1992 GENESIS AT KNEBWORTH: Genesis, The Saw Doctors, Lisa Stansfield. Attendance: 90,000

...sponsored by Volkswagon, the scene at Knebworth in 1991 looked more like the opera at Glyndebourne. Stands were erected and everyone it seemed was over 30, maybe even over 40... everybody had a German car and an umbrella. The problem was that, because everyone came by car, it ended in one of the biggest traffic jams in history. Some people were even late to work on Monday morning because they were still in the car park. It somehow seemed that Knebworth '90 had been the end of an era, every band had played, the average age of the audience seemed finally to have caught up with the bands, and the great outdoors maybe just wasn't the thing any more

The problem was that none of the new bands with younger fans could fill the 120,000 capacity arena, and if you couldn't fill it, then the infrastructure cost were now so huge that it wasn't worth it. The enthusiasm for a Knebworth Festival just seemed to be fizzling out ...or was it? After 4 years in the doldrums, British rock and roll music reemerged and Knebworth was in demand again. Not for the old guard, but for a new wave of music and a new wave of fans..

1996 OASIS: Oasis, Prodigy, Manic Street Preachers, Ocean Colour Scene, Charlatans, Cast, Chemical Brothers, Kula Shaker, Bootleg Beatles. Attendance: 250,000 over two consecutive nights.