ISLE OF WIGHT 2 1969 |
The Second Isle of Wight Festival : August 29 to 31 1969
|
THE BILL - in alphabetical order |
* It is unclear whether or not the acts marked with an asterisk appeared at the Festival. |
GETTING THEREAfter days - and probably weeks - of moaning about
how close I'd come to being at Woodstock (and, yes, my parents really
had considered letting me go ... for a minute or two, at least) it was
relatively easy to concede that the time had come for my First Great Adventure.
I'd read every report in the Melody Maker and NME and tuned in to Radio
Luxembourg and Radio One with such obvious intensity that this festival
on the island which we knew so well was clearly something special for
me. |
THE BILL - in approximate order of appearanceGo direct to: |
Friday August 29 |
"Friday was the day of Nice and Bonzos, stalwarts of groupdom, who could be relied on to
banish thoughts of creeping rheumatism, aching bladders and claustrophobia, the great
plagues of pop festivals." |
MY FIRST IMPRESSIONSAfter breakfast I took a leisurely walk back into Yarmouth and caught the scheduled bus via Newport to a point close to the Festival site. I recall that the bus turned at Wootton Bridge, a short walk away from Forelands Farm. Early on the Friday afternoon, there were no traffic snarl-ups, no shoving masses. Just an orderly walk to the gate. I don't think the bus was anywhere near packed. Perhaps the majority approached from Cowes and Ryde. |
Mighty Baby"One time mod favourites the Action, they played first, unbilled - one press report even
mistook them for Marsupilami, chalk to their cheese. One of the few British acts to
capture the free-flowing improvisation of West Coast bands, not least in their magnum
opus "India". Their rhythm section went on to play with Richard Thompson on his
heartstopping 1977 "Sufi" tour, while lead guitarist Martin Stone later joined first
Chilli Willi, then the Pink Fairies." |
MY RECOLLECTIONAn anonymous band providing mildly psychedelic folk-rock for an audience which was wandering around and exploring. Their faithful sat and listened attentively in front of the stage. All that I recall is that a band or two performed in between records. I was still savouring the experience of being at a rock festival ... |
"Rikki Farr strode on stage. "People if you want to hear more of anyone, you just shout and
I'll get them back here for you"." |
Eclection"They earned an encore with their mixture of folk, blues and gospel that was, well,
eclectic. Their three-part harmonies soared over the arena like a latter day Mamas and
Papas, counterpointed by John 'Poli' Palmer on vibes. Singer Trevor Lucas later married
Sandy Denny." |
MY RECOLLECTIONVery gentle, very harmonic. Clever folk music with a pleasant tone and rhythm. Highly popular at the time, and excellent choice for the opening day of a festival. |
The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band"From such beauty, the Bonzos provided a rude awakening. Their act took in spectacular
lighting effects, explosions - and an odd piece of hardware which blew hundreds of soap
bubbles over the arena. Songs like "Monster Mash", "Canyons of Your Mind"
and "Urban Spaceman" had the crowd crying for more. |
MY RECOLLECTIONThe Bonzos were always good value for money, and the wonderful Viv Stanshall and his talented cronies (Roger Ruskin Spear is the only name that comes to mind) entertained the enthusiastic crowd with a lengthy set. Urban Spaceman was always a highlight, and the twirling hosepipe was most effective in an outdoor setting, the sound travelling in waves across the arena. One of my favourites was the flipside, Canyons Of Your Mind, and they must have played it as I don't recall any disappointment with the band by the time they left the stage. |
The Nice"The performance of the evening. It seemed incredible that a three-man group could produce
such sounds. They concluded with their electric treatment of the "Intermezzo" from the
Karelia Suite by Sibelius, booming over the creek in the first hour of Saturday morning. |
MY RECOLLECTIONI'd had the pleasure of seeing The Nice a number of times already. Newcastle was the traditional start point of nationwide tours in those days. The audience was firm but fair, and a good gauge of how the acts on a bill were likely to go down elsewhere. Keith Emerson was the ultimate showman, riding his Hammond like a bucking bronco and skewering it with knves. The Newcastle connection helped, of course, but The Nice always justified the cost of a ticket! "America" was always a particular highlight, and I'm sure they must have played it. Sadly, I have very little memory of the band on this particular night. Maybe because they merged into the overall experience; maybe because it was a familiar set and it simply washed over me. What I know for sure is that I definitely saw them! |
FRIDAY NIGHT & SATURDAY MORNING:I managed to catch what I distinctly recall was a scheduled bus, and it took me all the way back to Shalfleet. Door-to-door service ... all very civilised! It was the early hours of the morning by the time I slithered into my sleeping bag, and I'm sure I slept well. |
Saturday August 30 |
"By Saturday afternoon, the mass exodus from the mainland was under way - in ferries,
speedboats and even canoes. The festival site, a short walk from Wootton village - up the west
bank of the creek - was already packed. People and tents thronged the approaches, indeed one
newly colonised shanty town even named itself "Desolation Row". The atmosphere was
chaotic, but friendly - even the few uninspired acts drew warm applause." |
(English) Gypsy"They opened proceedings at 2pm (King Crimson had been booked to open but did not
appear). Gypsy were a Leicester band who made two fine LPs but - like Mighty Baby - somehow got
lost in the pack." |
Blonde On BlondeNote: It is unclear whether Blonde On Blonde appeared at the festival. My
researches have not revealed any concrete information. This is the slot they were to
occupy on the bill. |
Blodwyn Pig"They scored a "signal success", and the festival programme summed them up
well. |
MY RECOLLECTIONMick Abrahams really impressed me with the change of style he'd adopted on leaving Jethro Tull. The performance was interesting and entertaining. So much so, that it was the Blodwyn Pig album Ahead Rings Out that I bought at the record stall near the arena. My copy still proudly bears the Isle of Wight Festival sticker. |
The Edgar Broughton Band"An underground hero par excellence, Broughton scored great success with his "Out Demons
Out", and proved that one need not fear mass rioting from his crowd stirring methods after
all. |
MY RECOLLECTIONJealousy always clouded my judgement when watching a performance by Edgar Broughton. My occasional girlfriend of the time bragged openly of her one and only conquest during a brief experiment as a groupie. Whether this was actually true, or whether the (graphic) stories had become a little emebellished with repeated tellings, I viewed Edgar in terms of a rival rather than an entertainer. To be honest, I don't think I would have liked his music even if he hadn't been the man most responsible for introducing me to too many grown-up emotions at such a tender age! A poor-man's Captain Beefheart is my cruel, but maybe not too inaccurate summing-up. At the Isle of Wight, the band presented an average set, as I recall. |
Aynsley Dunbar"They blew a violent set, which was considerably heightened by the appearance of Annette
Brox for a vocal duet with her husband Victor. Keyboard player Tommy Eyre had joined since
their appearance at the previous year's festival. One of the first - and best - British
blues boom combos." |
Marsha Hunt and White Trash"Writhing, twisting Marsha Hunt, straight from "Hair". Delicate readers are advised to skip
the next few paragraphs. |
DISCO"Between bands, DJ Jeff Dexter played all the latest groovy sounds; the most popular
records were John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance", "Honky Tonk Women" by the Stones,
and "Hare Khrishna". It is not recorded whether the Bonzos performed their "Harry
Maynard" rejoinder, or Viv Stanshall's heartfelt plea of a piss-take, "Give Booze A
Chance", to even up the balance!" |
The Pretty Things"The Pretty Things played one of their least inspiring sets. Members of "Fat
Mattress" joined them, a combination described by one witness as like "dumplings and lumpy
gravy". To add to the confusion, Dick Taylor is not listed in the festival programme - though he
appears in the accompanying photograph, helping lock Twink in a phone-box - but definitely
remembers playing!" |
"Things get a bit hazy here. Certainly the Pretty Things played; in fact their set
considerably overran, which led to some later groups either not performing at all
(Battered Ornaments), or playing radically curtailed sets. |
Family"Within minutes, vocalist Roger Chapman had smashed a microphone to pieces and almost
lassooed photographers with the mike lead. Their entry in the Festival programme says
everything, or perhaps nothing! |
MY RECOLLECTIONRoger Chapman was spectacular in those days. Family was exciting enough, with its mix of driving rock and imaginative lyrics, but Chapman's destructive tambourine playing and unbelievably dynamic voice added volumes to the mix. I'd seen Family once before, and they'd impressed me at Newcastle City Hall. In an open air setting, their music engulfed the audience and induced a flurry of idiot-dancing. Two years later in Southampton, I was to receive the ultimate gift - Chapman's shattered tambourine hitting me square on the forhead as it flew from his grasp. My companion retrieved it and threw it further back into the audience. I would have treasured it to this day! |
Free"Free were only on stage for 15 minutes, though they made up for it in 1970 with perhaps
the best gig of their young lives.
" |
MY RECOLLECTIONPre-All Right Now, Free were a pure blues band, and they gave everything during a
performance. In the absence of Ten Years After or Taste, Free were able to produce a display of
musicianship without the unfair comparisons. The crowd, waiting a little impatiently for The Who,
gave them a good reception and urged them on, but their set was brief. |
The Who"Potential anarchy always lurks at the heart of any outdoor event of this magnitude - which
makes the Foulk's control throughout all the more commendable. Tragedy came closest when the Who
nearly crash landed onto the site. As their helicopter landed behind the stage on a "H"
marked out with wooden boards, one of the boards flew up into the rotor blade putting the 'copter out of
action. The Who flew back to the mainland immediately after their act in another
helicopter. "We had wanted to land on the stage, but they wouldn't let us",
Townshend later commented. |
MY RECOLLECTIONContrary to reports found elsewhere, I distinctly recall that the Who played sizeable chunks from Tommy, if not actually the entire opera. It was beginning to get just a little late, and a chill wind was blowing up the slight rise from the stage a whistling through the fence against which I was standing. After some earlier performances which had impressed me, I remember finding The Who a tiny bit long-winded. The showmanship was beginning to look somewhat contrived, and the rock opera came across as unpolished. I'm tempted to blame the conditions; it had already been a long day, after all. But I found myself becoming impatient and sidling towards the exit. |
Fat Mattress"They had a tough time following the Who. |
Joe Cocker and The Grease Band"Pete Townshend had already given them a plug, in his own set. |
MY RECOLLECTIONI was well on my way back to the caravan (see below) by the time Joe Cocker came on stage, but I remember hearing his music drifting over the fields. |
The Moody Blues"The concerts rolled on into early Sunday morning. Their performance really stood out,
particularly a spinetingling "Nights in White Satin". The coloured lighting effects
were as beautiful as the music, and they even played an encore, the first in their history. |
"Saturday's entertainment was done. People left the arena, went to sleep right outside the
gate and were therefore in the queue for Sunday's show, all through the night and all
Sunday morning" |
SATURDAY NIGHT & SUNDAY MORNING:After seeing The Who and enduring the chill breeze for just a little bit too long, I started to make my way towards the exit. I was reluctant to leave, however, as I really wanted to see Joe Cocker. I must have hung around in the entertainment area for some time as, by the time I finally tired of waiting and walked through the gate Fat Mattress had come and gone and the announcement was being made for Joe Cocker's arrival on stage. |
Sunday August 31 |
"Dylan day started early. The flow of arrivals into the seething 20 acre arena seemed
endless. Throughout the day, a stream of pilgrims continued to arrive, tired and
leg-weary. Some were resting on the pavement, others on the roadside. |
(English) GypsyNote: It is unclear whether Gypsy appeared again on Sunday. My
researches have revealed a reference in only one source. A second source is being sought. |
The Liverpool Scene"Overweight, bearded Liverpool poet Adrian Henri bounded about the stage with remarkable
energy. "Let's see if we can wake up Bob Dylan from here" , he yelled. And he went
into a number about an American rock 'n' roll group who died when a soda fountain exploded in New
York, drowning 200 people in soda ice-cream." |
MY RECOLLECTIONAdrian Henri was my hero. I'd discovered the Liverpool poets a year or so before, and his particular mix of humour, gritty romance and cynical realism inspired me to write in a similar vein. Setting his words to music, the band gave a uniquely compelling show. Talented musicians alternated between rock, jazz and white blues, punctuated by Henri's droll Liverpudlian accent intoning his marvellous words. |
Third Ear Band"Like the Liverpool Scene, veterans of the UFO. Their free-form improvisations, using
tablas, cello, violin and oboe in weird configurations, later graced Polanski's Macbeth. Very
much of their time, as the programme note indicates... |
Indo-Jazz Fusion"Like the Third Ear Band, a rhythmic distillation of Eastern and Western Musical ideas
(prefiguring current interest in "world music"). A great relief after a surfeit of heavy
rock the previous night." |
""The sun came out on Sunday afternoon and listening to the Third Ear Band and then to the
more substantial Indo-Jazz fusions was like the film - "Jazz on a Summer's Day". But by
the time Tom Paxton came on, it had gone cold and windy again and people seemed none too happy." |
Gary Farr"Gary Farr, brother of producer and compere Rikki, proved to be a pleasing singer and
songwriter in the folk rock bag, with "Good Morning Sun" and a country blues tinged
"The Vicar and the Pope", the best songs in his spot with backing from members of the
Mighty Baby group." |
Tom Paxton"Following Gary came American singer-songwriter Tom Paxton, who received one of the biggest
ovations of the festival. This was quite unexpected, but honestly deserved. |
Pentangle""They had a somewhat tougher time than Paxton. Very much a listening band their set was
spoiled by several incidents. Low flying aircraft drowned out their music at one point,
a small fire on the arena perimeter caused a loss of interest and to cap it all the Rolling
Stones chose to make their entry in the middle of the group's playing of "Bruton Town" and
the flurry of photographers and rubber-neckers was obviously annoying. However, they
scored with "Pentangling", which included one of Danny Thompson's fine bass solos, but it
wasn't a happy appearance for the group." |
Julie Felix"Then came Julie Felix who sang sweetly on a selection which included "I Want to be
Alone" by Jackson C. Frank, Leonard Cohen's "Bird on a Wire", and her own "On a
Windy Morning". She also sang the first Dylan songs of the day, "Chimes of Freedom"
and "Masters of War", at the audience's request. This brought her a big round of cheers
and applause. She was overcome by her reception. "This is really wonderful. You're
beautiful", she smiled. In the heat of the moment, she could think of nothing to sing for
her encore. "We want the Zoo", the crowd chanted. She sang it. Dylan was
getting nearer and the crowd's excitement was stretched almost to breaking point." |
Richie Havens"With dusk settling in on the vast open air arena, Richie Havens, a truly dynamic singer,
came on. He was the last artiste before Dylan and the Band. Accompanied by Paul Williams
(guitar) and Danielle Benzebulon (congas), Richie worked out beautifully on Dylan's "Maggie's
Farm", and his own soulful arrangement of the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever", with
a bit of the "Hey Jude" chorus thrown in. He won huge appreciation for his intense,
powerful singing of "Freedom" and "Run Shaker Life". |
"The pilgrims waited, listening to records from the stage. The new Apple single,
"Hare Krishna", echoed across the Bay and over the Solent; the air was thick with the
scent of hamburgers and joss sticks. Trees lining the arena, lit by nearby lamps, were
filled with penniless hippies taking a free view. Excitement in the packed arena reached
an all-time high as the long wait went on. |
The Band"Finally, it happened, the curtain drew back, the lights flashed down. At 10.21pm,
on-stage walked the Band - but minus Dylan. |
"By now, people were shouting for their idol. |
Bob Dylan and The Band"At 11.08, Dylan strolled onstage. "You sure look big out there", he
said. Under the spotlight, Dylan wore a loose fitting all-white suit, with short hair and a
scrubby beard; the crowd greeted him with an ecstatic roar. |
"The strange and very rapid disappearance of Dylan should really have been anticipated; but
it nevertheless left all nine acres of listeners gaping in amazement at the sudden end. Chants
began, pleas of "More" rang out in great volumes. Disturbed, the crowd went up on
its feet, but Rikki Farr returned to the stage and said "He's gone ... he's gone" in his now
tired voice. "He came here to do what he had to do, he did it for you and now he's
gone. Really, there is no more ..." And so, tent pegs were pulled out of the
ground, sleeping bags rolled up and belongings packed. Like lava down the sides of a
smouldering volcano, the people poured out between the hundreds of bonfires and started for
the long series of queues that lay between them and home. |
ContinuityJeff Dexter & Rikki Farr |
"No-one who attended would ever forget Woodside Bay, the huge searchlights from the
lighting rig shining out like prison towers in some 2nd World War movie, as Farr read
frantic messages from people who had lost friends, money, possessions or their minds! To match
this, even shared discomfort enhanced the overall feeling of community, of being
part of a larger being. |
GOING HOMEYes, I arrived home in time to celebrate my eighteenth birthday. Then it was back to school for my final year, enjoying my fifteen minutes of fame as my Isle of Wight Festival programme did the rounds! |
FURTHER READINGNights In White Satin - An Illustrated History of the Isle of Wight Pop Festivals |
LINKS to other sites on the Web Isle of Wight Festival 2004 |
last updated February 18 2004 |