67 - Isle of Wight Festival & more with John Giddings

67 - Isle of Wight Festival & more with John Giddings

Author: Rock n Roll Book Club June 7, 2025 Duration: 59:11

Join us & legendary promoter and agent John Giddings to discuss the Isle of Wight Festival, its history, and the challenges of managing such a significant event and the evolving dynamics between the festival and the local community.


We hear about some of John's most memorable experiences at the festival over the years from biblical rain in 2012 to David Bowie's final UK performance in 2004.


From the festival's inception in 1968 to its revival in 2002, we cover some of the iconic performances from Bob Dylan & Jimi Hendrix in the 60s to David Bowie & the Paul McCartney in more recent times.


Prior to taking over the Isle of Wight festival in 2002 John had worked with a who's who of the music world & we hear about seeing the Sex Pistols at the Nashville in Kensington in 1976, his early days promoting at Exeter University, and touring with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Genesis & more.


John tells us about some of the relationships with legendary artists he has maintained over the years including Iggy Pop, Celine Dion & The Corrs.


The Isle of Wight Festival takes place on June 19th to 22nd 2025 & is headlined by Sting, Stereophonics & Justin Timberlake.



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Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon Cardwell

Written & Produced by Simon Cardwell

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The Music Maps Podcast from the Rock n Roll Book Club isn't your typical music show. It's an audio expedition where geography is the guide. Every episode starts with a specific location-a city, a venue, a forgotten roadside attraction-and uses that place as a launchpad to explore the sounds, stories, and scenes connected to it. You might find yourself deep in the blues clubs of Chicago one week and tracing the underground punk threads of a small European town the next. The conversations are wide-ranging, connecting the dots between iconic artists and obscure movements, all anchored to a point on the map. Listening to this podcast feels like adding a new, richly detailed pin to a global atlas of musical influence. It’s about the context behind the chords and the cultural soil from which genres grow. The result is a continuously evolving, deeply human portrait of how music and place are inextricably linked, one fascinating destination at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Music Maps Podcast
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