The current Isle of Wight Festival logo |
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| Location(s) | Seaclose Park, Isle of Wight, England |
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| Years active | 1968-1970, 2002-Present |
| Date(s) | Early June |
| Genre | Rock, alternative rock |
| Website | www.isleofwightfestival.com |
The Isle of Wight Festival is a music festival which takes place every year on the Isle of Wight in England.[1] It was originally held from 1968 to 1970.[2] These original events were promoted and organised by the Foulk brothers (Ron, Ray and Bill Foulk) under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited. The venues were Ford Farm (near Godshill), Wootton and Afton Down (near Freshwater) respectively.[3] The 1969 event was notable for the appearance of Bob Dylan and the Band. This was Dylan's first paid performance since his motor cycle accident some three years earlier, and was held at a time when many still wondered if he would ever perform again. Followers from across the world trecked to the Isle of Wight for what seemed like a 'second coming'. Estimates of 150,000–250,000 attended. The 1969 festival opened on Friday 29 August—eleven days after the close of Woodstock. Dylan was living in Woodstock, New York, at the time and it was widely believed that he would perform there, after the event had been "put in his own backyard". As it happened, Dylan left for the Isle of Wight on 15 August—the day the Woodstock festival began.
The 1970 event was by far the largest and most famous of these early festivals; indeed it was said at the time to be one of the largest human gatherings in the world, with estimates of over 600,000, surpassing the attendance at Woodstock. Included in the line-up of over fifty performers were The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, The Doors, Ten Years After, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Joni Mitchell, The Moody Blues, Melanie, Donovan, Free, Chicago, Richie Havens, John Sebastian, Leonard Cohen, Jethro Tull, Taste and Tiny Tim. The unexpectedly high attendance levels led, in 1971, to Parliament passing the "Isle of Wight Act" preventing gatherings of more than 5,000 people on the island without a special licence.
The 1970 festival was filmed by a 35mm film crew under the direction of future Academy Award-winning director Murray Lerner who at that point had just directed the Academy Award-nominated documentary Festival of the Newport Folk Festival. The footage passed to Lerner in settlement of legal fees after a dispute with the Foulk brothers in which the two sides claimed against each for breach of contract. Lerner distilled material from the festival into the film A Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Rock Festival released theatrically in 1996 and subsequently on DVD. In addition to this film, Lerner has created full-length films focused on performances by individual artists at the 1970 festival. To date there have been individual films of The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, The Moody Blues, Free, Leonard Cohen and Jethro Tull.
The event was revived in 2002 at Seaclose Park, a recreation ground on the outskirts of Newport. It has been held annually since that year, progressively extending itself northwards beyond Seaclose Park along the fields of the eastern Medina valley. Many notable artists have performed since its revival including The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Muse, Stereophonics, Donovan, Ray Davies, Robert Plant, David Bowie, Manic Street Preachers, The Who, R.E.M., Coldplay, The Proclaimers, Bryan Adams and The Police. It was sponsored by Nokia from 2004 to 2006. The promoters of the event now are Solo Music Agency and promotions. Apart from being held on the Isle of Wight, and featuring the now customary artwork of Dave Roe, there is no connection with the festivals of 1968–1970.
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Held 31 August 1968.
Attendance - 10,000 (approx)
Site - Ford farm, near Godshill.
Headline Acts - Jefferson Airplane
Other Acts - Arthur Brown, The Move, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Plastic Penny and Pretty Things.
This took place on 30 and 31 August 1969 at Wootton, with an estimated attendance of 300,000. The line-up included Bob Dylan, The Nice, Pretty Things, The Who, Third Ear Band, and The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
This event was held between 26 and 30 August 1970 at Afton Down; attendance has been estimated at roughly 600,000. Arguably the best-remembered of the early versions of the IW festivals, due to its lineup, attendance and news coverage. The line-up included Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, Ten Years After, Chicago, The Doors, The Who, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, The Moody Blues, Joan Baez, Free, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Kris Kristofferson, Donovan, John Sebastian, Terry Reid, Taste, and Miles Davis.
Held 1 June 2002
Attendance - 8,000 (approx)
Headline Acts (Saturday) - The Charlatans, Robert Plant
Held 14–15 June 2003
Attendance - 15,000 (approx)
Headline Acts (Saturday) - Paul Weller, Starsailor
Headline Acts (Sunday) - Bryan Adams, Counting Crows
Held 11–13 June 2004
Attendance - 35,000 (approx)
Headline Acts (Friday) - Stereophonics, Groove Armada
Headline Acts (Saturday) - The Who, Manic Street Preachers
Headline Acts (Sunday) - David Bowie, The Charlatans
Held 10–12 June 2005
Attendance - 50,000 (approx)
Headline Acts (Friday) - Faithless, Razorlight
Headline Acts (Saturday) - Travis, Roxy Music
Headline Acts (Sunday) - R.E.M., Snow Patrol
Held 9–11 June 2006
Attendance - 50,000 (approx)[4]
Headline Acts (Friday) - The Prodigy, Placebo
Headline Acts (Saturday) - Foo Fighters, Primal Scream
Headline Acts (Sunday) - Coldplay, Richard Ashcroft
Held 8–10 June 2007
Attendance 60,000 (approx)[5]
Headline Acts (Friday) - Snow Patrol, Groove Armada
Headline Acts (Saturday) - Muse, Kasabian
Headline Acts (Sunday) - The Rolling Stones, Keane
Held 13 June – 15 June
Attendance 55,000 (approx)[6]
Headline Acts (Friday) - Kaiser Chiefs, NERD
Headline Acts (Saturday) - The Sex Pistols, Ian Brown
Headline Acts (Sunday) - The Police, The Kooks
Held 12 June – 14 June
Headline Acts (Friday) - The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx
Headline Acts (Saturday) - Stereophonics, Razorlight,
Headline Acts (Sunday) - Neil Young, Pixies,
Held 11 June - 13 June[7]
Headline Acts (Friday) - Jay-Z, Florence and the Machine
Headline Acts (Saturday) - The Strokes, Blondie
Headline Acts (Sunday) - Paul McCartney, P!nk
Held 10 June - 12 June[8]
Attendance 65,000 (approx)
Headline Acts (Friday) - Kings of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs
Headline Acts (Saturday) - Foo Fighters, Pulp
Headline Acts (Sunday) - Kasabian, Beady Eye
22 June - 24 June[9]
Headline Acts (Friday) - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Elbow
Headline Acts (Saturday) - Pearl Jam, Biffy Clyro
Headline Acts (Sunday) - Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
On the 6 November 2007, the Isle of Wight Festival won the award 'Best Major Festival' at the UK Festival Awards. The performances by Muse and The Rolling Stones at the last festival were a major influence. As well as this, the event's top man, John Giddings, won the award for 'Outstanding Contribution' to UK festivals. He was presented the award at the UK Festival Awards at London’s Koko Club in Camden, after Virtual Festivals, which curate the awards, selected him as the most deserving recipient.[10]
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