It was Winston Churchill – not the wartime leader but his grandson – who gave Andrew Kerr the title for his autobiography.
Andrew was the personal assistant to the younger Winston's father, Randolph Churchill, who died in 1968.
When he died, Winston junior complained that Andrew had become "intolerably hip", a badge of honour he has worn ever since.
Now 77, the irrepressible Andrew Kerr has told the story of his incredible life – or lives – in his book Intolerably Hip, a tale that takes in everything from gentlemen's clubs and early morning cocktails with Randolph Churchill, rubbing shoulders with Jimi Hendrix and the Doors, crofters and druids, world statesmen, royalty, trillionaires and bloodthirsty generals.
Andrew was born on November 29, 1933. His childhood during the Second World War years was spent in south Oxfordshire and immediately afterwards the family was farming in the area.
For ten years after national service in the navy, he was employed as personal assistant to Randolph Spencer Churchill, who was writing the official biography of his father, Sir Winston Churchill. He travelled all over the world, and learned how to drink, as well as living cheek by jowl with the Churchills, including Randolph's daughter Arabella.
On the death of Randolph Churchill, Andrew moved into Notting Hill, where he became part of the counterculture whirl – despite being older than many of the bright young things he mixed with, visiting the Roundhouse and UFO venues and hanging out with the Grateful Dead.
After a visit to the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 – where Andrew was appalled by the rampant profiteering, violence and disorder – he decided he wanted to put on a free festival at Stonehenge, and lined up the legendary Jimi Hendrix to be the first headliner.
He said: "A friend bumped into Jimi in Portobello Market just after Isle of Wight and told him about this plan for a free festival at Stonehenge, and he said he would definitely play."
The following day Jimi Hendrix died following an overdose of sleeping tablets and the event shocked the 1,500 music fans who gathered the following day as Michael Eavis held the first pop festival at Worthy Farm.
Andrew visited Stonehenge and quickly ruled out the land for a festival, but was still keen to put on a free event.
Andrew says: "I took a look at Stonehenge, and as I come from a farming background I realised very quickly it was the wrong place for a festival.
"Somebody suggested I came to Pilton and speak to Michael, he helped me out and the idea for the 1971 festival came from there."
Andrew moved into Pilton in October 1970. He had remained a close friend of Arabella Churchill and she would come to stay with him in Pilton at weekends, and together they organised the 1971 free festival, which was the first to feature the now iconic pyramid-shaped stage.
The position of the stage was doused by Andrew according with his belief in ley lines, and to catch the midsummer sunrise and the "Glastonbury" part of the festival's name was introduced.
Afterwards, he headed north with his partner to live at Scoraig, a Scottish crofting community. Later he set off for a variety of yachting jobs to discover all the problems one could possibly have – including the sinking of his boat in the Mediterranean.
Another wave of idealism had him back in the West Country putting on the first and only Whole Earth Show in Dorset, promoting organic agriculture and sustainable technologies. BBC Radio 4 carried the first wind-powered broadcast from the show, while Tibetan priests blessed the site and those present.
Andrew moved back to Pilton around ten years ago, and has been happily involved in the Glastonbury Festival ever since. This year, while many 77-year-olds have settled into quiet retirement, he will mark the 40th anniversary of the Pyramid stage with his own "Spirit of 71" stage featuring everything from poets to trance music, and from space rock to string quintets.
Andrew Kerr's autobiography, Intolerably Hip, is published today, May 12, by Frontier Publishing costing �14.
La Liga Stan Collymore Classical music Stephen Carr Michael Ballack Liverpool
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