Interview
Ronnie Foulk had
taken on a part-time
job to help financially
support the Isle of
Wight Indoor Swimming
Pool Association,
known as IWISPA.
He, and younger siblings Ray and
Bill, felt traditional village hall
dances would not generate the
money they were looking for, while
even jazz concerts had become
somewhat outdated. So between
them, Ronnie, Ray and Bill hatched
a plan to stage a ‘pop music’
festival. So the seeds were sewn to
hold the first Isle of Wight Festival,
even though the Foulk boys had
little idea of how to go about it.
Ray Foulk takes up the story.
He said: “We’d been to a jazz
festival at Wootton in 1964, and
it was rather good. But by 1968
Bill, who was at the Royal College
of Art, said it was ridiculous
to do another jazz event, and
we should try rock and roll, or
‘pop’ as it was called then.
Ray Foulk today, at his home in Oxford
“I knew nothing about
contemporary acts, because
I was already in my early 20s.
Although I listened to pirate
radio stations I never got into
the more modern acts. But the
ones that were popular were the
likes of The Move, The Pretty
Things and of course American
group Jefferson Airplane. They
were the ones that young people
were more likely to want to see.
“Bill was up to speed on all of
this, so he was a great influence
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