A celebration of the Isle of Wight’s rich musical heritage
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LOCAL TREASURES
The record shops and nightclubs of the Island are an important part of our musical heritage. Old membership cards, shop bags and other cheap relics from yesteryear enrich our music heritage story. Look out for treasure from La Babalu, 69 Club, Birdcage, Ryde Queen, Ponda Rosa, Happy Daze, Lucky Dip, Studio 4, Teagues… and more.
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SOLENT RECORDS
Solent Records was launched in the late 1960s by island impresario John Waterman. There are Solent vinyl, CD and cassette releases scattered throughout this exhibition - including the very first EP by Christian prog-poppers Corkindale. It’s actually really good!
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ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL
Tickets to the three original Isle of Wight festivals, designed by Dave Roe, are pieces of art in themselves. A recent acquisition for us are these unused tickets from the Wednesday and Thursday “warm up” days at Afton, 1970.
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FESTIVAL FOOTAGE
Many of the Isle of Wight Festival and Bestival sets have made it onto record and CD, sometimes years after the event. Here are a few VHS tapes, DVDs and even 8-track cartridges featuring performances recorded on the Island.
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UFFA FOX
Yachting legend Uffa Fox needed little encouragement to record his sea shanties for an LP and EP in the early 1960s. Some might say his singing voice is an acquired taste…
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JOHN WATERMAN
Before founding Solent Records, producer John Waterman was recording and releasing singles and EPs by folk and pop singers across the Island. The Lauri Say and the Island Folk EP proved very popular and was repressed by Island shop Teagues.
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MISS ANNIE ADAMS
Miss Annie Adams was born in a hotel close to this spot in Newport in 1843 – and went on to become a formidable presence in Victorian music hall on both sides of the Atlantic. She was well known for her “big voice, big personality and big physique” and could reportedly make glasses and tumblers shake in the presence of her singing. She died in 1905.
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JANE BIRKIN
Actress and singer Jane Birkin enjoyed summer holidays in Hulverstone on the Isle of Wight as a child. She later wrote: “Being a 12-year-old on a bike on the Isle of Wight with my brother and sister and Ma and Pa is for me the epitome of happiness…”
WIGHT IS WIGHT
“Wight Is Wight” was written and released by French chanteur Michel Delpech after viewing French news footage of the 1969 Isle of Wight Festival starring Bob Dylan. It went to number one in France and was subsequently re-recorded in English (by Sandie Shaw), in Italian (by I Dik Dik) and in Spanish (by Uruguay’s Los Campos) to name but three versions. It sold more than a million copies in France on release and continues to be performed around the world to this day.
A GLIMPSE BEHIND THE SCENES
Ray Foulk’s incredibly detailed book of “The Last Great Event” shows how turbulent the final few weeks of planning the 1970 festival really were. With tickets already flying out of the door and some of the artists’ 50 per cent deposits paid, cancellation would have proved ruinous. Here are a pair of very quickly drafted plans for sites that were under consideration before Afton was settled upon – at the racecourse roundabout and on a farm at Havenstreet.
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WALKER BROTHERS
See the key on a chain around Scott Walker’s neck? It’s from Quarr Abbey, where Scott studied Gregorian chant while taking a break from the bright lights of fame as a Walker Brother in the mid 1960s. He continued to carry the key with him long after his summer stay.
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LEVEL 42
Level 42 formed on the Island in 1979 and are still a band to this day. They enjoyed many hits before calling it a day in 1994 – but they reformed in the early 2000s and still perform to this day. Sadly, founder member Boon Gould passed away in 2019.
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PAT READER
The three singles produced by Pat Reader in the early 1960s have cemented her place in pop vocal history – not least because of her work with maverick producer Joe Meek at his legendary studio in North London. Pat continues to make the Island her home.
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FESTIVAL FASHION
One of the greatest innovations of the 1970 festival were the disposable sleeping bags. Essentially long potato sacks with a different front print, these were sold on site by glamorous saleswomen in t-shirts and miniskirts. One of those original skirts is being modelled by our mannequin!
