The Who Isle of Wight

Coverage from the 2004 Isle of Wight Festival. Artists featured include Snow Patrol, Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, Jet, and many more.
The Isle of Wight Festival - is a music festival which takes place every year on the Isle of Wight in England. It was originally held from 1968 to 1970. These original events were promoted and organised by the Foulk brothers (Ron, Ray and Bill Foulk) under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited. The venues were Ford Farm (near Godshill), Wootton and Afton Down (near Freshwater) respectively. The 1969 event was notable for the appearance of Bob Dylan and the Band. This was Dylan's first paid performance since his motor cycle accident some three years earlier, and was held at a time when many still wondered if he would ever perform again.

On August 31, 1970, Leonard Cohen was scheduled to play the third Isle of Wight Festival. The conditions were not optimal. While 100,000 or so tickets had been sold, there were nearly 600,000 in attendance. Fans overran the island to see and hear the Who, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, and many others over five days…

On September 18, 2015, Eagle Rock Entertainment released What’s Going On – Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970 by Taste. This simultaneous release on DVD, Blu-ray, 2LP, CD, and Digital Formats represents the first-ever video release of this legendary performance. What’s Going On – Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival tells the story of Eire’s seminal rock band Taste. Formed in Cork, Ireland in 1966 by Rory Gallagher, Taste had a brief but influential career, releasing two studio albums in 1969 and 1970 and disbanding shortly after their legendary appearance at the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival — the centerpiece of this film…

Featuring Paul "Sandy" Davis (lead vocals, 12-string guitar), Alan Cowderoy (lead guitar, vocals), Martin Kitcat (Mellotron, organ, piano, vocals), Tim Wheatley (bass, vocals) and Robert Lipson (drums), the band first came to prominence in 1968 when they supported The Who on tour. They recorded a single for Polydor Records before a support slot for King Crimson in 1969 led to them purchasing a mellotron and changing style. In 1970 their debut self-titled album appeared on the Vertigo label and the band were greeted with critical praise. This in turn led to Gracious! performing a set at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival (joining a bill that featured Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, Family, ELP, The Moody Blues and many more). Their set was recorded and filmed but was to remain unreleased.

This rock documentary includes the complete concert performance of The Who at the third and final Isle of Wight music festival. Playing to 600,000 ravenous fans on August 30, 1970, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon outdid themselves with a towering set. They even went so far as to play the rock opera TOMMY in its entirety, giving audiences yet another reason to shout…

August, 1970: With Jim Morrison's ongoing Miami obscenity trial casting an ominous shadow over the band, The Doors flew to England to play the Isle of Wight Festival. Waiting for them at "The Last Great Festival" were over 600,000 fans who had already torn down the barriers, crashed the gates, and enjoyed performances by the world's top acts such as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Miles Davis and Joni Mitchell. The Doors took the stage at 2 am, playing with the weight of the trial on their backs, and showed fans they still had the magic that had propelled them to the top during the Summer of Love. "We played with a controlled fury and Jim was in fine vocal form," said Doors organist Ray Manzarek. "He sang for all he was worth, but moved nary a muscle. Dionysus had been shackled." Less than a year later, The Doors were no more.