The Last Great Event

with Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison
The Isle of Wight Festival in 1969 famously 'stole Bob Dylan from Woodstock' and set the benchmark fUK rock and pop festivals. In this new paperback edition, Ray Foulk explores the life-changing experience and reveals the realities behind this transformative moment in music history.

Expanded edition, featuring a new chapter and photographs on the Festival’s modern revival under John Giddings. 

The Isle of Wight Festival in 1969 famously stole Bob Dylan from Woodstock’ and set the benchmark for all rock and pop festivals in the UK. Its 1970 follow-up became one of the most iconic music gatherings of all time, with an unforgettable line-up including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, The Doors, Joan Baez and many more. Widely reported to have drawn 600,000 people—five times the Island’s population—it was Britain’s own Woodstock, and Hendrix’s last major performance before his death just 17 days later. 

Joint organiser Ray Foulk gives a unique insider’s account of the extraordinary highs and the bitter conflicts surrounding the event, from local hostility to counterculture clashes. Controversial, chaotic, and unforgettable, the 1970 festival has been named The Last Great Event. 

This expanded edition not only revisits those legendary days but also brings the story into the present, with a brand-new chapter and rare photographs covering the Festival’s rebirth under John Giddings from 2002. It explores how the event was successfully revived for a new generation, cementing the Isle of Wight Festival’s reputation as one of the world’s great live music experiences. 

Contributor: Caroline Foulk (Compiled by)

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