Bittersweet
indie/pop legend Morrissey who re-emerged last year after a 7-year hiatus
will be taking to the stage on the Saturday night. The tortured genius and ex-Smiths
frontman had one of the most successful comebacks in 2004 with his double platinum
album You Are The Quarry.
Joining
him on Saturday are 70's outfit Roxy Music, fronted by the classy Bryan
Ferry. They'll perform their irresistible cocktail of classics More Than This,
Jealous Guy, Love Is The Drug.... This will be Roxy Music's first live appearance
in the UK since their world tour in 2001.
Swaggering
Liverpudlian retro rock outfit The
Black Velvets have been added to Friday's line-up. Friday night also sees
some energetic Brit-pop nostalgia from loveable 90's belting pop-punk scamps Supergrass,
some passionate indie rock from Scottish five-piece Idlewild who join co-headliners
Razorlight and Faithless.
Hailed as one of the most exciting bands around
 | | Razorlight |
at
the moment, London/Swedish four-piece Razorlight
look set to rock the festival with their punchy, attitude-filled tunes. With the
much acclaimed album, Up All Night, under their belts along with hit songs like
Golden Touch and Rip It Up, they're sure to get the event going with a bang. UK
dance act Faithless
will join Razorlight as Friday headliners. Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and crew are
old pros at the festival scene having headlined the Live Arena at last year's
We Love...Homelands
festival. No doubt they'll be playing classic anthems such as Insomnia and God
Is A DJ as well as songs from their latest album No Roots.
Seasoned
rockers REM will headline Sunday night as part of their massive world tour.
This will be the first UK festival that Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills
have played since Glastonbury in 2003.Peter
Buck said of the event,"As someone who grew up in America, the Isle of Wight
was a distant legend. We're all really excited about playing on the same stage
as Dylan, The Who and Hendrix have in the past."  | | REM's
Michael Stipe |
Irish
rockers Snow Patrol and melodic rockers Embrace are also gearing up to
play on the Sunday lineup
Snow
Patrol played on the Sunday at last year's IOW festival and enjoyed meteoric success
with their third album Final Straw selling well over a million copies.
Embrace bounced back
into the musical spotlight last year with the hit single Gravity. The hugely successful
album Out of Nothing followed, together with a UK tour that stopped off at Portsmouth
Pyramids. The
IOW festival crowd are bound to be singing along to tunes like All You Good Good
People, Come Back To What You Know and Ashes when the lads from Yorkshire take
to the stage.
Joining
them on Sunday will be The Subways, The Magic Numbers and rock veterans
Caravan.  | | Snow
Patrol at IOW festival 2004 |
The
Subways are probably best known for winning the Unsigned Performers Competition
at last year's Glastonbury festival and have since gone on to wow critics with
their blend of punky/garage rock. The
Magic Numbers are winning over fans at an astonishing rate and the buzz in the
music industry is that they are set to explode this year with their West Coast
style harmonic melodies. Sharp-eared
Chemical Brothers fans will have heard their soothing vocals cropping up on the
dance duo's Push The Button album. Golden
oldie folk/jazz rockers Caravan will bring a touch of the old festival vibe to
the Island with their progressive rock tunes. The band were at their peak during
the 70s and performed several sessions for John Peel's Radio 1 show during that
time.  | | The
Who played at last year's IOW festival |
The
festival site itself will be given a bit of a makeover this year. After seeing
35,000 people sardined into the grounds last year, the organisers are expanding
the site into surrounding fields. New attractions will include an extreme sports
village, a unique Bollywood bar from Bestival and a Kidszone. Since
re-vamping itself in 2002, the festival has played host to many top acts including
The Charlatans, Paul Weller, The Darkness, The Manics, Delays and Bryan Adams. Last
year saw the festival go back to its roots with The Who returning to the stage
over 30 years after their last visit and the original pop idol David Bowie headlining
on Sunday night. Who
else would you like to see performing at this year's Isle of Wight festival? Have
your say.
The
2005 Isle of Wight festival includes... Friday
10th June
Faithless
Razorlight
Supergrass
Idlewild
The
Black Velvets Saturday
11th June
Morrissey
Roxy Music Sunday
12th June
REM
Snow Patrol
Embrace
The Magic Numbers
The Subways
Caravan
For ticket information visit the official
Isle of Wight Festival website. |
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