Isle of Wight Festival
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For more information on the recent festival, see Isle of Wight Festival 2007.
| Isle Of Wight Festival | |
|---|---|
| Image:Isle of Wight Festival stage under construction.jpg | |
| The stage under construction for the 2007 festival | |
| Location(s) | England, Seaclose Park |
| Years active | 1968-1970 / 2002-Present |
| Founded by | |
| Date(s) | Around the 8th June (over a weekend) [Date shifted ahead a week to 13th (2008)] |
| Genre(s) | Rock, Alternative rock |
| Website | www.isleofwightfestival.com |
The Isle of Wight Festival is a music festival which takes place annually on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally held from 1968 to 1970, the venues being Ford Farm (near Godshill), Wootton and Afton Down (near Freshwater) respectively. 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, surpassing the attendance at Woodstock. Included in the line-up of over fifty performers were Bob Dylan, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, The Band, The Doors, Ten Years After, Joni Mitchell, Melanie, Donovan, Free, Chicago, Richie Havens, John Sebastian, Leonard Cohen, Jethro Tull, Taste and Tiny Tim. The unexpectedly high attendance levels (mostly non-tickets holders) meant that local authorities and the festival organizers could not supply adequate amenities and guarantee public safety for all in attendance. Such concerns 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 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, Donovan, Ray Davies, Robert Plant, The Proclaimers, David Bowie, The Who, R.E.M., Coldplay and Bryan Adams. 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 somewhere on the Isle of Wight, and featuring the now customary artwork of Dave Roe, there is no connection with the festivals of 1968–1970.
Contents |
[edit] Original Festival details
[edit] 1968 "Isle of Wight Festival"
Held August 31 1968.
Attendance - 10,000 (approx)
Site - Ford farm, near Godshill.
Headline Acts - Jefferson Airplane
Other Acts - Arthur Brown, The Move, T. Rex, Plastic Penny and Pretty Things.
[edit] 1969 "Isle of Wight Festival"
Held August 30 - August 31 1969
Attendance - 150,000 (approx)
Site - Wootton
Headline Acts - Bob Dylan, The Who
Other Acts - The Band, Joe Cocker, Free, Richie Havens, The Moody Blues, The Nice, Tom Paxton, Pentangle and Pretty Things.
[edit] 1970 "Isle of Wight Festival"
Held August 26 - August 30 1970
Attendance - 600,000 (approx)
Site - Afton Down
Headline Acts (Wednesday) - Redbone
Other Acts (Wednesday) - Rosalie Sorrels, Kris Kristofferson, Mighty Baby, Judas Jump, Kathy Smith
Headline Acts (Thursday) - Tony Joe White
Other Acts (Thursday) - Supertramp, Black Widow, The Groundhogs.
Headline Acts (Friday) - Procol Harum
Other Acts (Friday) - Fairfield Parlour, Lighthouse, Melanie, Chicago, Taste, Family, Cactus.
Headline Acts (Saturday) - The Doors and The Who.
Other Acts (Saturday) - Sly & the Family Stone, Free, Joni Mitchell, Ten Years After, Emerson Lake And Palmer, Miles Davis, Mungo Jerry, John Sebastian, Cat Mother.
Headline Acts (Sunday) - Jimi Hendrix and Joan Baez.
Other Acts (Sunday) - Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, Leonard Cohen, Richie Havens, Everly Brothers, Pentangle, Donovan and Tiny Tim.
[edit] Revived Festival Details
[edit] 2002 "Rock Island"
Held June 3, 2002
Attendance - 8,000 (approx)
Headline Acts (Saturday) - The Charlatans, Robert Plant
[edit] 2003 "The Isle of Wight Festival"
Held June 14 - June 15, 2003
Attendance - 15,000 (approx)
Headline Acts (Saturday) - Paul Weller, Starsailor
Headline Acts (Sunday) - Bryan Adams, Counting Crows
[edit] 2004 "The Nokia Isle of Wight Festival"
Held June 11 - June 13, 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
[edit] 2005 "The Nokia Isle of Wight Festival"
Held June 10 - June 12, 2005
Attendance - 50,000 (approx)
Headline Acts (Friday) - Faithless, Razorlight
Headline Acts (Saturday) - Travis, Roxy Music
Headline Acts (Sunday) - R.E.M., Snow Patrol
[edit] 2006 "The Nokia Isle of Wight Festival"
Held June 9 - June 11, 2006Attendance - 60,000 (approx)
Headline Acts (Friday) - The Prodigy, Placebo
Headline Acts (Saturday) - Foo Fighters, Primal Scream
Headline Acts (Sunday) - Coldplay, Richard Ashcroft
[edit] 2007 "The Isle of Wight Festival"
Held June 08 - June 10, 2007
Attendance 65,000 (Estimated)
Headline Acts (Friday) - Snow Patrol, Groove Armada,
Headline Acts (Saturday) - Muse, Kasabian
Headline Acts (Sunday) - The Rolling Stones, Keane
[edit] 2008 "The Isle of Wight Festival"
Date June 13 - June 15
All Tickets Have Sold Out With The Projected Attendance of 70,000
Headline Acts (Friday) - Kaiser Chiefs
Headline Acts (Saturday) - The Sex Pistols
Headline Acts (Sunday) - The Police
Other acts that have been announced include: N.E.R.D., Lily Allen, The Enemy, Kate Nash, KT Tunstall, James, Ian Brown, The Kooks, Iggy & The Stooges, The Zutons.
It had been rumoured that the Kooks would be supporting the Police, playing directly before the main Sunday headliners, even to the point that this had been announced on the band's website. This has led to some controversy, with many fans skeptical that such a small, relatively unknown band is good enough to play such a prestigious slot. As yet though, there is no word as to whether or not the Kooks really will be playing at this time.
[edit] Awards
On the 6th November 2007, the Isle of Wight Festival won the award 'Best Major Festival' at the UK Festival Awards. A major influence to this award was the performances by Muse and The Rolling Stones at the last festival. 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. [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Isle of Wight Festival
- Isle of Wight County Press gallery of Festival pictures
- Isle of Wight Festival 2007 Official MySpace
- Information on the Original IOW Festivals
- UK Festivals website
Major British Music Festivals | |
|---|---|
| Dance & Electronic | Creamfields • Global Gathering • The Big Chill • Glade |
| Metal Music | Bloodstock • Bloodstock Open Air • Damnation Festival • Download Festival • Twisted Realm @ Download |
| Rock/Alternative Music | Give It A Name Festival • Isle Of Wight Festival • Reading and Leeds Festivals • Rock Ness • T In The Park • V Festival |
| Others | Bestival • Connect Music Festival • Glastonbury Festival • Godiva Festival • Guilfest • Isle of Skye Music Festival • Latitude Festival • Truck Festival • Wireless Festival • WOMAD Charlton Park |
es:Festival de la Isla de Wight fr:Festival de l'île de Wight nl:Isle of Wight Festival ja:ワイト島音楽祭 sv:Isle of Wight Festival zh:怀特岛音乐节
