WINTER | ME, MYSELF & I
John Giddings
Access caught up with the Solo Music Agency
managing director who revived the Isle of
Wight Festival back in 2002
Interview by: Tom Hall
Crouch kicked out 50 footballs
from the stage, and the person who
caught it won prizes.
Giddings is a music agent
and promoter who has
been responsible for
tours by the likes of The
Rolling Stones, Madonna,
Genesis, Celine Dion,
We’re developing the Isle of
Wight site on a yearly basis, and
expanding into different fields and
woods. But telling people what to
expect in advance is a mistake. You
need a level of surprise.
Iggy Pop and David
Bowie...
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We’re always coming up with
ideas off top of our heads. We
had people dress up in gold for
our 50th anniversary, and people
painted themselves in all gold,
and a guy turned up in a gold
onesie. You have to create ideas
that people can follow on from and
embrace. This festival is so much
more sophisticated than when
it started and it was just stages
in a field. When there’s a football
championship we cater for that. We
had a Field of Dreams, and Peter
I think it’s an agent’s dream that
there’s 1,500 festivals to choose
from. I’m an agent and promoter,
so I like exclusivity, and when you
look at Isle of Wight, we’re unique
in our location, our brand and
our reputation. Over the 50th
anniversary, we looked at our past
acts from 1970 onwards, and it’s a
‘who’s who’ from David Bowie to
Coldplay to Muse. But some of the
old acts remain vibrant to this day,
like The Who, who just released an
album and it’s fantastic.
Tickets are like gold bars, but I’ve no
idea why people think they should
get them for free in the music
industry. These events cost us tens
of millions per year. In 1970 people
started knocking down the fences
to get in – but look at the value for
money you get for the price. Where
else can you see these bands for
under £200? Just one artist alone
might have a single show for half
that at The O2.
There are definitely improvements
internally since Live Nation
came on board at Isle of Wight,
but they also like what we do, so
we’re learning from each other.
They’re a financial safety net for
me as I didn’t want to risk my own
money. Because of the size of their
business they do block deals on
things like fencing.
I want customer experience to be
brilliant, and for people to leave
and say it’s the best festival. I’m
obsessed by all the elements that go
into making a great festival, from
the artwork, to the line-up and how
we look after people. It’s a 25 hour a
day job.
Coming up I have one big project
in the pipeline that will last for the
next two years if it comes off.
Brexit just a pain in the ass that
costs the punter billions. I’m hoping
it’s a hung parliament, but I don’t
see a realistic chance of another
Brexit referendum. Meanwhile, if
Corbyn gets into power it would be
a nightmare, and bring us back to
the 1970s.
We still suffer as an industry
from touting. How can Viagogo
purchase Stubhub? It’s outrageous
and the government don’t do
enough to stop this.