[1] In the world of British underground rock, the Greasy Truckers Party ... ... looms about as large as the Monterey International Pop Festival does in American rock lore; it wasn't the biggest gig ever played by the bands involved, but for reasons of exposure, and resulting word-of-mouth, and the excerpted live album that followed, it came to define what they were capable of.Greasy Truckers (their name being a parody of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company) were "a loose organisation of individuals whose ideals were based on those of the Diggers in San Francisco, recycling money into worthwhile causes.

All proceeds from the concert and LP sales went to Greasy Truckers' project to build a hostel in Notting Hill Gate.

In defiance of the Fire Brigade, many people stayed inside, temporary lighting was set up, and the audience was entertained by eccentric folk band Skinner's Rats who did not require amplification.

They started with the opening of Richard Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathustra" before breaking into a medley of reels and being joined on stage by a troop of Morris dancers - the Blackheath Foot and Death Men.

The power cut had affected Hawkwind's synthesisers, which were very temperamental, leading to their apologies, and having to restart their act after a breakdown.