IoW FESTIVAL
JOHN GIDDINGS AND OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT
Ahead of the keynote podcast interview with Isle of Wight Festival MD John Giddings at the AAA Conference & Awards , Christopher Barrett explores the festival ’ s evolution from a one-day loss maker to one of the UK ’ s best loved festivals
Every year the Isle of Wight Festival attracts around 60,000 music fans from around the world to a tiny landmass with a population of 140,000 . Among the big headliners to perform at this year ’ s event were Green Day , Pet Shop Boys , and The Prodigy alongside a host of top rock and pop artists .
Organised by Solo Music Agency MD John Giddings , the musical extravaganza generates around £ 10 million per annum for the local economy . However , the festival and the island ’ s locals have not always enjoyed such a harmonious relationship .
A young Giddings saw Jimi Hendrix at the event in 1970
The first incarnation In August 1970 a 17-year-old Giddings , along with nearly 600,000 other people , attended the Isle of Wight Festival to watch performances by an array of acts including Jimi Hendrix , The Who , The Doors , Jethro Tull and Leonard Cohen . They left the island looking like a bomb had hit it and its then 100,000 population utterly shell-shocked .
The uproar that followed the departure of bedraggled festival goers that summer , from what was widely acknowledged as Europe ’ s equivalent to Woodstock , led to the British government passing the Isle of Wight Act – effectively banning gatherings of more than 5,000 people on the island .
The Isle of Wight Act left the island bereft of a music festival for 32 years , until Giddings was asked by the local council to return to the island and revive the Isle of Wight Festival in 2002 to mark the Queen ’ s Golden Jubilee .
Over the years since , the Isle of Wight Festival has grown to become one of the UK ’ s most successful music festivals . Marking the 25th edition of the festival this year , the Experience 25 exhibition was held at The O2 ’ s Innovation Centre from 19 September to 13 November . It featured content from the numerous key performances since Giddings revived it , including Jay Z ’ s set in 2010 and David Bowie ’ s last live performance in the UK on June 13 , 2004 , when he closed the festival .
Giddings vividly remembers his first
Photos : Peter Bull . David Bowie : Isle of Wight County Press
30 accessaa . co . uk