The Hollywood Music Festival in May 1970 was packed with talent – a bill that included Traffic, Family, Colosseum, Free, Ginger Baker’s Air Force and Black Sabbath – but became known for two things in particular. Held on Staffordshire farmland and attended by 35,000 people, it marked the UK live debut of the Grateful Dead. The other significant event was the appearance of a hitherto unknown band, Mungo Jerry, who would soon define the sound of that summer. “We played late afternoon on the Saturday, just as the sun came out,” recalls banjo and jug player Paul King. “Ninety per cent of the audience were stoned, just lying around and smoking, all pretty lethargic. We went straight in with the harmonicas and the banjo, making a different noise to everybody else on the bill. "The crowd all started getting up and clapping and dancing about. It was like someone had given them an electric shock. We went down an absolute storm. So much so that they asked us back the next day. That was really the start of it.” Released on the eve of the festival, Mungo Jerry’s debut single In The Summertime raced to the top of the UK chart within a fortnight (ousting Christie’s Yellow River) and stayed there for seven weeks. On one day, it sold 73,000 copies before lunch. Soon, Mungo Jerry were No.1 in 15 other countries across the globe, as well as going top three in the US.
