Best of Secret Lincolnshire, from 'sex-mongers' to Arctic Monkeys

Have you heard of the nude calendar that ripped up the rulebook, or the story of the first British rock festival, staged in a shed in Spalding?

Over the past year, the Secret Lincolnshire podcast has been digging deep into the history and folklore of the region.

Whether discovering why one of the most famous US presidents flew into RAF Waddington, or finding out where Grimsby's ducking stool once stood, the series has shed light on fascinating and little-known stories from the past.

Here, we have picked five of the best episodes from 2025. The full list is available on the podcast's homepage.

The 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, in California, has long been cited as the first major rock festival. But weeks earlier, thousands of fans crowded into a shed in Lincolnshire to watch some of the biggest names in music perform.

Taking to the stage at Barbecue 67 in Spalding that day were Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Cream, the supergroup featuring Eric Clapton.

"[It] was the first British rock festival, really, although nobody knew it was at the time," says Bev Bevan, the drummer from Electric Light Orchestra and The Move.

Hendrix set fire to his guitar with lighter fuel and threw it off the stage, recalls fellow musician Colin Ward. "Sadly, that guitar ended up on the council tip. Had we had the foresight of keeping it, it would be worth thousands now."

The month of June 1963 was a punishing one for John F Kennedy. Beginning in Berlin – where he delivered his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" – the US president went on to Ireland, then the UK, before heading to Italy and a trip to see Pope Paul VI at the Vatican.

The national media followed his every move except, it seems, for a small detour he made in Britain on 29 June. One sunny day, Air Force One landed on the runway at RAF Waddington, near Lincoln, for what was to be a very personal pilgrimage.

He was on his way to visit the grave of his younger sister, Kathleen, who was buried in Edensor church on the Chatsworth estate.

And as Secret Lincolnshire hears, plenty of people remember Kennedy landing in Lincolnshire that day.

In 1977, calendars of topless women were plastered everywhere - in car garages, pubs and even staff rooms.

Fed up with seeing them, a group of women in Lincoln decided to challenge the norm and create their own version – exclusively featuring men.

One printer told them they did see themselves as a "censor", but did not feel the firm could "handle material of this nature" and described the women as a "group of young, liberated sex-mongers".

The story of what happened next went around the world and led to a slew of orders for the calendar.

"It was light-hearted in the way it was presented, but it certainly wasn't in why we did it, because we were doing it to challenge a prevailing norm," recalls Emma, a member of the group.

Listen to the two-part story below.

It was a thriving fishing port, bustling with workers and trade. But behind this prosperous image, a host of fascinating characters lurked in Grimsby's underbelly during the Victorian era.

Carla Linford, a social historian from the town, has been digging deep into local archives to discover some of the stranger stories from the history of the port.

As she explains, they include music halls, brothels and – stepping further back in time – a ducking stool.

The latter was near the Stone Bridge, close to the modern Freshney Place shopping centre.

In a quiet Lincolnshire village stands a quaint Victorian chapel, where hymns have been replaced by rock and roll and the congregation includes the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, Wet Wet Wet and The Darkness.

Chapel Studios, in South Thoresby, has played host to some of the biggest names in British music.

Why? One of the most appealing things is its rural location, which means that famous artists can get away from the public spotlight.

"They could go to the local pub and half of the people in the pub wouldn't know who they are," says owner Andy Dransfield. "[They can] go and have a conversation with guys who are driving a tractor all day. They love that!"

Listen to more episodes from Secret Lincolnshire on the podcast's homepage.

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