Fact #61497
When:
Short story:
The Isle Of Wight Festival begins at Wootton, Isle Of Wight, UK. Bob Dylan and The Band are rehearsing at Forelands Farm, Bembridge, Isle of Wight, UK. Over the next three days there will be appearances by Bob Dylan, The Who, The Band, The Nice, Richie Havens, The Moody Blues, Free, Joe Cocker, Fat Mattress, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Family, The Pretty Things, Marsha Hunt, Battered Ornaments, Aynsley Dunbar, Blodwyn Pig, King Crimson and The Edgar Broughton Band.Full article:
Ron Smith (site manager) :The first Isle Of Wight festival, in 1968, was actually a fund-raiser for the Isle Of Wight Swimming Pool Association. About 10,000 people came to see Jefferson Airplane, Tyrannosaurus Rex, The Move and The Pretty Things.
Rikki Farr (promoter) : The first significant Isle of Wight was 1969 with Dylan. The PA system was 2000 watts, huge for the time, so as well as being heard by the audience, the music was clearly audible to the inmates of Parkhurst jail and the monks in Quarr monastery, who hadn't heard live music since the second world war.
Rick Danko (The Band) : The Isle of Wight impressed me in 1969. The people were very orderly.. I thought it was like being in a giant high-school gymnasium. But no, it's hard... we limit our PA system like you do in a recording studio, which cleans it up for the people...it sounds more like a record. It makes it easier to listen to, but if you don't have your own system... we didn't bring ours with us this time. But I think Charlie Watkins is doing something. He came over and saw ours and was impressed, and said he'd do something equally... so it should be okay.
(Melody Maker, May 29, 1971)
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Rikki Farr (co-promoter) : I was a promoter for twelve years, starting way back in the r'n'b days, and I originally had a chain of clubs in the south of England - The Birdcage, Cadillac and Brave New World clubs.
Then I became involved in the first Isle Of Wight Festival, which had Jefferson Airplane, The Move, Arthur Brown and Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was really done in aid of the isle Of Wight's Swimming Pool Association, who were building a pool for spastic children on the island.
We enjoyed that one and decided to hold another - a commercial venture - the following year.
After a lot of discussion, Ray Foulkes and I flew over to see Mr Bob Dylan, saw him, made friends with him, and got him to come over - a high moment in my career as a promoter.
(Source : Beat Instrumental interview, Dec 1973)
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Rikki Farr (promoter) : The first significant Isle of Wight was 1969 with Dylan. The PA system was 2000 watts, huge for the time, so as well as being heard by the audience, the music was clearly audible to the inmates of Parkhurst jail and the monks in Quarr monastery, who hadn't heard live music since the second world war.
Rick Danko (The Band) : The Isle of Wight impressed me in 1969. The people were very orderly.. I thought it was like being in a giant high-school gymnasium. But no, it's hard... we limit our PA system like you do in a recording studio, which cleans it up for the people...it sounds more like a record. It makes it easier to listen to, but if you don't have your own system... we didn't bring ours with us this time. But I think Charlie Watkins is doing something. He came over and saw ours and was impressed, and said he'd do something equally... so it should be okay.
(Melody Maker, May 29, 1971)
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Rikki Farr (co-promoter) : I was a promoter for twelve years, starting way back in the r'n'b days, and I originally had a chain of clubs in the south of England - The Birdcage, Cadillac and Brave New World clubs.
Then I became involved in the first Isle Of Wight Festival, which had Jefferson Airplane, The Move, Arthur Brown and Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was really done in aid of the isle Of Wight's Swimming Pool Association, who were building a pool for spastic children on the island.
We enjoyed that one and decided to hold another - a commercial venture - the following year.
After a lot of discussion, Ray Foulkes and I flew over to see Mr Bob Dylan, saw him, made friends with him, and got him to come over - a high moment in my career as a promoter.
(Source : Beat Instrumental interview, Dec 1973)