Photo: WENN
"I didn't realise I'd booked Queen on the actual Queen's birthday, but I'll take all the credit for it," laughs Isle Of Wight Festival boss John Giddings - but such happy-go-lucky serendipity is so in keeping with the free spirit of the event. It remains all about freedom, just as it was way back when. "It's all about people having a good time to great music in a brilliant location, it's a beautiful place with a good vibe," John smiles. "We should be true to the essence of 1970 - we're all hippies at heart really."
Tickets to the Isle Of Wight Festival 2016 are on sale here
But don't for one second think that the Isle Of Wight is all about legends and legacy acts - not at all. They like to look to the future too.
"I was looking through the bill last night, and there are so many up and coming bands," says John. "People like Blossoms, they go from strength to strength to strength. The Second Sons too, in the Big Top. I keep looking and it's going to be impossible for me to see a song by every band."
Shame, as it's quite a line-up. As we look forward to this year's event, we talk to John Giddings about his friendship with David Bowie, his many attempts to book Prince, celebrating punk, which new bands he loves, looking to next year's headliners and what makes Isle Of Wight Festival so special...
Last year there was some controversy when you said that there were only 'boring' headliners coming from newer acts, like Ed Sheeran. How do you feel about new talent rising up the bill in the future?
"There's a wealth of headliners coming. Tragically, we've had David Bowie and Prince die. They were both potential headliners for the Isle Of Wight Festival. Looking at the popularity of that festival in America with Paul McCartney, The Who, The Rolling Stones - I think people feel like it's the last chance to see these people. There are certainly lots of bands coming up, like Catfish + The Bottlemen and Everything Everything who are brilliant. I want people to come to the festival and discover the new stuff as well - I want them to discover Bang Bang Romeo and Blossoms. The whole idea of the Isle Of Wight Festival is music of the past, present and future.
"Y'know, we have a World War II bunker where people have shots out the back window with Vera Lynn. I like that as well, it makes things exciting."
Photo: Daniel Quesada
Were you in talks with Prince to try and get him to headline?
"Oh yeah - I was talking to Prince for the last five years. I can't tell you the intricacies of what we talked about and where we got to, but I will say it was 'ongoing'. I always wanted him to do a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, because I always thought he was the only person who could do it properly He was too young to leave this world."
How do you plan to combine Queen's performance, with the actual Queen's birthday?
"Brian May playing on the roof of Buckingham Palace will be hard to top, but I'm sure something will happen. More importantly, we're going to pay our dues to David Bowie. Headlining the Isle Of Wight in 2004 was his last UK show. I represented him for 30 years, so we'll be printing Ziggy Stardust masks and selling them for Stand Up To Cancer. We're going to print 20,000, get everyone to wear them, play a David Bowie song and remember what an incredible talent he was.
"We'll also be screening his 2004 performance on screens around the site throughout the weekend. I've been getting email offers about tribute bands, but the truth is there's only one David. I'm sure loads of bands will pay tribute in their own way, but that's up to them. Iggy Pop performs 'China Girl', so that will be special."
Did you ever have an inkling that Bowie might one day return to the stage?
"Over the last 10 years, instead of saying 'hello', he'd just say 'I'm not touring', and I would say 'I'm not asking'. He was very funny."
And you're celebrating punk this year as well?
"Well it's 40 years of punk. I joined the music industry when punk broke. I had a flat in West Kensington, walked across the road and Sex Pistols were playing. Since then I've represented X Ray Specs, Iggy Pop, The Ramones, Adam Ant - I just thought we should acknowledge the fact that these people changed the shape of modern music. Before then, everybody thought that Genesis and Pink Floyd was what it was all about, then these people came along and kicked it out."
Do you feel that the spirit of punk is still alive in 2016?
"Oh yeah, I think that it inspired people to give it a go. When I was growing up you had to play guitar like Eric Clapton or David Gilmour. Then punk came along and chucked the rulebook out the window. The Clash were incredible, and all of these bands were so exciting to see at the time. The Sex Pistols were first, The Clash were second, The Damned the third, but then it became more New Wave. People think The Jam were a punk band, but they weren't. They were Mods but with real songs."
And Iggy was the precursor to all of this...
"Of course, he's the Godfather. The funniest moment was when we were doing a radio interview with Johnny Ramone. They asked 'what do you think of Johnny Rotten?' and he replied 'let me tell you, those guys were still miming in the mirror when we were gigging in New York. The Ramones live was like being hit over the head with a sledgehammer."
Will Iggy be performing with Josh Homme and Matt Helders again, or is he back to his normal backing band?
"It's his regular band. We just did the one tour with Post Pop Depression, but he'll be playing some songs from the album."
There are of course, so many festivals these days...
"There are, and it makes me laugh when people call some bands in Hyde Park 'a festival'. A festival is where you camp and go away with your mates for four days, if you go home, it's just a gig. What people don't realise how hard and expensive it is to put on a festival in a field. We pay a million pounds on security and police alone. It's a big financial risk, but it's worth it when you see 50,000 people singing along to The Who or Queen."
So what's the secret to longevity?
"When I started it, people said that it was impossible to have a festival on an island that you can only get to by boat, but that's one if it's attractions. You need a destination, an escape - plus there's a bar on the ferry. It's also within striking distance from London."
Photo: Daniel Quesada
And how is the festival for 2017 taking shape?
"God, the minute you finish this year, you start thinking about next year - I've already started making offers for bands. I won't say who, but you should never tempt fate. Five years ago, I would never have said things about Prince. Let's just make this year a success and send everyone away happy."
But how do you go about making those kind of decisions?
"I talk to the audience and who they want to see. I go around the world every day of the week to see bands so there's no shortage of people to talk to. You get a fair idea of who's entertaining and who's not."
And what do people want?
"Foo Fighters, Oasis, Roger Waters, Prince, Green Day - they want people who've had that catalogue of success. Who'd have thought that we'd get Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney? Certainly not me. The Isle Of Wight is an iconic and prestigious event, and we need to protect that legacy."
Have you ever made Oasis an offer?
"They've never asked, but I'm sure they will eventually. You can't force these things, but I think it will come along naturally. I really like them, and I think it's likely. They're always welcome."
Any other dream reunions you'd welcome?
"Talking Heads, Dire Straits - but you've got to think about the future."
Anyone you'd love to see step up to headline?
"The Black Keys were fantastic last year, and I think Catfish + The Bottlemen will get there eventually."
Isle Of Wight festival kicks off from 9-12 June. For tickets, and more information visit here.
