During an gathering of the Farringford Tennyson Literary
& Arts Society at Dimbola Lodge Museum, Solo's John Giddings gave a glimpse into his life as a music promoter, how he organised the IW Festival and his involvement with Dimbola Lodge in Freshwater, which is soon to be home to a life-size Bronze statue of Jimi Hendrix.
Giddings took the audience through his dramatic career which started out promoting new bands in the punk era. From tiny gigs he moved on to managing mega concerts for the likes of David Bowie, Phil
Collins and the Rolling Stones.
“In 2000 I'd sold my company for the second time, to an
American company, and we got this fax out of the blue from
the Isle of Wight Council asking whether we'd like to reenact the Isle of Wight Festival... So, we took a day trip to the Island! The meeting with the Council was hilarious, like something out of the Vicar of Dibley!
I have always been astonished as to why the Isle of Wight
hasn't celebrated the success it had alongside Woodstock.
Anyway, they gave these arguments for and against
the festival...but in the middle of the meeting I realised that actually, it would be really good fun to do it. They completely broke Council procedure and voted in
front of us, and it was voted 6-5 in favour, it was that close after 32 years!
This year we sold out three months in advance.
Booking Coldplay was probably the hardest thing I've ever achieved because it took so long to persuade them... We have an eclectic mix of artists, we've deliberately made a point of having The Who, Bowie, Ray Davies, Procul Harum play at the Festival. I believe you have to go back to the past so that you have something for all generations from 15-55.
We have noticed this year that we are hitting problems,
there is a different Council in power, and as far as I'm
concerned, the minute it stops becoming fun, it's
not worth doing. Why risk millions of pounds to
put on this festival, and then come here to receive
a load of aggravation - where is the motivation?
People don't realise that we pay hundreds and thousands of pounds locally on the island to achieve this festival...
The Isle of Wight Festival is the only festival in the UK that can boast that the likes of The Doors and Jimi Hendrix has played it. It has a
great heritage, a heritage that no one else can claim, and I find it extraordinary that the Island doesn't celebrate these facts...
I have to say that the Isle of Wight Festival is the best and most enjoyable thing I've done in my life. I'd love to do this for the rest of my life, but if it becomes problematic then it's not worth doing.
Commenting on the controversy over Solo’s sponsoring of
statue and garden to Jimi Hendrix at Dimbola Museum he
continued . “There has been opposition, but it really comes down to whether you respect the musicianship of Hendrix on the same level as you respect Alfred Lord Tennyson's work. I personally believe that both are on a par, both achieving as much as the other in their own
individual way.”
For the full text of his talk please visit the Wighvibe
website www.wightvibe.com