Isle Of Wight Is Bigger Than Woodstock

1970

The five-day Isle of Wight festival kicks off in England, boasting a very impressive lineup, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Emerson, Lake And Palmer, The Doors, The Who, Spirit, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone, Free, and in his last concert appearance in England, Jimi Hendrix.

This third consecutive Isle of Wight Festival is one of the biggest musical events of the era, surpassing even Woodstock with an estimated 600,000 people descending on the tiny British island. The numbers are so great that the sound system is unable to make the grade, and The Who step in to assist with their equipment. The entire event is captured on film in what will be the most comprehensively recorded festival to date. The organizers have booked an eclectic range of artists but many are unsuited to such a large show. The folk contingent are well represented but acoustic artists like Donovan, Joan Baez and Leonard Cohen struggle to cut through and connect with the massive crowd. On this, the opening day, Kris Kristofferson falls victim to the poor sound and is booed off-stage by the audience. There are pockets of unrest, with anarchists, Hells Angels and skinheads arriving en masse and demanding free entry. Thousands of people have set up a camp at nearby Afton Down, overlooking the site, with the intention of enjoying the festival for free. Attempts are made by security to encourage them to make a financial contribution under the threat of their camp being floodlit for the remaining four nights, but this is largely ineffective. Still, the event is relatively peaceful. The only arrests made by the woefully outnumbered local police force are a handful for drug offenses. Thanks to the invasion of freeloaders and poor financial management by the organizers, the festival loses money despite the huge numbers in attendance. It isn't until 2002 that the Isle of Wight again hosts a major music festival. Even the officially commissioned film, titled Message to Love: The Isle of Wight, doesn't come off as planned: it isn't released until 1997.