John Vincent Power CBE (29 April 1947 – 9 March 2024) was an Irish music venue and festival owner, and the founder of Mean Fiddler who lived and operated mainly in London.
A few months later, returning with a friend, he arrived in Kilburn, London during 1963, the time known as the Swinging Sixties, a decade that saw an estimated 100,000 Irish people, travel to Britain seeking employment.
Power worked in various manual labour jobs before his move into the demolition of tenement slums, where he often came upon abandoned second hand furniture and identified an opportunity that he could profit from.
Building his reputation he formed productive relationships with brewers and financiers and he was to earn the affectionate nickname of 'The Godfather of Gigs'.
It was the springboard for expansion into other venues and bars and created an opportunity for the Mean Fiddler Group (MFG) with Power at the helm, to dominate the UK outdoor music festival market.
He acquired the Finsbury Park Astoria, the Kentish Town Forum, the Highbury Garage, the Camden Jazz Café and the Subterania in London.
[13][14] Power helped popularise festivals in the UK through the rise of Reading, Leeds, The Phoenix, The Fleadh, Madstock, and numerous other one offs including the first Sex Pistols re-union in Finsbury Park.
[16] Power is credited with reversing the fortunes of the long-established event, turning Reading into a highly anticipated and successful fixture on the annual festival calendar.
In 2008, a 30,000 crowd capacity festival centred on folk and independent music, with a specific aim of a return to "back to basics" organisation with a no sponsorship, no branding, no VIP attitude.
Billed as the city's "largest celebration of Irish artists", the line-up included musicians such as Van Morrison, The Chieftains, Imelda May and Shane MacGowan.
[28] Through various fundraising methods, including collections at the festivals, Power had helped to rebuild a primary school in Mostar, and in Thailand following the Tsumani.