Exhibit / December 6, 2016
Object Name: Advertisement for the 3rd Festival for Mind Body Spirit
Maker and Year: Unknown, 1979
Object Type: Print advertisement
Description: (Richard McKenna)
This advertisement for the 3rd Festival for Mind Body Spirit appeared in Alpha magazine (subtitled “Probes the Paranormal”) in 1979. Its promise of “Psychic phenomena, UFO’s [sic], Earth Mysteries and more” was a slight shift in emphasis from the event’s official poster, which touted astrology, Earth mysteries, health & healing, yoga, dance, natural living, sports, crafts, and a “rainbow dome” featuring ambient music specially recorded for the event by Steve Hillage. The festival was founded in 1977 by Graham Wilson, a “new consciousness entrepreneur,” and Terry Ellis (possibly the same Terry Ellis whose tenure as head of London’s “child-centred” William Tyndale Junior School caused a national scandal that informed subsequent UK education policy) with the aim of promoting the relationship between religion, personal growth, the paranormal, spirituality, natural healing, and consciousness. The festival is still active today, albeit under different management.
The venue—the London Olympia, with a capacity of 4,000-10,000 people—had been a temporary civil prison camp for German nationals during the First World War and a civilian internment camp during the Second, as well as home to the first British Electronic Computer Exhibition in 1958.
We Are the Mutants 
Hey, the graphic from the Pioneer plaque is on that poster above the convention center! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque
Nice. Public domain, 1970s style. Why am I not surprised that you caught that?
Because while other kids were idolizing athletes and actors and musicians, I was writing to Carl Sagan? 🙂
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I went then – and met Steve Hillage in the dome!
The 3rd MBS Festival was the most successful at Olympia but went on to greater success at the RHH.
Having founded the show in 1977 I sold it after 25 years in 2001.
The designer of the 1979 poster was the late Rob Thomas.
Hi Graham. It was lovely to see the mention of my cousin Rob Thomas. I cared for his mum until she died aged 103 in 2021. Rob’s loss was a heartache she carried for the rest of her life.
I would love to hear any reminiscance you have of him during his adult life as we saw little of him after our childhood.
I have a folder of Robs work from my auntie that is very precious to me.
Please email me
Hi Graham. It was a great pleasure to work with you and Terry, Carole and Gaye etc. in that little office in 1977. Rob was my best friend and such a talented musician, artist and creative. A great loss that he died so young….!!! David Walker
Hi David Walker. I am Rob Thomas’ cousin, and would love to know a bit more about his adult life, as we didn’t see much of them after our early teens. I have a folder of some of his work that I found whilst clearing out his mum’s house after her death in 2021. Such talent.
Hi, I am one of the authors of a self-published book called The Magazine Girls, about the rock, pop, fashion and culture scene in the 70s-80s. I was a magazine and newspaper fashion editor during that period. I have mentioned the Festival for Mind Body and Spirit, which I visited, and would love to reproduce the photograph shown here of the queue outside. Do you have any idea who owns the copyright?
Hello Ann – I’m afraid I don’t, no. Sorry! Wow, going there must have been a pretty memorable experience!
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