Dear Websters,

Have I got news for you! On April 1st and 2nd of this year 2000CE, there’s gonna be a fabulous weekend festival at London’s South Bank Centre, entitled Julian Cope’s Cornucopea. A ‘cornucopiae’ is a mythological ‘horn of plenty’, which is precisely what we’ve put together. Some people have got wind of the fact and have complained that there’s been no information about it. Ha! That’s because it’s taken so long to confirm the bill, and what a bill! Here goes…

Day 1 is Saturday April 1st. It will feature performances at the Purcell Room by the Universal Panzies and Tony McPhee’s legendary Groundhogs, alongside shows in the Queen Elizabeth Hall featuring Liverpool’s Skyray, heavy glambient performances by Queen Elizabeth (featuring three Thighpaulsandras!) and my new bubblegum-metal trio Braindonor. In the huge triangular Foyer, which leads to both of these halls, there will be performances by Anal and the former leader of the Doctors of Madness, Kid Strange, along with a short solo set from myself. Extra-foyer activity includes the world’s smallest disco and a special one-off Krautrock Colouring Competition. Markers will be provided, but bring your own if you really want to win the first prize, which is my copy of the double-LP Disaster by Amon Duul (shown in my book Krautrocksampler).

Day 2 is Sunday April 2nd, and will take place at the Royal Festival Hall. Here, we have a performance of mythological proportions when Ash Ra Tempel re-form for their first ever British show. Featuring Klaus Schultze and Manuel Gottsching together for the first time in 25 years, this is a stellar rock‘n’roll event. Also on the same stage, Coil are finally presented at the South Bank in a performance of their marvellous Time Machines – and rumour has it that they’ll all be wearing one gigantic outfit! I’ll introduce the evening and play a series of new and ancient electro-acoustic songs on doubleneck guitar, Mellotron 400 and the enormous Festival Hall organ.

I do hope you can make it. All festival goers will receive a free CD-programme featuring most of the festival artists. Do get there early: on Day 1, doors open at 6.30 pm for the Universal Panzies and my solo set is at 7.30 – and I’ll be on first on Day 2, also at 7.30. Please dress for the occasion and treat these evenings as a simultaneous celebration of our past combined with the Great Leap Forward which the twenty hundreds MUST be!

Love on Y’All,

JULIAN COPE