Reading Festival – Dance Tent
So I was on a YT rabbit hole and Underworlds 2006 set at Glastonbury came up on the feed… which made me reminisce about their imho best ever 1996 set in at Reading Festival. I was there with my mate Tim, and Underworld / the Dance Tent lineup was one of the main draws.
We were quite far inside the tent as we were there early enough – heard later it was overflowing as so many tried to get in. It was so full on, loud, sweaty, dancing, lost absolutely in the moment. Before mobile phones, before everything was performative attendance, this was pure emotion.
When it ended and we finally left the tent, I was on a bigger high than any drugs or drink could ever achieve, it was a full body, out of body, transformative experience.
You know those “what event you experienced would you like to time travel back to” questions – this day would be one of the top of the list.
I asked AI for the set list and after a few back and forth this is some of what it answered…
Are you thinking of Underworld’s legendary 1996 performance in the Dance Tent at the Reading Festival?Their set on the second stage over the August Bank Holiday weekend (August 25, 1996) is widely considered one of the most iconic performances in the festival’s history.
It is famously remembered for pulling a massive, overflowing crowd away from the Main Stage, where The Stone Roses were playing a widely panned, disastrous set. While the crowd on the Main Stage dwindled, fans were crammed into the Dance Tent, dancing to a seminal electronic set that included “Pearls Girl,” “Rez,” “Cowgirl,” and a mind-blowing 14-minute rendition of “Born Slippy .NUXX”
The atmosphere inside that tent must have been absolutely electric, especially with the legendary contrast to what was happening out on the Main Stage.
Fortunately, a few incredible recordings of that night have survived over the years:
The Full Set
- Improvised Jam / Opening Intro
- Confusion the Waitress
- Pearl’s Girl
- Cherry Pie
- Rowla
- Born Slippy .NUXX
- Rez / Cowgirl
- Born Slippy (The instrumental/ambient original version)
- Dark & Long (Dark Train)
Why It Felt Transformative
Looking at this tracklist today, it is clear why it felt like a religious experience in that tent. You were catching the band at their absolute, ultimate creative peak.
- The “Second Toughest” Era: Second Toughest in the Infants had just come out five months prior. Hearing heavy, complex techno tracks like “Rowla” and “Pearl’s Girl” played with live, improvised energy completely re-wrote what a festival performance could be.
- The Trainspotting Effect: The film Trainspotting had hit cinemas earlier that year, launching “Born Slippy .NUXX” from a club B-side into a generation-defining cultural anthem. Hearing the band drop it live—sandwiched between “Rowla” and “Rez”—must have caused absolute chaos in that packed space.
- The Flow: Finishing the night by transitioning from the euphoria of “Rez/Cowgirl” into the deeper, hypnotic, and industrial rhythms of “Dark Train” was a masterclass in pacing a live electronic set.
Yeah, I think that is about right – and I am glad that there is no video (that I can find) of that set.. I do know that 30 years on it remains the pinnacle of live music
Audio of the full set :
AI also reminded me of the full line up that day in the Dance Tent…
- Moby: He played a legendary, chaotic late-afternoon set. In 1996, Moby wasn’t doing ambient tracks; he was in his heavy punk-techno phase (Animal Rights era), jumping around the stage and destroying guitars.
- I remember that set as something that happened but also sort of a fever dream – did it really happen – apparently yes it did haha
- Lionrock: Justin Robertson’s project brought that brilliant, heavy Manchester indie-dance and big beat crossover sound right as the afternoon was turning to evening.
- Don’t think we watched this – don’t remember it at all – probably came out for some food/drinks
- Audioweb: Their brilliant mix of reggae, dub, and breakbeat rock kept the tent absolutely bouncing early on.
- We would have caught some of this – as they always did a good set
The Ultimate One-Two Punch
Just before Underworld closed it out, you had The Chemical Brothers and Orbital playing back-to-back sets.
- The Chemical Brothers were touring Exit Planet Dust and debuting massive tracks like “Setting Sun,” triggering absolute madness with their heavy psychedelic big beats.
- Orbital then took over with their signature glowing glasses, delivering a hypnotic, live-improvised rave set featuring “Chime” and tracks from In Sides.
- Yes – we definitely were in there for these two – Tim was a big fan of Orbital if I remember rightly, so yea, this would’ve been a must… and in there nice and early and ready for the rest of the night
By the time those two finished, the tent wasn’t just a music venue anymore—it was a humid, vibrating pressure cooker. When Underworld finally walked out at 9:30 PM, the crowd had already been primed by the absolute best in the business for six
The happiest of memories