Isle of Wight Festival: (our) seven greatest performances

So...we've put together a Top Seven Isle of Wight Festival Acts.

Scroll down to see them...

Maybe you’ve scrolled through the photos sent to the Isle of Wight County Press?

Read more: Your Isle of Wight Festival pictures (on what should be day one)

Maybe you’re watching or listening to great performances from the archive - courtesy of Sky Arts and Absolute Radio.

Read more: Isle of Wight Festival greatest hits re-broadcast on tv and radio

Maybe you’re already seeking out the sequins after yesterday’s 2021 line-up announcement?

Read more: Isle of Wight Festival 2021: Lionel Richie, Jess Glynne, Lewis Capaldi, Duran Duran, Snow Patrol

Today we want to know YOUR greatest hits. Who have been the stand out acts for you? 

We present our Top Seven. Let us know if you agree…..

Jimi Hendrix (1970)

2020 marks 50 years since the virtuoso ‘rock God’ Jimi Hendrix graced the stage at Afton Down, performing to over 500,000 people. Playing alongside a star-studded lineup, featuring Leonard Cohen, Donovan, Joni Mitchell and Pentangle, Jimi Hendrix headlined...but died just a few weeks later. It was his last UK appearance. He left such an important legacy that guitarist Jeff Beck performed a track in tribute at the 2011 Isle of Wight Festival. 

Kaiser Chiefs (2008)

Kaiser Chiefs have rocked the Isle of Wight Festival three times, with a fourth planned for the Big Top in 2021. Each performance has been great in its own way, but arguably the best was in 2008 when the band headlined Main Stage on Friday night, after a set from Isle of Wight Festival special guests N.E.R.D.. A year after the release of their album Yours Truly, Angry Mob, the band played hits including Ruby and Angry Mob, alongside Everyday I Love You Less and Less and I Predict a Riot (which featured lead singer Ricky Wilson climbing up the side of the stage.)

Image: Pixabay

Pulp (2011)

Do You Remember the First Time? Pulp played the Isle of Wight? They were in Seaclose Park in 2011 - perhaps you were in the crowd? The UK comeback for the 90s Britpop band, known for Disco 2000 and Babies, didn’t last long. Pulp’s 2011 show, before Foo Fighters rocked Main Stage, was their first and last on the Isle of Wight - due to their second breakup just two years later. Still, Jarvis Cocker and co kept the crowd moving, with a high-energy dance-filled set and hit after hit after hit - closing up with iconic 1995 hit Common People.

Pink (2010)

From falling out of a box hanging in the air above the crowd, to closing the show by flying over the field on stage wires, Pink’s was arguably one of the best performances to ever take place at the Isle of Wight Festival. She brought out all the hits - including Funhouse and Sober. Her So What encore found her climbing up huge poles towering over the lucky audience and singing, while hanging upside down tens of metres above Seaclose Park.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (2012)

The late great Tom Petty put on an incredible show at the Isle of Wight Festival 2012. During an acoustic version of Learning to Fly he had the whole crowd singing every word for five minutes straight. He played the instantly recognisable Free Fallin’ and closed with American Girl, from his first album, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The Heartbreakers were at Seaclose Park too - joining Tom Petty for his UK festival debut. They included founding member - now with legends (and former Isle of Wight Festival headliners) Fleetwood Mac - guitarist Mike Campbell.

Image: Pixabay

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (2012)

Bruce ‘The Boss’ Springsteen played for almost three hours straight in 2012 and when it was time for the firework final, and his version of The Beatles’ Twist and Shout, the crowd still wanted more. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds preceded him. Bruce Springsteen didn’t disappoint. Rarely performed songs including Born in the USA and Glory Days were pulled out for the incredible set - and the crowd joined in. 

Queen + Adam Lambert (2016)

Isle of Wight Festival 2016 saw the return of The Who headlining Saturday night, but arguably the best set from that weekend was the UK exclusive from Queen and Adam Lambert. The rock band, with original members Brian May and Roger Taylor, burst onto stage, with smoke machines going wild and a curtain falling to reveal the band behind. Adam Lambert, 2009 runner up on the USA’s American Idol, brought his own take to the anthemic songs, originally voiced by the late Freddie Mercury. Queen closed with We Are the Champions, followed by God Save the Queen. Queen and Adam Lambert delivered one of the best Isle of Wight Festival sets in its history - and we’re not taking opinions on that!