The original Isle of Wight Festival was organized by Ron, Ray and Bill Foulk in 1968. The first festival was held on August 31 and September 1, 1968 and attracted approximately 10,000 attendees. The 1969 festival was notable for Bob Dylan’s first paid performance since his motorcycle accident in 1966. It drew about 150,000 attendees including celebrities like George Harrison and Pattie Boyd, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, Jane Fonda and Keith Richards.
The 1970 Isle of Wight Festival was the largest musical event of its time, greater than the attendance of the famous Woodstock Festival. About 600,000 people gathered at Afton Down, attracted by an incredible line-up featuring Leonard Cohen, The Who, The Doors, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Lighthouse, Joni Mitchell, and other renowned performers.
Unfortunately, the unexpectedly high attendance levels led to the closure of the festival. In 1971, the Parliament of the United Kingdom added a section to the Isle of Wight County Council Act 1971 which prevented overnight open-air gatherings of more than 5,000 people on the island without a special permit from the council.
The Isle of Wright Festival was revived 23 years later under the name Rock Island. It was a one-day festival that took place on June 3, 2002 at the Seaclose Park in Newport. Although the festival had a capacity of 22,000, it attracted only around 8 to 10,000 people. Local bald Neglected Youth performed as an opening act, having earned this privilege in a talent contest.
In 2003, the festival was renamed the Isle of Wight Festival. Today it is a four-day event held over the second weekend in June and attended by approximately 58,000 people. It is one of the biggest open-air music festivals in the country featuring world-class performers. Past headliners include Queen + Adam Lambert, The Who, Stereophonics, Faithless, Fleetwood Mac, Blur, Pharrell Williams, The Prodigy, Billy Idol, Kinds of Leon, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and many more.
Photo: isleofwightfestival.com
