Throughout time, great rock bands like The Mission or Alice Copper attended the Reading Festival. It was the year of 1987 when the festival saw a record number of attendees, with line-ups including the two above-mentioned bands and many other great names such as Status Quo, Chariot or The Stranglers.
In 1988, Reading Festival welcomed on the line-up famous names from the pop music industry, with Bonnie Tyler and Meat Loaf amongst the most representative figures. It was with the year of 1991 that Reading Festival became the place where music legends felt at home, with Nirvana playing on the stage on a wonderful appearance. Some say that 1992 will remain as the best year of Reading Festival, with Kurt Cobain’s leading man bringing Nirvana to the last concert in the United Kingdom. The reason why so many people remember the spectacular performance of Kurt Cobain has something to do with him appearing on stage on a wheelchair, making a mockery of the rumors about him not being in sound mind.
Kurt Cobain’s performance in 1992 on the stage of Reading Festival is left deep in history. Singing both new and well-known tunes, he managed to impress the entire audience by announcing the birth of his daughter. It’s not surprising that all the people at Reading Festival appreciated the way he felt and they all uttered the name of Courtney Cox for minutes in a row. Throughout time, spectacular performances were given by rock titans, grand names of punk and heavy metal music, making it quite hard for anyone to decide the best year of Reading Festival.
Four years after Nirvana performing at Reading Festival, the Stone Roses went up on stage for their last gig before retiring. As years followed, amazing bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica and Guns’ N’ Roses have participated in Reading Festival, with hundreds of music lovers waiting for the most unique experience in their lives. However, just as great performances were held on smaller stages, with bands like Artic Monkeys and Rage against the Machine leaving many great memories behind. Rage against the Machine performed their last gig in the year of 2000 but they returned in applause for the 2008 edition of Reading Festival, giving one of the best performances ever.
Each year has meant something unique for Reading Festival. In some, new bands have made their debut like Concrete Jungle Stage in 2001. For others, playing at the Reading Festival meant they were for the last time on stage. Throughout the entire history of this amazing music festival, many bands have come and gone. 2009 promises to be the best year in the entire history of Reading Festival. Who knows what the future brings? Of all performances, we will certainly remember Nirvana and the ironic Kurt Cobain, the titans from Metallica and forever-in-love with punk Green Day. They have brought the best to Reading Festival and contributed to its continuous survival. The best year? Each and every one!
