“These young kids put on Jurassic Shift. He said, ‘They don’t know we’re here. They don’t know what this is. But they’re loving it!’”: A truck of marijuana, a synth at Stonehenge, gigs with Gong – and Ozric Tentacles’ Ed Wynne
Ozric Tentacles founder Ed Wynne spoke to Prog magazine about reviving the psychedelic instrumental band with the 2021 album Space For The Earth, its first new material in five years, following his 2019 solo detour with Shimmer Into Nature. The interview traces the band's origins and enduring free-festival ethos, offering insight into how a group formed at a countercultural gathering in the early 1980s has sustained a distinctive sound and following across four decades.
Wynne recalled the band's first gig at the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1983, shortly after leaving school, when a spontaneous set powered by a hired generator drew a crowd that swelled from a handful of friends to around 500 people within an hour. He went on to discuss the band's formative years, including early links with fellow travellers on the free-festival circuit such as Gong, as the conversation ranged across the DIY, communal spirit that shaped Ozric Tentacles' sound and identity.
- Ed Wynne discusses reviving Ozric Tentacles with 2021 album Space For The Earth
- Recalls the band's first gig at Stonehenge Free Festival in 1983
- A generator-powered set drew a crowd of about 500 within an hour