BBC Documentaries

Isle of Wight Festival at 50 (2018x204)

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There may be more music festivals in a British summer than you can shake a stick at, but the very first one took place in the summer of '68... and you could only get there by boat. The original Isle of Wight festival was organised by brothers Ray, Ronnie and Billy Foulk as a fundraiser to build islanders their first public swimming pool. Over three short years, legendary names including Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, The Who, The Doors, Joni Mitchell and Miles Davis made this small holiday island the epitome of cool. It's claimed 600,000 fans attended the 1970 event, but its popularity was also its downfall. The island's council banned it until 2002 when rock promoter John Giddings stepped in. With its place in music history secured by those early events, the Isle of Wight Festival is on the bucket list of bands and music fans alike. This short film takes a fond look at the festival at 50, told entirely by those who were there, then and now.