Isle of Wight Festival 1970

Festival poster, listing artists booked to play on the three main days

The 1970 Isle of Wight Festival was held between 26 and 31 August 1970 at Afton Down, an area on the western side of the Isle of Wight. It was the last of three consecutive music festivals to take place on the island between 1968 and 1970 and widely acknowledged as the largest musical event of its time, greater than the attendance of Woodstock.[1][2] Although estimates vary, the Guinness Book of Records estimated 600,000, possibly 700,000 people attended. It was organised and promoted by local brothers, Ron and Ray Foulk through their company Fiery Creations Ltd and their brother Bill Foulk. Ron Smith was site manager and Rikki Farr acted as compere.

The preceding Isle of Wight Festivals, also promoted by the Foulks, had already gained a good reputation in 1968 and 1969 by featuring acts such as Jefferson Airplane, T. Rex, The Move, The Pretty Things, Joe Cocker, The Moody Blues (performed at the 1969 festival), The Who, and Bob Dylan in his first performance since his 1966 motorcycle accident.

The 1970 version, following Woodstock in the previous year, set out to move one step forward and enlisted Jimi Hendrix. With Hendrix confirmed, artists such as Cactus, Chicago, The Doors, Lighthouse, The Moody Blues, The Who, Miles Davis, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jethro Tull, Sly and the Family Stone, Ten Years After, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Free willingly took up the chance to play there. The event had a magnificent but impractical site, since the prevailing wind blew the sound sideways across the venue, and the sound system had to be augmented by The Who's PA. There was a strong, but inconsistent line up, and the logistical nightmare of transporting some 600,000 people onto an island with a population of fewer than 100,000.

Political and logistical difficulties resulted in the organisers eventually realising that the festival would not make a profit and declaring it to be "a free festival", although the majority of the audience had paid for tickets in advance, and the event was filmed contemporaneously. The commercial failings of the festival ensured it was the last event of its kind on the Isle of Wight for thirty-two years.

Planning difficulties

The opposition to the proposed 1970 Festival from the residents of the Isle of Wight was much better coordinated than it had been in previous years. The Isle of Wight was a favourite retirement destination of the British well-heeled, and a haven of the yachting set, and many of the traditional residents deplored the huge influx of 'hippies' and 'freaks'. This led to the introduction of sections to the "Isle of Wight County Council Act 1971" designed to control any further large overnight gatherings.[3] Renting a few acres of suitable farmland to hold a music festival had in earlier years been a simple commercial matter between the promoters and one of the local farmers, but by 1970 this had become subject to approval decisions from several local council committees who were heavily lobbied by residents' associations opposing the festival. As a result of this public scrutiny, the preferred ideal location for the third Festival was blocked, and the promoters in the end had no choice but to accept the only venue on offer by the authorities – East Afton Farm, Afton Down, a site that was in many ways deliberately selected to be unsuitable for their purpose. One unintended result of the pick of location was that, since it was overlooked by a large hill, a significant number of people were able to watch the proceedings for free.

Performances

Wednesday 26th

Thursday 27th

Friday 28th

Saturday 29th

Sunday 30th

Canvas City performances

Filming

All the performances at the festival were professionally filmed by award winning film director Murray Lerner.[9] with a view to releasing a documentary film but due to financial difficulties, nothing was released until 27 years after the event. Lerner distilled material from the festival into the film "Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival" which was premiered at a San Jose film festival in 1995 and released in 1997. The film puts a negative slant on the 1970 event by splicing in footage of violent incidents preceding the festival itself. Chief Constable, Hampshire Constabulary, Sir Douglas Osmond emphasised the peaceful nature of the event in his evidence given to the Stevenson Report, 1971, (submitted to parliament as evidence in favour of future Isle of Wight Festivals) "...By the end of the festival the press representatives became almost desperate for material and they seemed a little disappointed that the patrons had been so well behaved."

A second film directed by Lerner, Leonard Cohen Live at the Isle of Wight, 1970, was released in 2010.[9] A number of other performances have been released on DVD including:

Influence

The founders/main instigators of the Glastonbury (1971), Windsor (1972–74) and Stonehenge (1974) Free Festivals were all at IOW 1970, respectively Andrew Kerr, Ubi Dwyer and Wally Hope, inspired by the anarchistic nature of the breakdown of control by the original organisation and the subsequent freedom of the last days of the event.

Publications

The Last Great Event – with Jimi Hendrix & Jim Morrison, by Ray Foulk (Organiser) & Caroline Foulk, 364 pages, Medina Publishing 2016, Hardback ISBN 978-1-909339-58-3 & Paperback ISBN 978-1-909339-57-6

References

  1. ↑ "Top 10 Biggest Concerts & Festivals of All Time". songpeople.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  2. ↑ "Concerts with Record Attendance". noiseaddicts.com. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  3. ↑ Isle of Wight County Council Act 1971, c.lxxi, ss.5-6
  4. ↑ Judas Jump at AllMusic
  5. ↑ "Kathy Smith". Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  6. ↑ "Gary Farr & The T-Bones". Archived from the original on 4 August 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  7. ↑ "The Whole Story of The Famous Kinema Ballroom Dunfermline". Archived from the original on 17 June 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  8. ↑ "Isle of Wight, 29 August 1970 (Doxy Collection, Remastered, Live)". spotify.com. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  9. 1 2 Dargis, Manohla (21 January 2010). "Going Back to the Well to Drink in the '70s". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2013.

External links

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