Picture it. You’re four pints down, listening to your favourite band in the blistering sun, moshing in a crowd of several thousand unwashed festival goers, when the thought hits you: ‘I should get a tattoo.’ Not next week, when you crawl home with your pop-up tent and a head pounding with regrets. Not next month, when your wallet’s recovered and you’ve washed the mud off your fav pair of Docs. Now. Right now, you need to get a tatt.
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Music festivals are not known for being particularly hygienic places, but Download Festival has the distinction of being one of the few with its own official, on-site tattoo studio: Old Sarum, which is ordinarily located in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Every year, it packs up and heads to Donnington Park, home to the UK’s biggest annual rock and metal extravaganza, to ink hundreds of punters at prices ranging from £60 to £460 – over a hundred pounds more than a ticket to the fest itself.“The most popular design is the Download dog [mascot] which we draw many variations of every year,” says owner Darren Hubbard, who organises tattoo services for the main arena, VIP and backstage area. “We generally tattoo between 600 to 800 guests over the course of the festival.” He also stresses that nobody under the influence will be served – you’ll have to sober up completely before you head down to his studio.Old Sarum runs their tattoo marquee like a heavily tatted SAS medical camp: There are different regiments in charge of sanitation and aftercare, in addition to the artists themselves. (The studio even has an entire festival section on its website titled Staying Clean.) Tatts are on a first-come-first-serve basis and only flash is offered to keep the queue moving – this year’s offering included Metallica designs, Bring Me the Horizon love hearts, the Grim Reaper and more than a couple commemorating the festival’s 20th anniversary this year.
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VICE photographer Chris Bethell went down to meet the moshers and metalheads getting tattoos at Download. Scroll below to meet them and see what they got.
Daniel.
“I’m getting the Metallica name across my knee. It means a lot to [me and my partner] – it was our first dance song. I absolutely love Metallica – just seeing them play over the past two days sold me on getting the tattoo. I was dying to get it – I came straight down here today and got into the queue. I’ve also got two Download dogs – one on each leg!” — Daniel, tattooed by Nicole Burman
Amelia.
“I’m getting a tattoo of Rick and Morty because of pure impulsiveness – I felt like it and I got it! It’s a mixture of two things I love. Getting a tattoo at a music festival is the most fun thing ever – you get to meet lots of nice people in the queues as well, especially when you line up for hours. But that’s the fun of it!” — Amelia, tattooed by Max Holdsworth
Dreya.
“I’m currently getting a Download dog with mushrooms growing out of it. All of my other tattoos are nature-themed. This is the first year I’ve been with my other half and he’s also getting one. He actually proposed at the start of the festival, so this is a little memory!” — Dreya, tattooed by John Parker
James.
“I got a tattoo of a compass with ‘wherever I may roam’. Getting a tattoo at Download was a ‘when in Rome’, spur of the moment thing – why not? I have one other tattoo. It says ‘facing what consumes you is the only way to be free’ – it’s a Hatebreed one. Eighteen-year-old me thought I was a lot cooler than I was. — James, tattooed by Ashley Luka
Alex.
“I got a Metallica tattoo. I saw them and they put on a really good show – this is something to remember last night by. My best tattoo is this Slipknot one – I met Corey Taylor in October last night and I’m a massive fan. He was great – a really nice guy.” — Alex, tattooed by Von Harten