Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2015 | Page 35

INTERVIEW
The biggest crowd the venue could
accommodate was only about 200, and
for three years, every Sunday night used
to see crowds queuing around the block
to get in.
The success of the club nights
spawned an additional enterprise – the
record label for compilation albums.
“The compilations market was really new
– there were no record labels doing it at
the time. We started it as a hobby, but
it’s grown into a UK independent label,
and I still sometimes think : ‘Wow! – we
started that!’
It was only a matter of time before the

“I’m always looking
for the next thing and
probably take on too
much – I guess you
could say I’m a bit of a
control freak”

formula was rolled out in festival form.
“Basically we turned the club into Bestival
– it all came together as an ethos”.
But why did he choose the Isle of
Wight?
“Josie and I went all over the south
coast and nowhere felt quite right, then
we looked at the Island and saw some
of the crummiest holiday camps – until

someone suggested Robin Hill and that
was it. It’s become the spiritual home of
the festival!”
“I guess it’s a bit idiosyncratic with the
toboggan run, and all its nooks and
crannies. It would probably be easier and
more cost-effective to do it on a square,
flat field but it wouldn’t be so interesting.
The site definitely works. You have to get
on a ferry, go over hills, but people still
come back. It’s a challenge, and I kind of
like that.”
Once Bestival was up on its feet and
a clear success, there was no sitting
back on his laurels for Rob. In 2008,
having had kids of their own, Rob and
Josie launched Camp Bestival, which is
more family orientated and held in the
grounds of Lulworth Castle in Dorset.
More recently, they staged the two-day
May Bank Holiday event Common People
in his Southampton hometown, which is
to be another annual event.
It sounds as if it would be enough for
anyone- but not Mr da Bank, who also
finds time for composing, and has three
music scores currently on the go.
“I’m always looking for the next thing
and probably take on too much – I guess
you could say I’m a bit of a control freak,”
he says.
“But it is expensive to put on festivals, so
we need to keep doing more and more
to keep it going. There are so many great
festivals out there now, so you have to be
competitive.
“But I still enjoy it all and am still very
hands-on. In fact, I probably sign 90 per
cent of the Bestival line-up. The good
thing is that I still feel like the 19 year-old
putting on my first Sunday Best!”

“We set the template
for fun and good music
with a Sunday night
event in a Battersea tea
room. People could chill
out, read the papers,
play board games and
see big DJ’s playing
alternative sets”

He’s still got a wish list of acts he’d like
to bring to future Bestivals – they include
Kate Bush and Dolly Parton.
“My mission is to keep broadening it
and making it madder, taking risks” says
Rob, whose line-up this year includes
somewhat eccentric Chuckle Brothers (he
admits he didn’t tell anyone in the office
for a month).
He’s grateful for the way the Island has
taken Bestival to its heart – especially as
there were some doubters and detractors
in the early days.
“People here have really embraced it and
I like to think it has added to the amazing
festival heritage we have here. I go to
John Giddings’ festival and he comes to
ours, we’ve managed to raise thousands
for charity, and we’ve put the Island on the
map as a great festival venue”.

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