As Rock and Roll All Nite ended KISS’ explosive set at Monsters Of Rock in 1996, no one might have foreseen it will mark the tip of an period. What began as a one-off mega present to finish RAINBOW’s Down To Earth tour in 1980 had developed right into a British establishment; the situation of Donington Park in Derbyshire turned a mecca for rock and metallic followers within the UK and, for the most effective a part of sixteen years, these with a penchant for heavy music had an annual getaway to take pleasure in…not for for much longer.
Struggling to seek out appropriate headliners, the 1997 version was cancelled; subsequently, so was the occasion itself. Monsters Of Rock was lifeless; for the remainder of the last decade – and certainly, into the brand new millennium – there can be no main music gatherings at Donington. Nonetheless, 2001 noticed the situation used for the Rock And Blues Competition and a broadly acclaimed STEREOPHONICS live performance as a part of their A Day At The Races tour. The next 12 months, rock and metallic returned to the location when Ozzfest got here to the UK, suitably underneath the tagline “Rock Comes Dwelling”. The success of the occasion was simple and confirmed that Donington was crying out for a daily rock pageant to be again on its hallowed turf.
Step ahead Reside Nation promoter Stuart Gailbraith. Alongside chief booker Andy Copping, he proposed and birthed a brand-new, two-day pageant in 2003 to be held at Donington and develop into the pure successor to Monsters Of Rock. The title of the pageant was chosen for 2 causes: one, the web was exploding and would supply connectivity between pageant and followers; two – and far more prevalent on the time – receiving music digitally and file sharing was thought of an underhanded tactic throughout the business. Properly, rock had at all times been seen because the rebellious little one of stated business, and thus the brand new upstart pageant was christened Obtain.
The primary version, going down on the finish of Could and starting of June 2003, went laborious. 56 bands performed over the 2 days, with IRON MAIDEN and LIMP BIZKIT booked to headline the occasion in a strategy to enchantment to each the Monsters Of Rock veterans and the brand new era of heavy music lovers. Nonetheless, LIMP BIZKIT would pull out, leading to organisers bumping everybody on the Principal Stage up one place, giving the headline slot to AUDIOSLAVE as an alternative. There can be an additional knock-on impact on the pageant itself, however this one was far more optimistic – initially, METALLICA had provided to switch LIMP BIZKIT, however their spot atop of the Studying And Leeds invoice that 12 months prevented this. So, with no soundcheck and having performed an unique present at Riverside Studios in London the night time earlier than, they confirmed up utterly unannounced on the Sunday afternoon and tore by means of the Scuzz Stage, blowing the minds of everybody who had been ready for THE REAL MCKENZIES and giving Obtain its first main reminiscence.
A 12 months later, METALLICA would return to formally headline the occasion alongside LINKIN PARK, however that may even be certainly one of notoriety; they’d arrived and not using a drummer. With Lars Ulrich hospitalised in Germany following a extreme anxiousness assault on the aircraft over, the most important metallic band on the earth turned up over an hour late, with Ulrich’s drum tech Flemming Larsen, SLAYER’s Dave Lombardo and SLIPKNOT’s Joey Jordison in tow; the consequence was a 70-minute triumph within the face of adversity, METALLICA going two for 2 on memorable Obtain moments.
Because the 00’s progressed, Obtain grew stronger. The enlargement to 3 days in 2005 has been a staple of the pageant ever since and, while the transfer from the internal circuit of Donington Park to a web site south of the racetrack in 2009 severed its final bodily ties with Monsters Of Rock, it had revitalised Donington because the religious dwelling of British rock and metallic. The reminiscences saved on coming too – BLACK SABBATH bringing an Ozzfest takeover in 2005. KORN taking part in with a number of vocalists as a result of Jonathan Davis’ sickness in 2006 earlier than METALLICA performed Grasp Of Puppets (1986) in its entirety. IRON MAIDEN headlining at Donington for a document fifth time in 2007 as DEVILDRIVER turned the entire of the Dimebag Darrell Stage tent right into a circle pit. SLIPKNOT rising to headliner standing in 2009 and delivering one of many best bill-topping reveals within the pageant’s historical past, superbly captured on the stay DVD (sic)nesses.
Nonetheless, as the last decade completed, Obtain was confronted with a model new challenger. Within the years that had handed, Stuart Gailbraith had left Reside Nation and develop into CEO of Kilimanjaro Reside; collaborating with John Jackson, the pair set about making a touring pageant that aligned with Gailbraith’s desired for a UK occasion; the consequence was Sonisphere. Popping out of nowhere in 2009 with METALLICA and LINKIN PARK as its first headliners, instantly the monopoly that Obtain held because the UK’s flagship rock pageant was susceptible to being toppled, and the back-and-forth between the 2 because the 2010’s rolled round was the topic of a lot pleasure. But, the autumn of Sonisphere was as fast as its rise – the 2012 version was cancelled for numerous causes and, regardless of a return in 2014 to have fun forty years of music on its dwelling web site of Knebworth Home in Hertfordshire, it then disappeared utterly, by no means to return.
In the meantime, Obtain rolled on. The 2010’s noticed extra highlights: RAMMSTEIN’s incendiary headline slot in 2013. A wayward social media remark touchdown DYING FETUS a slot on the Principal Stage in 2014, the identical 12 months that stage was named in honour of the late Stephen Sutton, who had attended the 2013 version as a part of his bucket record whereas combating terminal sickness and elevating £4 million within the course of. MUSE turning as much as headline in 2015 in opposition to a gatekeeping backlash that they ‘weren’t metallic sufficient’ and shutting everybody up. A partnership with WWE that noticed its developmental model NXT convey wrestling to the world. 2012’s BLACK SABBATH headline slot, defiant within the face of Tony Iommi’s current most cancers analysis, the identical weekend that MACHINE HEAD whipped up 29 circle pits throughout their set, a document that also stands. And, if we’re speaking about 2012, we will’t omit that 12 months together with 2016 and 2019, a triumvirate that noticed the pageant do battle with climate circumstances so inclement that even Glastonbury would have taken one look and stated ‘Yeah, that’s a bit a lot.’
And so, we arrive at the moment decade – while COVID-19 pressured the primary ever cancellation of the pageant in 2020, the next 12 months noticed the Obtain Pilot, a restricted 10,000 capability occasion designed to assist open up stay music. It was an unmitigated success, and the pageant returned to full power in 2022. In a matter of days, the pageant will have fun its twentieth birthday, expanded to 4 days in celebration and boosted by its first ever full promote out – 90,000 individuals are anticipated to attend over the entire of the weekend, this 12 months headlined by METALLICA (twice), BRING ME THE HORIZON and SLIPKNOT. Talking of the previous, as Lars Ulrich stated within the teaser video for the 2009 version, “For those who’re a tough rock fan, that is Floor Zero; that is the centre of the universe.” He wasn’t improper then, and he isn’t improper now. Obtain Competition, the world can be a a lot, MUCH poorer place with out you in it.
All collectively now…
SCREAM FOR ME, DONINGTON!
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