Words by Nick Mabey (Friday) & Lewis MacLean (Saturday & Sunday). Additional reporting by Paula Wilson.
Main image by Chloe Hashemi.
Friday
by Nick Mabey.
Friday at the festival and Newport was rocking. The sun shone, the crowds swarmed, everything was as it should be. For me it was all about Jarvis Cocker but more of that later.
First things first; a minor rant. For package holiday makers, skiers and other seasoned travellers, the term ‘shuttle buses’ suggests something included in the ticket price. Not here; both the private and municipal bus companies could smell the cash wafting across the Solent and pumped up their prices accordingly. As we disembarked from the ferry the hot, chaotic entrepreneurialism reminded more of Tangiers than Cowes.
Once in I decided the intriguing line up on the main stage warranted my full attention and I wasn’t disappointed. The Clause opened proceedings at 4pm, but blink and you would have missed it. The up and coming Birmingham-based band, who got started on a tiny stage at this same festival three years ago, punched out a few very catchy tunes in accomplished style.
Next up was Sophie Ellis-Bextor, who attracted a very large crowd for an afternoon and proceeded to deliver on her Covid-inspired kitchen disco renaissance with a collection of beautifully delivered dance tunes, including a cover of my favourite Madonna hit, Like A Prayer. Finishing with Murder on the Dance Floor, Ellis-Bextor, was a joy. Dressed in shimmering pink tinsel and clearly enjoying herself immensely, she and her talented band provide perfect sunny festival afternoon fare.
Next came The Sugababes, who I should probably know more about, given they’ve been in existence (albeit with multiple line-ups) for twenty-five years. I was surprisingly entertained; particularly by Push the Button, and I Know How I Feel About You Now. And how I feel about them now is appreciation for their strong individual voices, great harmonies and well choreographed routines.
One Republic were next and I was counting stars as Ryan Tedder reminded us of all the hits he’s written for other performers including Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. Unbelievably, Counting Stars has had two billion downloads on Spotify and it was no surprise the crowd sang along to every word. The high point was a Spanish guitar solo followed by one on violin and then eight bars of both. Ryan Tedder and One Republic remind me of Chris Martin and Coldplay with his standing up piano playing and their anthemic tunes.
An unexpected pleasure followed in the shape of The Courteeners, a Manchester garage band who entertained with power and poise. The only song I knew was not even theirs; a cover of It Must Be Love didn’t disappoint.
And so to Pulp, a notable absence in my live back catalogue. I was excited. And not disappointed. Despite being your friendly neighbourhood DJ these days, Jarvis Cocker was still able to bring his gawky, provocative, sometimes-angry but always animated stage presence out to play. Featuring five of the line-up that catapulted them to fame in the early nineties and supported by an extended strings section, Pulp were literately Different Class, plundering almost every song from their most famous album.
The set and staging was beautifully imagined, with stylish raking, innovative props and bold lighting to bring a theatrical feel to the performance. Jarvis was on top form, and really seemed to relish his first Isle of Wight festival performance since 2011. After ninety minutes of imaginative, chaotic splendour the band of course finished with fans favourite, Common People, giving me the chance to reference this publication by saying the audience’s euphoric reaction was something we all had in common.
Saturday
by Lewis MacLean.
My first time at the Isle of Wight festival meant added complications. After a long and arduous journey up a long road on a hot sunny Friday afternoon, extra travel complications led to me missing Sophie Ellis-Bextor. As anyone will know Sophie is a staple diet of an enjoyable festival experience. So I spent some time mourning this loss before getting to know the festival ground. I was even more agitated to hear she did a set on the Barclaycard stage later on.
The Main Stage
Friday was labelled ‘Pulp’ night on the main stage and whilst not being a fan, they held an unquestionable aura over the crowd and even forgot about the sheer teenage euphoria that can arrive when I hear the opening chords to classics like Mishapes and Do you remember the first time.
What was instantly noticeable was the wide age range in the crowd and this wouldn’t be the first time this festival either. It’s unlikely many here tonight were even born when original Pulp fans hit the dancefloor yet they were still dancing to Common People like it was a family wedding. Everyone by the front was treated to a shower of paper confetti that coated the main stage field. I remember thinking, as everyone was singing along with Jarvis; ‘will he be here with the Common People who have to clean this mess up tomorrow morning?’
Friday night may have indeed been Pulp’s night but for me, it was made special watching Peter Hook & The Light play The Big Top just before Pulp. A mixed set of Joy Division/New Order classics with a blistering finale of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ that left the crowd singing it back to an empty stage, even after the lights had come up.
I’ve seen Hooky and the lads before and I’ll see them again because their show never fails to be anything short of British musical greatness. (I probably would have enjoyed the Human League when they closed the Big Top that night but it was so rammed, I couldn’t get anywhere near it!)
Somehow amongst it all, I even managed to catch a bit of Denise Van Outen’s DJ set at the Electro Dance tent. It was kind of surreal inside what seemed like a makeshift nightclub inside a huge tent. Denise threw some shapes at the DJ booth whilst standing in front of her name spelt out in huge bright lights. It kind of made sense as Van Outen isn’t a world away from Van Helden I guess. It was also surreal to see not just single men and women dancing into the early hours but entire families with children happily dancing together. I mean, it was past 10pm. It felt like I was in Madrid at one point.
I was even delighted to see her and partner catching some of the amazing fire shows later on at the Cirque De La Quirk stage as she enjoyed the Drum & Bass soundtrack and mingled with people on the barrier. It’s nice to see big names down with the crowd. That was pretty much the place to be at the end of every night and with good reason.
However, it is now Saturday morning and the field before the main stage is slowly filling up with vast crowds consisting of people and chairs.
At about midday, a band called Germein opened up on the main stage and even by Saturday morning, I had already heard about them after seeing them play The River Stage Friday afternoon ( after finding a wicked new band called The Now). Germein were everywhere this festival having played a total of seven gigs and I can confirm that they were welcomed by the audience at all of them. A trio of three sisters from Adelaide, they first caught my eye when they were accompanied by huge inflatable Koalas dancing around them on stage. I remember thinking they could be the Australian Corrs, only to find out they have already supported the Corrs. Germein never failed to impress with a mixture of kickass stage performance, and catchy soft rock melodies all covered in a stage presence firmly built on sunny and addictive positivity. You will be hearing about them soon, I am sure.
The Girlpower season continued unbridled and unharassed with the next act; Girlband before we got to Gabrielle. (Actually, Scouting for Girls were in between but they do have Girl in the name). Much like the Sugababes about this time yesterday, I was reminded of just how many hits Gabrielle has. By this time, all chairs were out as far as the eye could see and it was a sit-down music afternoon as the lyrics ‘dreams, can come true’ washed over the happy and content crowd on this hot Saturday afternoon. I was pleasantly reminded of songs like Rise and Out of Reach and as the set went well, I could hear a small chuckle of triumph from Gabrielle on the mic, as she said goodbye.
Yes, it was officially a party now. So how can this party get better? How about inviting the England Eurovision champion Sam Ryder who brought his usual charm and energy levels to an already packed out crowd so I certainly couldn’t get any closer than a distant screen show. There was literally like, no space (man).
The momentum pretty much flowed on from there during sets from Anne-Marie who is new to me but knew her audience as her highly relatable songs on issues of heartbreak and gas-lighting. ‘Ciao Adios’ connected well with an added calypso vibe suiting the afternoon well. She even threw in a verse of Pied Piper that likely paved the way for N-Dubs nicely. After a 10-year gap, Camden’s infamous trio came onstage more than ready to play and the crowd were certainly happy to see them run up and down the stage, bantering in between songs like Girls and Number One. They even got close up and into the crowd at one point with Daffy on the shoulders of a security guard wading through the densely packed sold-out crowd. I thought to myself; ‘you’re playing with fire there, son’. as the opening notes of Playing with Fire chimed in. No regrets, I guess.
Anywhere you looked, you could see that everyone was having fun in the sun.
By the time George Ezra got to the stage, the sun was ready to set and as the heat dipped a bit, his music was like a proverbial cool breeze. He was the first of two headline acts so he obviously called ‘Shotgun’ and he was probably the perfect person to serenade the crowds in the hot sun.
He treated the masses to his trademark hits like Budapest and Green Green Grass. . (Oh and Shotgun). (It’s actually surprising how many of his songs reference sunny weather and fields.)
The second headliner was The Chemical Brothers. They are often praised by festival veterans and they are so far from the one man and his guitar genre that credit is due to the diverse minds in IOW festival who organised this line-up. Within an hour the vibe had gone from soulful guitar folk/bluegrass singalong to full-on dance music with a light show that could probably be seen in space. There seemed to be a brief silence due to a fleeting technical issue but it certainly didn’t ruin the set for anyone.
The other stages
Whilst the main stage is usually where the party is, like most festivals there was a lot going on in the other stages. The good thing about the Isle of Wight Festival is that it is organised and structured much like a village high street, so it makes finding other stages easier and also a greater chance something will catch your eye as you walk along. There was great efficiency in crowd management too with single day ticket holders able to leave the main stage quickly, whilst campers strolled back in a different direction. It makes sense from the inside but you can’t always see that when you first arrive and are rushing to the festival without enough time, due to work reasons or whatever.
Due to the traffic diversions and congestion along the road outside the festival, it is a waste of money to pay the shuttle bus fare to and from Newport city centre. It ended up being quicker to walk.
On Saturday afternoon, I’d hopped down to Kashmir Café earlier to catch ‘Love Always, SKM’; a new project from Jimi, the frontman of former band; Submariner. He described it as a way to deal with grief and loss. Even though he mentioned technical difficulties with musical equipment, I felt it come across loud and clear and they played to a room full of people sitting attentively and enthusiastically. I like to think that their efforts were rewarded with respectfully quiet contemplation.
I had been tipped off about a few upcoming acts by people in the know and one of them was The Last Dinner Party. So I returned to the Big Top to catch their set on Saturday and I certainly wasn’t the only one. They may look like a country folk outfit but they rock out with the best of them. Another great all-female line-up that really owned the stage. I hadn’t even heard of them until the night before but the infectious melody of their closing song’ Nothing Matters’ now lives in my head rent-free.
Another new stage was hidden away in a tent just right of the Big Top. called The Hip Shaker Lounge. It blended DJs and bands and was giving out enough to be its own mini-festival. I discovered it when I went to check out The Molotovs. I am so glad I did for many reasons.
The Molotovs looked cool, they sounded cool and for young musicians they each had an impressive mastery of their individual instruments. They have a meticulous appreciation for the style and feel of retro legends like The Jam, The Who and David Bowie. I even got hints of the Clash in there somewhere. They are very serious about playing their own self-written songs and they can certainly write decent riff-heavy numbers which went down more than well. Yet they are also happy to celebrate songs like David Bowie’s Suffragette City and pay homage to classic summer anthems like Martha and the Vandella’s Heatwave. A young trio on a decent path who will likely do it their own way. It makes it even more exciting to follow their musical journey. More importantly, the Molotovs have that blend of passion and non-conformity that shaped all the great heroes of counter-culture. Personally, I am expecting big things someday.
With so many places offering live music outside of the Main stage and Big Top: River stage, Hip Shaker lounge, Kashmir Café, This Feeling tent, Cirque De La Quirke, Electro Dance tent, Barclaycard stage and probably more things scattered around unbeknownst to myself, that is more than enough for anyone to handle.
Lazy Sunday
by Lewis MacLean.
Sunday morning was already here and waking up at 7am in a boiling hot tent meant little choice but to seize the day. Usually, Sunday is a slow burn for me but that wasn’t ever going to be the case today with Blondie, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Manic Street Preachers all happening today, one after the other. That is not including Robbie Williams on the main stage.
I wandered around for the best part of the morning just seeing what was on offer and even managed to catch another set from Germein at the Platform One Stage ( a stage for up-and-coming acts like Good Feeling). I had made a note to pop into the Kashmir Café to visit the consistently excellent singer-songwriter Jazz Morley. Naturally, she mesmerised the crowd and probably bought a bit of cheer as the first rain started to trickle down. I got there early and I was fortunate enough to catch the Ben Stubbs band before her. Their relaxed easy listening still rock suited the Sunday afternoon atmosphere.
En route to the Big Top, I poked my head into the Hipshaker lounge and a tribute band called The Small Fakers were playing. I heard someone play the Small Face’s Tin Soldier and I couldn’t walk away. The Small Face were pretty much there, playing right in front of me. The singer did well to carry the Steve Marriott impersonation and they sounded the real deal. All vintage amps and such. I nearly missed an encore of All Or Nothing when ‘Steve’ invited up a sharply dressed guy to play the drums. I couldn’t catch the name but there was a bit of gasp from the crowd. The drummer was really good and played just like the original Faces Drummer Kenney Jones. It wasn’t until afterwards that I learned it was actually the Drummer from Blondie; Clem Burke. No wonder the song sounded great.
After I rushed down to the Big Top to catch Toyah Wilcox and Robert Fripp already in full swing to yet another packed-out stage (Seriously, most were watching on the screen outside it was so full.)
I assumed it would be a small-time duo like the Sunday Lunch episodes they did over lockdown (similar to Sophie Ellis Bextor’s Disco Kitchen) but this was full-on ROCK. Robert hung back behind Toyah, like a loyal butler leading the band as they knocked out flawless renditions of beloved classics like Black Sabbath’s Paranoid and Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell. They even ended on a very respectable cover of Heroes by Bowie. They were a bit of a sensation as Toyah bounced and strutted around the stage giving Debbie Harry proper competition. If she had not announced on the mic she was 65 years old, nobody would have guessed. Anyone who grew up in the 80s that had a crush on Toyah probably still does.
As the sun was about to set, I saw the Blondie drummer Clem casually stroll across to the main stage, now my second sighting this afternoon. Earlier on I saw someone who looked the spitting image of Glen Matlock sat waiting patiently on a buggy and didn’t think any more of it, stupidly I didn’t even know he was playing for Blondie that day. It turned out to be a pretty star-studded afternoon. Still, there is a certain professional decorum in these situations. For those who don’t know, it’s not advisable to bother a musician when they are about to go on stage.
During his set, Niall Horan joked to the crowd that he would go on all night if it wasn’t Blondie coming on. Niall would have done well on the Saturday night before Ezra, I think. I don’t know much of his music but hope to catch him live again someday.
Blondie did the usual legendary breathtaking set and Debbie Harry is still on form as much as when I last saw them at Glastonbury 1999. They probably sound more punk now than ever.
After Blondie finished, I was determined to catch Echo and The Bunnymen at the Big Top but arriving a bit late meant I may have missed their infamous hit single cover of People are Strange by the Doors. The main thing was that I didn’t miss Killing Moon and the atmosphere went into instant goth melancholy appreciation. It was quite nice to just stand still and appreciate the music rather than navigate the clapping jokers and territorial chairs.
It was 9.30 pm when Echo finished and Robbie had already started on the main stage. I was curious to stick my head in but home town loyalty took precedence so I headed back over to the Hipshaker tent to catch Southampton’s Soul 45 DJs. For anyone who hasn’t seen these two before, they know what they are doing. They came to play and threw out a blend of pedigree soul/funks/ hip-hop to a dancefloor that couldn’t believe their luck. They really impressed in a venue that had Northern Soul DJs only just yesterday, when I mentioned that Hipshaker liked to have DJs play in between bands. I even noticed that the band set-up on stage {Ska’d for Life) were nodding their heads in approval. Soul 45 ladies and gentlemen, local champions doing us proud.
If Friday was all about hero worship of Jarvis Cocker then Sunday is definitely about Robbie. He may well be out Elvis. People love Robbie and I think he gets them too. As I walked through the field opposite the main stage I saw people smiling up at the screen, couples, families dancing, people huddled together and I saw one woman crying reaching her arms up to the screen. These weren’t teenagers at the front. These were middle-aged people all the way back by the food vans. He has a fair few hits in his repertoire even outside Take That and I found myself swaggering to Rock DJ but we all know that when it came on, Angels was going to be the defining moment of the evening.
I recall earlier that day about 11am when I was walking through Newport city centre, a group of lads drinking on a table outside a pub singing along to Angels. It could only ever escalate from there. When the time came and the show was over, an impressive fireworks display erupted into the air above around 11pm. It was officially closing time and I saw a few people trickle out, probably to catch a ferry. However, Robbie wasn’t ready to leave. He got the crowd going singing along to extra verses of Angel for good measure as the entire festival formed into one huge singalong like a pub lock-in. No Robbie fan could argue they didn’t get value for money. After tonight I couldn’t help but admire him, people loved him and I really think he gets people in general.
However, my emotional farewell moment came after at the Big Top, when I rushed over to catch the Manic Street Preachers. Despite missing Motorcycle Emptiness live, I was not bitter because there were plenty more Manics to come. With the stage screens used to broadcast song lyrics and poignant quotes, only the Manics would make people read at a festival on a Sunday night. We had the nostalgia of Design For Life and much to my appreciation, they ended with If You Tolerate This. Seeing the Manics at a festival is like catching up with an old friend.
So there you have it – the 2023 Isle of Wight festival was at a close. I have no doubt I missed a vast swathe of music and happening but that speaks more for the volume of the festival rather than my limited human capacity of music.
I would say that the security and production staff deserve a special mention as they remained polite, friendly and helpful all weekend. On more than one occasion throughout the weekend, I was taken aback at the professionalism of all staff, all doing their jobs with a smile right up to the closing hours. The odd smile will always add to the atmosphere considerably. Well done to them all for lasting that long.
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