The Who Return to Wight
Thirty-four years after being banned from the Isle of Wight Festival, the Who will return as headliners for next year’s edition, set to run June 11th through June 13th. David Bowie and the Stereophonics will also perform.
In the late Sixties and early Seventies, the festival featured the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Jefferson Airplane before taking a three-decade hiatus and then returning in 2002.
The Who’s last gig at the Isle of Wight, documented in the album The Who: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970, lasted over three hours and ended in smashed guitars and drum kits, hence the band being asked not to return.
This will be Bowie’s first performance on the island, located off the southern coast of mainland England. “I was so envious of other acts that got to do the other Isle of Wight Festivals,” Bowie posted on his site. “This is the very first time I have been to the Isle of Wight Festival. Obviously, I’ve been to the Isle of Wight, it’s a fabulous place — I used to go there on holiday when I was a kid.”