An engrossing patchwork of a DVD that honours the memory and ethos of the Deeply Vale Festivals. I must admit I approached this release with some caution, imagining that with little footage of the festivals available, not many more photographs, and some possibly questionable audio recordings, that this attempt to document the Festivals would fall flat - hey after all we were living and being at (surviving?) those Festivals not trying to document them. So I put on the promo copy Chris Hewitt kindly sent me with my finger hovering over the fast-forward button....three hours and 40 minutes of solid viewing later I have to say well done to the makers.

To document a Free Festival, what a task! Hardly anyone back then in that kind of setting even recorded much of the music, or took many photographs, let alone filmed the proceedings, but somehow, over the course of 11 years hard work Chris Hewitt has gathered as much as is probably humanly possible about those key Northern Festivals. Yes some photographs and rare film clips appear more than a few times throughout the DVD, and yes there are some dodgy recordings, but none of it seems to matter in the slightest because with new interviews liberally intermingled with the painstakingly gathered images and music the result gives a real honest flavour of Deeply Vale, which I think is a bit of a miracle.

So if you want to tune into what it was like back then in a field at a Free Festival and onstage with Here & Now, or Nik Turner, or Graham Massey in his first band (with Graham Clark), this is as good as it as it's going to get besides sitting down with a pint (or a pipe) and the actual people who were there. Quirky as..., but recommended.

Comes with a detailed 16 page booklet

• Part 1 - Deeper Deeply Vale - Musics/Performances/Rare Video
  Mick Middles' memories Part one, Misty In Roots-Six One Penny, Here and Now-What You See is What You Are/comments from Grant Showbiz, Wilful Damage-Punk Space Rock, The Fall-intro by Marc Riley/Bingo Masters Break Out inc video comments from Mark E Smith, Tractor-Watching White Stars, Guitar George Borowski-This is not love, Ruts-Jah Wars, Nik Turner-Anubis plus Interview, Pete Farrow-Fixin to Die, Trevor Hyett-You just can’t make it by yourself, Tony Crabtree-God damn it we’re all gonna die, Body-Brave New World, Danny and The Dressmakers-Ernie Bishop’s dead body, Mick Middles' memories-Part Two, Steve Hillage-Searching for the Spark, David Bacha and DJ Foggy-Beautiful Friday Night, Accident on the East Lancs We Want it legalised, Fast Cars-Who loves Jimmy Anderton, The Trend-The Cookie Flow, Unknown artist 1, Dave Smith's on stage speech, Unknown artist 2, Unknown artist 3, Spizz Energi-Medley, Foreign Press, Rivington Spyke-Poetry, Unknown artist 4, Alchemist, Elti Fits-Rebel Rebel
  
  
• Part 2 Truely Madly Deeply Vale - The 49 Minute Documentary
  Good made for TV doco with Jimi Goodwin-Doves, Mark E Smith, Chris Hewitt-one of the festival organisers, Vini Reilly-Durutti Column, Andy McCluskey-OMD, Jim Milne-Tractor, Steve Clayton-Tractor, Graham Massey-808 State, Grant Showbiz, Steve Hillage, Alan Hempsall-Crispy Ambulance, Luke Bainbridge-Observer Music Monthly, Stuart and Steve Murray-Fast Cars, Phil Odell and Stanny-Wilful Damage
  
  
• Part 3 - Interview Extras Mark E Smith, Graham Massey, Steve Cowen, Vini Reily + more