After an apocalyptic deluge of torrential rain battered the festival with several setbacks in 2012, Isle Of Wight festival promoter John Giddings responded by securing one of the strongest line-ups in recent years. In addition to pulling in some real overseas musical behemoths (The Killers, Bon Jovi, Blondie) the 2013 line-up also boasted a collective of quintessentially British bands who, over the years, have helped mould the UK music scene into what it is today (The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Paul Weller). The festival has always been known for paying homage to its rich musical heritage by pulling in an eclectic mix of old and new bands that cater for the mainstream as well as more divergent acts, and the line-up for 2013 did not disappoint. WhatCulture made the pilgrimage to Seaclose Park's fortress of musical artistry for its entire duration to give our readers the story on the action
THURSDAY:
Image: Sarah Lincoln photography
Happy Mondays and
The Farm ensured that the festival got off to a storming - rather than stormy - start on a sunny and glorious day that was, thankfully for the promoters, light years away from the rain-soaked pandemonium of 2012. The Farm were the first of a holy trinity of Madchester sheened heavyweights to grace the festival this year, warming up the Big Top for Happy Mondays and setting the scene for The Stone Roses to headline the Main Stage on Friday. By the time the Pachelbel-esque descending chord sequence of All Together Now kicked in the Liverpudlians had already won the crowd over, proving they were far from a one-track pony. Frontman Peter Hooton explained to an emotional crowd how the song referenced the World War Christmas Day Truce in 1914, when British and German soldiers threw down their weapons to play football together. A lot of grown men had tears in their eyes at this point - but that was almost certainly the wind. Happy Mondays boasted the same line-up that appeared on their seminal 1987 debut (and Rowetta), an album that galvanised a UK indie scene still licking its wounds after the rancorous departure of The Smiths. Ryder looked his age but was on form with his uncooked brand of urban alt-rock and uniquely accentuated delivery, working up the crowd by meandering between Mondays-esque sharp inspired imagery and borderline incomprehensibility. A maracas-toting Bez curiously only danced to three tracks, but flung himself around the stage with gusto like a man twenty years younger; if anyone knows this guys chiropractor please let us know. The band saved their baggiest grooves for set-closer Step On, during which strangers hugged, locked arms and screeched back every word.
Image: Callum Baker photography