The legendary FUTURAMA FESTIVAL is being resurrected more than 40 years after it first took place.
Starting in 1979 at Leeds' Queen's Hall, the two-day Fururama was a radical addition to the UK festival calendar, being as it was a departure from the rock and folk-dominated outdoor circuit. The brainchild of Leeds promoter John Keenan, the event underlined the changed that had taken place on the UK music horizon with a rollcall of artists across the years drawn from the spheres of post-punk, art-punk and electronica, including PiL, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Joy Division, Gang Of Four, Psychedelic Furs, Theatre Of Hate, Soft Cell, Simple Minds, The Smiths, Bow Wow Wow, The Fall, Teardrop Explodes, Echo And The Bunnymen, OMD, Cabaret Voltaire, Bauhaus and many more.
Working alongside Keenan, Liverpool promoter Marc Jones is bringing Futurama over the Pennines to his home city where it will take place at the Invisible Wind factory / Make Arts Centre and Ten Streets Social over Easter Saturday and Sunday, 3-4 April 2021.
Theatre Of Hate and The Chameleons will be making their return to the festival, while headliners Peter Hook & The Light will be performing Joy Division's set from the inaugural Futurama in '79.
“Futurama was one the first festival experiences I ever had,” remembers Hook. “John Keenan the promoter became a lifelong friend. He was one of the first legends. The gig was the first time I’d ever seen caravans used as dressing rooms indoors, but it had a great atmosphere. It really put Joy Division on the map and the groups on the bill were very well matched to the audience. There weren’t many indoor festivals prior to Futurama so it was quite ground-breaking for the genre in the north. Funnily enough it gets talked about a lot even now. John became a legend and, in many ways, so has the festival. Let’s hope we can capture that wonderful atmosphere again.”
A second headliner is yet to be announced but appearing over the weekend across four stages - including one sponsored by Vive Le Rock! - are the likes of Warmduscher, The Blinders, The Lovely Eggs, Spizz Energi, Imperial Wax, Just Mustard, Membranes, Evil Blizzard, Sink Ya Teeth, John, Heavy Lungs, We Are Not Devo, DSM IV, Bob Vylan, Billy NoMates, Witch Fever, Tokky Horror, Pozi, Crows, St Agnes, LibraLibra, Courting, Crawlers and Joe & Shitboys, with many more to be announced.
Tickets priced £80 are available here with an instalment scheme for the financially strapped.
Keep updated for details as futuramafestival.com