Take 25,000 bikers and rockers, add an unlimited supply of alcohol, throw in some of the best rock bands in the business, thousands of high-performance motorbikes, put the Hell's Angels in charge, and what do you get? The answer: probably the best festival in Britain, writes Tim Hughes.

Gary Stringer of Reef The Bulldog Bash at Stratford-upon-Avon is the Harley Davidson of festivals. Brilliantly organised by the Hell's Angels, it looks impressive, and feels edgy and raw. But beneath the surface, it is the product of some highly-tuned engineering and months of painstaking work.

Last weekend saw a capacity crowd pack the Avon Park Raceway, for two-days of biking action, live music and serious drinking. The event boasted a jaw-dropping line-up of bands including Reef, Feeder, King Prawn, Wildhearts and the Fall.

It also featured one of the last ever live performances by Bradford rockers Terrorvision, who have announced their imminent break-up.

But despite its Premier League bill, the 'bash' remained easy-going and unpretentious. It is still, at heart, a down to earth bikers get-together. The few clean-cut music fans who showed up just for the bands were thin on the ground and looked out of place.

However, the good-humoured crowd, crammed into the overflowing indoor arena on Saturday knew they were in on a good thing. An hour-long set by Terrorvision featured the singalong hit Tequila, but also included the earlier rock favourites.

They were followed by a blistering set from West Country blues-rockers Reef, packed with big tunes like Place Your Hands and Consideration - and as a sure-fire crowd-pleaser, Motorhead's biker anthem Iron Horse.

Lead singer Gary Stringer spent as much time off the stage as on, as he whipped his fans into a frenzy with his vocal and physical acrobatics, and ballistic dives across the bear pit into a frenzied crowd.

Incredibly, the 'Bash' has also become one of the country's best outdoor dance events. Forget notions of trendy garage fans posing in shiny tops and combats, the Bulldog plays dance how it should be: raw, banging, happy and very, very loud. The amazing-day-glo decorated Dance Tent run by the Aura Orange soundsystem, featured DJ sets from Oberon and Rubec of Brixton techno night Escape from Samsara, and hard house from original Trancentral DJ and Tsunami resident, Orange Peel.