life - INTERVIEW
Who is
Mr Bestival?
Rob da Bank, aka Robert
Gorham, is the man behind
the Bestival. Three years ago
it attracted 6,000 people. Now
in its fourth year 20,000 will
make their way to Robin Hill.
We dig deep to find out more
about the man behind the
island’s alternative festival.
Rob is a real south coast boy.
He was born just across the water in
Portsmouth and spent most of his
formative years in Warsash.
“I had a happy childhood. I grew
up with my brother, who’s now a
TV producer and my sister who’s a
physiotherapist in the States.
“I did all the usual things you do
growing up on the south coast –
windsurfing and sailing.
“I’m 33 now and was born in 1973
so music wise I was more of an 80s
kid. I wasn’t trendy and into punk
and all that.
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“I was more into playing the
trombone in a brass band and
listening to The Beatles.
“I had piano lessons too so it
was quite a traditional musical
upbringing.
“It wasn’t until I got to about 15
that I really got into the Manchester
scene with the Stone Roses and a
bit later The Pixies. I was really into
indy music.
“I started collecting records about
then but if you’d asked me at school
what I wanted to do when I left it
was always journalism.
“I wasn’t massively academic at
school. I enjoyed doing languages,
French and German, but I did a lot
of mucking about too.
“I was always getting into trouble
for handing in homework late.
“In the end I did toe the line. I did
my GCSEs and A-levels and went to
University to do French and History
of Art.”
After his degree, Rob fulfilled his
childhood ambition and
started a career in music
journalism.
It was a couple of years into
his career on a magazine that
his DJing started to take off
and in 1995 he started his club
Sunday Best.
“It ran for seven years and had a
bit of an impact. It really seemed to
catch people’s imagination.
“We did stages at Glastonbury which
helped shape the idea for doing our
own festival.”
A lucky break came when Rob was
invited to make a pilot show for
Radio One.
“I didn’t see that coming at all. I’d
only been in a radio studio once or
twice before and I got the show.
“I was shocked and surprised. I had
to pinch myself. It was my dream
job.”
Rob has been married for five years
to Josie.
They met in 1991 during their first
year at Goldsmith’s College, London
and now have an 11-month-old son
Arlo – named after the folk singer
Arlo Guthrie.
Josie is the creative mind behind the
whole feel of the Bestival and the
couple both work from their home
in East Dulwich, London.
“I get up about 7am and play with
Arlo for a bit and then a lot of my
day consists of listening to music.
“I get sent between 300 and 400
CDs and vinyls a week and listen to
everything myself.
“I can pretty much tell after ten
seconds if something’s going to be
up my street.
“Things do sometimes slip through
the net as you just don’t have the
time to listen for ages.”
Rob has big plans for the future
of the Bestival which include
expanding the brand in Scotland
and Ireland.
“I want the Bestival to grow in
stature but not size.
“We’ve had lots of offers and nearly
expanded this year but we decided
to wait until we were solid on the
Isle of Wight.
“We lost a lot of money in the first
two years. If we’d had any less than
6,000 it would have sunk us.
“Our third year was better and this
year should be OK.
“We’ve already sold half of the
tickets in two weeks. It will be really
good to sell out. It won’t mean we’ve
made any money but we’ll have
broken even and will be able to get
going for next year.”
And how does Rob spend his time at
the festival?
“In the first year I was doing
everything from putting more toilet
rolls in the toilets to directing traffic.
“Now we’ve got staff up to speed
I try and check out as many of the
acts as I can as they are my major
input.
“I enjoy it more every year but I
don’t sit around drinking beer and
relaxing.
“I try and make sure that everyone’s
having a good time and that nothing
goes wrong.”
Island Life - www.isleofwight.net