Galbraith Monsters of Rock started at Donington because the Midlands was such a hotbed for rock. And then there was a huge up-and-coming market of younger bands as well. If you looked at rock’s old guard, they were all still selling a lot of tickets. John Probyn ( festival director, Live Nation ) The only real growth areas at the time were dance music and rock. I felt we needed something that was able to embrace that, as well as still cover heritage artists.

Stuart Galbraith ( founder of Download & CEO of promoters Kilimanjaro Live ) In the early 2000s, there were whole new genres of rock coming through. With the festival this weekend marking its 20th anniversary with its biggest event yet, the story of its rise is one of community, circle pits and an inordinate amount of urine in bottles … Born from the ashes of the Monsters of Rock one-dayers, recalibrated for rock’s burgeoning new generation and christened with a suitably edgy name that would most definitely never age badly, the Download festival has, since 2003, established itself as the beating heart of a scene with the volume turned up to 11.

Ask any of the 100,000-odd people embarking on their annual pilgrimage to the spiritual home of metal, and they’ll jokingly tell you the road to Donington Park doesn’t feel much shorter.

A s AC/DC said, “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock’n’roll”.

Download i want out of my life