So just like the IRL event, you had to be there… And there has been a festival every year since, including during the pandemic, when virtual events were staged with the launch of Download TV, which, despite its name, couldn’t be downloaded to watch at a later date. Tickets in that first year included a special code that allowed festival-goers to download tracks for free. Three years earlier, Metallica had successfully sued Napster (then a peer-to-peer filesharing pioneer). Back in 2003, downloading music was still a controversial concept. Glad you asked: the reason makes for an interesting trip down a musical memory lane. These days it has grown into a four-day spectacular and has, in the past, spawned spin-off events in Paris, Sydney, Melbourne and Germany. It’s all so evocative, you can almost taste the Pimm’s and strawberries.Download spans four days but used to be a two day camping festival (Picture: Joseph Okpako/WireImage) A time long before the All-England Club installed a roof, so fans prayed for the sun to keep shining – not least because Cliff Richard might burst into song if it rained. These were the days of Dan Maskell and Barry Davies gracing the commentary box. Archive vox pops and scene-setting newsreel provided a whoosh of nostalgia. Racquets were wooden, hairdos were big, headbands were de rigueur. This was “brutal gladiatorial combat, disguised as a vicar’s tea party”. Lady Diana and Princess Margaret watched enraptured from the royal box. So absorbing are the classic matches that I found myself getting tense, even though I knew the result. This superlative series closes with an episode focusing on the mighty Martina Navratilova – her move from Czechoslovakia to America, her titanic battles with Evert, her sexuality, her struggle for acceptance and eventual hero status. The first player in Wimbledon history to be fined for bad behaviour, McEnroe’s on-court tantrums are equally entertaining 40 years on. Teenyboppers chased both men down the street like they were pop stars.
The fierce rivalry between “iceman” Bjorn Borg and “superbrat” John McEnroe took tennis onto the front pages. Viewing the sport through the lens of the SW19 tournament, we see Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors become a celebrity couple – followed by Evert and John Lloyd.
Sporting and social change have long gone hand-in-hand. Meanwhile, “gentleman rebel” Arthur Ashe brought racial injustice into focus as he became Wimbledon’s first (and only) black men’s champion.
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