of twats start causing trouble. Hope they cancel the fest. next year, that might show you. Just don't turn up at Chelmsford next year, went there this year, chilled and had a god time like everyone else with no Northern Monkeys to cause problems.

drew
mail e-mail: drew21@hotmail.com

why blame it on the North?!

30.08.2001 11:27

I think it is unfair to blame the riots on the Northeners, we are from the North and although we left before the riots had started we would not of joined in any riot nevermind start it, we went for a nice time, to enjoy music and the atmosphere and hope to do the same next year. It`s not the area that you are from that makes you a dick, the dicks are in any part of any country worldwide.

Nightbreed
mail e-mail: Nightbreed@evil.co.uk

MV SQUARED

09.09.2001 15:31

the point? you wanna kno the point? MV=MINDLESS VANDALISM and it is big and it is clever and it is funny,and very childish,but its not my problem,rahoo MV MV MV MV MV MV MV MV MV MV MV MV MV

GROGAN

MV squared!!!!!

12.09.2001 19:17

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HE'S SHORT HE'S SHORT HE'S FAT HE'S GROGANHE'S FAT HE'S GROGANHE'S SHORTHE'S SHORT HE'S FAT HE'S GROGAN HE'S FAT HE'S GROGANHE'S SHORTHE'S SHORT HE'S FAT HE'S GROGAN HE'S FAT HE'S GROGANHE'S SHORT HE'S SHORT HE'S FAT HE'S GROGANHE'S FAT HE'S GROHE'S SHORT HE'S FAT HE'S GROGANGAN

WHATS THE FIRST RULE OF GROGAN CLUB
WHATS THE SECOND RULE OF GROGAN CLUB

ESPECIALLY YOU MR FIN

POST THE PEST!

fry+slogan
mail e-mail: fryston85@btinternet.com
Homepage: nah

especially u

16.09.2001 20:07

efkain hoff f off hoff an especially fryston his name is groganhoff steinfeld!! his name is groganhoff steinfeld his name is groganhoff steinfeld his name is groganhoff steinfeld his name is groganhoff steinfeld his name is groganhoff steinfeld his name is groganhoff steinfeld his name is groganhoff steinfeld his name is groganhoff steinfeld!!! square the cow mv
dont get me wrong if camilla wa presented infront of me id stein the cow but i wunt enjoy it unless she wa wrapped up in a doggy bag. efkin squared

GROGANhoff steinfeld

duhhhhh

27.08.2002 19:49

right...if leeds wasnt sponsored by carling we wouldnt have the class beer and we wouldnt of had so many good bands there...the line up was loads better than last year so SHUT YOUR MOANING.

the pink princess

Laugh out loud

20.08.2003 22:21

I see you waited to see all the bands at the "capatalist" festival before acting like a cock

TOM
mail e-mail: HA HA

... And here we go again

29.08.2005 14:37

i just got back from the leeds caling weekend and what an amazing weekend it was wit bands like the foos, queens of the stone age, killers, kasabian, iron maiden. it was definetly worth going to watch.
but of course people dont like just going to sleep on sunday night/monday morn. bins were set on fire (again) and i ended up coming away with a broken foot from a telegraph pole landing on it, was quite painful. so why again? why do u come back every year to protest the same thing u were last year? the most puzzling concept behind the whole idea is that ur still paying the money to come back and do it again! pointless.

Rich
mail e-mail: chriscornellis@hotmail.com

You, are a brain dead idiot

29.08.2005 18:15

Glastonbury was sponsored by Q magazine, they didn't riot, that's because we are all gutless idiots who aren't intelligent enough to see that sponsorship is evil, Obviously, if we were all as free-thinking and independent as you, we would have all grabbed the nearest portaloo and had a wail of a time, i congratulate you on your wonderful insight. You must be a wonderfully interesting person to talk to. <------this is irony you brain dead tosser.

YTF did u go to the CARLING leeds festival if you don't like corporate sponsorship? WHAT.A.RETARD

leeds_manc

F*** The Pigs

30.08.2005 14:18

This was my first festival and it was one of the greatest things i've ever experienced.

The people were great besides the little dump fucks who pride themselves on being pariahs when there just stupid fuckwits unknowingly following trends.
Everything was great butt he police brutality of it all was bad. The people went crazy with the beer trucks and the pigs went away for abit leaving us to party down but the great thing about it was the way everybody came together for the fires and the drink (Not to mention the gas canisters and burning of the tents & toilets).

Overall the festival rocked the young ones sucked the drugs were wonderful and the pigs are halfwit bitches and the veteran festival goers were some of the greatest people i've ever met.

Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire
Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire
Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire
Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire
Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire
Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire
Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire

Sean
mail e-mail: nubianprince20@hotmail.com