Live at the Isle of Wight Festival (Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel video)
| Live at the Isle of Wight Festival | ||||
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| Video by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel | ||||
| Released | 23 May 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2004 | |||
| Genre | Concert Performance Video | |||
| Length | 100 minutes (total running time) | |||
| Label | Direct Video Distribution Limited | |||
| Director | Matt Askem | |||
| Producer | Celia Blaker | |||
| Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel chronology | ||||
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| Source | Rating |
| VistaVideo |   |
| Record Collector |   |
Live at the Isle of Wight Festival is a live concert video by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, filmed at the 2004 Isle of Wight Festival, and released on DVD in 2005. It is the band's third filmed concert release, and first such release on DVD.
During the summer of 2003, promoter John Giddings offered Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel a slot for the following year's Isle of Wight Festival. An agreement was reached, with the band confirmed to play on the second day of the festival. In a 16 June 2004 diary entry for his official website, Harley spoke of the band's performance:
"I waited a little apprehensively for the Isle of Wight. I cannot explain it. John Giddings is an old mate. I wanted nothing in the world than to deliver for John on his festival island. The sun shone and we shone; we glowed; we kicked a 45-minute set off in the style of a truly compatible travelling rock band. On stage we felt tingly; I kid you not. The smiles on those big screens were genuine. And I saw the respect in their applause and in their waves."
The band's performance was well received. Immediately after the festival, Cockney Rebel fans expressed interest in having the performance released as a DVD. This led Harley to approach the production company CC-Lab about purchasing the rights to the footage. Harley noted in his June 2004 diary: "It won't be cheap - the full 47-minute performance for sale, commercially, on DVD. It's what I want, and, as usual, it's likely to go that way. But don't hold me to it. It will take a little time, a little negotiation, and a lot of courage." The initial aim was to get the DVD released in time to be sold on the band's UK autumn tour.
Although the release date was postponed, negotiations were completed during the autumn, and the festival footage, which was filmed using nine cameras, was then edited. Harley announced in November 2004 that the DVD was likely to be ready for sale in February 2005, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the band's 1975 UK number one song "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)". Plans were also made to add some further material to the DVD using footage of the band at a concert in Edinburgh during December. Harley revealed: "I've got a crew coming to Edinburgh to film an extra 40-minutes: get-in, set-up, soundcheck, backstage, Green room, dressing-rooms, chats with musicians/crew etc. Even a vox pop where the film crew will go outside, microphone in hand, and chat to the queue." In the end, a three-man crew recorded eight hours of footage.
In February 2005, it was announced that the DVD was to be released in May, and would be followed by a new single release - a re-recorded version of "Make Me Smile" - in June. By April, Harley had numerous interviews lined up to promote the DVD's release. He had completed approximately twenty-five by the end of May. The DVD was released across Europe in May 2005 by Direct Video Distribution.
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