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IOW

Isle Of Wight

Concerts 1968, 1969, 1970

Introduction

I like the Isle Of Wight. It’s a really nice place for a holiday !  I’ve visited the Island many times and my visits there have sparked an interest in the Isle of Wight concerts – Not the ones held in recent years featuring contemporary bands, but the original concerts of ’68, ’69 & ’70 with the classic progressive and underground bands of that time.

Prior to my first attempts to locate the three concert venues, I had bought a secondhand book from a shop in Ryde entitled ’Message to Love’ by Brian Hinton. The book is a source of fairly detailed information on all three concerts and turned out to be a very useful guide in tracking down the concert venues. I subsequently bought the DVD of the same name, which has footage from 1970, showing highlights from a varied selection of bands. I also got my hands on the Moody Blues DVD of the 1970 concert, when it came out in 2009. As they are one of my favourite bands, it was a ‘must have’ !

So where were these concerts held, when did they happen and how did the whole concert thing come about ?  Well, let’s start at the beginning with the first concert in 1968.

The 1968 Concert

Venue : Ford Farm, Near Godshill

Date : 31st August ’68

The first Isle Of Wight festival in 1968, started out as a fund raiser for the IOW Swimming Pool Association to raise money for a new public swimming pool on the island. It was organised by island residents as the Isle Of Wight Council had refused funding for the swimming pool. As a result, the legendary festival of ’68 ensued and was followed by the’69, and ’70 concerts !

The ‘Message To Love’ book, which I mentioned earlier, and which I hoped would guide me, appeared rather vague as to the exact location of the ’68 site. Even to this day, I still haven’t seen a definitive location in print anywhere. However, I knew I was in the right general area. The location information I had managed to extract from the book was that the concert took place on forty acres of of barley stubble known as Hayles Field, translated into “Hell Field” by the press, on Ford Farm, somewhere between Godshill and Niton, just off the main road from Newport to Ventnor. This was just about the only information I had at the time which, although fairly vague, did point me in the right direction ! I thought I had located the site of the ’68 concert on my 2006 visit to the island, although I was never quite sure if I was in the right place.

2 Images to follow : “It’s round here somewhere !”  Somewhere Near Ford Farm – Site of the 1968 I.O.W. FestivalThe 1968 Concert

However, upon my return in 2008 and again in 2009, using the information from the book, in conjunction with an Isle Of Wight map, I managed to find what is almost certainly where it all happened in ’68. Having located Ford Farm Lane, a very countryfied thoroughfare, Ford Farm House was a hundred yards or so down the lane, on the left, with “Hells Field” running the entire length, and more, of Ford Farm Lane !

The event began at 8pm on Saturday 31st August and ended at 8.30am on Sunday 1st September. It was supposed to have run from 6pm to 10am. Tickets cost 25 shillings each, that’s £1.25p in decimal currency !

The location of the 1968 festival is not the only aspect of the event that seems shrouded in mystery. Even the participants and the order of their appearances would still seem to be the subject of debate. However, it is believed that the ’68 festival featured : Tyrannosaurus Rex, John Peel, Plastic Penny, Smile, The Move, The Pretty Things, Jefferson Airplane, Arthur Brown, Fairport Convention, among others.

The 1969 Concert Venue : Wootton Dates : 29th to 31st August ’69

Image to follow : Woodside Bay, Wootton Creek – Site of the 1969 I.O.W. FestivalThe 1969 Concert

The 1969 festival featured Nice, The Who, Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Marsha Hunt, Pretty Things, Joe Cocker, The Moody Blues, The Band, Bob Dylan, and many others.

Image to follow : 1969 Festival Site

Image to follow : Quarr Abbey – Near Fishbourne  Bob Dylan visited Quarr Abbey to listen to the monks chanting.

The 1970 Concert Venue : Afton Down Date : 27th to 31st August ’70

Image to follow : Afton Down – Site of the 1970 I.O.W. FestivalThe 1970 Concert

The 1970- festival features an ‘All Star Cast’ such as Kris Kristofferson, Supertramp, Groundhogs, Hawkwind, Taste, Chicago, Family, Procul Harum, Mungo Jerry, Joni Mitchell, Miles Davies, Ten Years After, Emerson Lake & Palmer, The Doors, Donovan, The Who, The Moody Blues, and Jimi Hendrix.

Official figures of visitors to the 1970 festival have been recorded as 250,000 however, unofficially, the figure was possibly as high as 600,000!

Image to follow : Jimi Hendrix Statue – Dimbola Lodge, Freshwater Bay

Hendrix stayed at Dimbola Lodge, where there is now a lasting tribute to him which many fans flock to and graffiti.

Related Media :

Message To Love –  The Isle Of Wight Festival 1968-1969-1970 : A book by Brian Hinton

Message To Love –  The Isle Of Wight Festival – The Movie on DVD

The Moody Blues – Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970 – CD

The Moody Blues – 1970 Threshold Of A Dream – Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival  - DVD

Page undergoing alterations – More to follow soon !