Tuesday,
4 June, 2002 15:00 BST
Rock Island - Review |
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| Slug
impersonating rife at IOW Festival |
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It
had a lot to live up to - following in the footsteps of three legendary
episodes in music history, but Island Rock saw the Isle of Wight returning
to the festival circuit in style. BBC Southampton's Stephen Stafford
joined the modern day hippy chicks and old rockers ... |
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The early
morning Isle of Wight ferry eased across the Solent with a handful
of sleeping bag and rucksack-carrying music fans - a faint echo of
the mass exodus of hippies in the late 60s.
Such gatherings are of course confined to history. Pop festivals these
days are defined by health and safety regulations, big screen advertising
and VIP tents as much as they are by free love, dubious substances
and communal lentil eating.
Nevertheless, for the Isle of Wight, starved as it is of big name
live music imports, Rock Island was a great moment and thousands of
people turned out for the party.
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| Alex
Clough |
The opening
act proved there is plenty of life in the Isle of Wight's homegrown
talent. Neglected Youth are an energetic group of 15 and 16 year olds
who had won the right to open the gig at a recent talent contest.
It was a great moment for lead singer Alex Clough: "It's the
most incredible feeling of my life, playing in front of that many
people."
As the rain started, we considered whether if, in a few hours, it
would be naked mud sliding that would be the enduring image of this
particular festival.
Another iconic festival image also emerged - as the 'God of Hell Fire',
aka The Crazy World of Arthur Brown arrived on the site. He headlined
one of the original festivals and still had plenty of fans three decades
later.
As the rain poured down, the plastic waterproofs came out, people
huddled together and watched a great performance from unsigned Chichester
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| Arthur
Brown |
band Johnny 4.
DNA Doll knocked out a cracking set which was being talked about in
the burger van queues for hours afterwards.
At that point the sun started to come out, right on cue for The Bees
- the Isle of Wight collective whose 'Sunshine Hit Me' album has got
rave reviews. Their mix of brassy soul, world and funky soul riffs
was the perfect soundtrack as people blissed out and dried out.
The Coral and Hundred Reasons were next on the line-up and we were
soon getting well into the festival vibe - people chilling out on
the grass or bouncing around at the front barrier.
Then it was Starsailor's turn, with the crowd expanding ever more.
Isle of Wight Union Jacks fluttered as they blasted out storming versions
of 'Alcoholic' and 'Good Souls' and James Walsh rightly applauded
the festival for going for an all-British bill.
He must have thought it was 'one of those days' though. He not only
cocked up 'Some of Us', but his Pete Townsend-style attempted demolition
of the stage went a bit Pete Tong when his mic stand got entangled
in some cable!
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| Starsailor's
James Walsh |
It's lucky
he left the stage intact really, as Ash's performance really was worth
waiting for. In the late afternoon sunshine, the band, who amazingly
are celebrating their 10th anniversary this month, had the festival
formula off to a tee.
It was hit after hit, with 'Girl from Mars', 'Angel Interceptor' .
'Oh Yeah', 'Jesus says' getting everyone bouncing, along with more
recent hits like the Novello-winning 'Shining light'.
The first 'new' festival was always going to be a tricky balancing
act about who exactly it was appealing to, and sticking veteran Robert
Plant on after Ash lost the momentum slightly. There's no doubting
his rock-god status but the older rock fans weren't exactly as animated
and bouncy.
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| Good
evening Newport! |
However
by the time the sun set we'd all got enough energy back for indie
icons, The Charlatans. 'North Country Boy', the classic 'The Only
One', and a concluding 'Love is the Key' showed they are still on
top form.
Overall, a top day with a good line-up and impressive stage and sound
system. Some things need ironing out obviously, such as the details
over transport - bizarrely there were no Red Jets back to Southampton
after 11pm. But there's no doubt it would be great to see Rock Island
established as a permanent fixture on the festival circuit again.
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BBC Southampton Website
Broadcasting House,
Havelock Road,
Southampton
SO14 7PU
(+44) 023 80 374370/1/2
southampton@bbc.co.uk
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