Glastonbury’s festival posters are as individual as the fest itself

It was back in 1970 when, just one day after the death of Jimi Hendrix, the first Glastonbury music event took place at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset. Boasting appearances from The Kinks, Al Stewart, Keith Christmas, T Rex and Stackridge the music event had a stellar line-up with tickets sold at £1 each which included free milk from the Worthy Farm cows. The simple black-and-white poster that looked like it was for a village fair was enough to plug 13 bands and 2,000 people in this Pop, Folk & Blues festival. In the early years the festival had a bumpy ride, its existence threatened by new licensing laws, security breaches and reluctance from the local council. However, from 1979 onwards, and despite a few ongoing glitches, the festival became firmly established and has continued to grow ever since. In 1979 there were some 12,000 people; ten years later it was 60,000. This year, on October 5th, tickets for Glastonbury 2015 went on sale at 9am. Within a record 29 minutes, all 150,000 had sold out. There is something about the festival that makes it more than ‘just rock bands playing in fields’ according to Noel Gallagher and he was absolutely right. With its mystical, hippie beginnings in the 1970s and its strongly ethical, deeply historical ethos, performing at Glastonbury is a historic moment in any musician’s career. Today, Glastonbury has become a British institution and the posters of the festival are as individual as the music event itself. The posters had to adapt like the festival itself from promoting the acts and the free milk in the most artistic and informative way possible. Thanks to photographer Jason Bryant who spent numerous hours transferring the posters into a digital format, Glastonbury Festival’s poster archive is a reality. From the simple black and white through the “hippy-ish” to the bold and vibrant, Glastonbury's typographic elements changed like the festival itself transformed the music industry. Put your headphones on and delve into this amazing selection from the present to the past.