A few months later, the song was recorded by Matthew's Southern Comfort. It became the best-known version of the song in the UK, where it topped the charts. Matthews recalled in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner & Spencer Leigh: "I had bought Joni Mitchell's album and we had to do four songs on a BBC lunchtime show. We worked up an arrangement for “Woodstock” and the response was so good that we put it out as a single."
I first became aware of the song when I was just a child. I had an EP featuring 6 Top Hits from England (which, incidentally, was also the title of that EP) and I played it a lot on my first ever record player. As far as I can recall, it was my favourite song of the six. I threw away the EP when I sanitized my record collection a few years later, but the memory remains. This became clear when I bought this single and played it again after all those decades. I have to say this version by Matthew's Southern Comfort is better than the version by the unknown artist on that EP though.
My collection: 7" single no. 7763
Found: Rommelmarkt, Voorburg, 14 September 2025
Tracks: 'Woodstock' / 'Scion'
