Isle of Wight Festival 1970

The preceding Isle of Wight Festivals, also promoted by the Foulks, had already gained a good reputation in 1968 and 1969 by featuring acts such as Jefferson Airplane, Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Move, the Pretty Things, Joe Cocker, the Moody Blues (performed at the 1969 festival), the Who, and Bob Dylan in his second performance since his 1966 motorcycle accident -the first one was just three songs with The Band at a Woody Guthrie Memorial Concert.

With Hendrix confirmed, artists such as Rory Gallagher, Cactus, Chicago, the Doors, Lighthouse, the Moody Blues, the Who, Miles Davis, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jethro Tull, Sly and the Family Stone, Ten Years After, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Free also took part.

The Isle of Wight was a favoured retirement destination of the British well-heeled, and a haven of the yachting set, and many of the traditional residents deplored the huge influx of "hippies" and "freaks".

It featured in order billed: Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, Ten Years After, Miles Davis, Kris Kristofferson, Procol Harum, Cactus, Leonard Cohen and David Bromberg.

A number of other performances were later released on various formats: VHS, LaserDisc, cassette tape, CD, DVD, Blu-ray & Vinyl records: Other audience/soundboard recordings in different audio formats are circulating, among others are: Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Joni Mitchell, Procol Harum, Family, Kris Kristofferson, Pentangle ...

The founders/main instigators of the Glastonbury (1971), Windsor (1972–74) and Stonehenge (1974) Free Festivals were all at IOW 1970, respectively Andrew Kerr, Ubi Dwyer and Wally Hope, inspired by the anarchistic nature of the breakdown of control by the original organisation and the subsequent freedom of the last days of the event.

For the 50th anniversary of the event, a re-enactment was scheduled in the same location, with John Lodge, Ten Years After, Pentangle, The Pretty Things and Nik Turner all confirmed.