'Gut feeling more important than social media likes'

A leading music festival promoter said "gut feeling" was more important than social media likes when booking headline acts.

John Giddings, who represents artists ranging from Blondie to Phil Collins, has run the Isle of Wight Festival since it restarted in 2002.

He said performers needed to be able to "deliver" to a crowd and get people in the audience to look away from their phone screens.

The 72-year-old said he had "learned the hard way" that some people "might have sold a lot of records but they're useless when it comes to performing".

"When you look back on who we've had - Blur, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, the [Rolling] Stones - they're all capable of delivering, even if it's pouring with rain," he said.

"I do know artists who've had a million views on TikTok who can't sell 300 tickets at a club in London.

"Just because all these people want to watch them on socials doesn't mean they're going to pay money to go and see them in a field."

Mr Giddings said he remembered the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, which saw 600,000 hippies descend on the island, leading to the event being outlawed for 32 years.

That year, Jimi Hendrix, the Who and Joni Mitchell were among the artists who performed on the island.

"I remember walking over the hill, it was like going to the Battle of the Somme, and you could smell them before you saw them," he said.

This year's festival, from 19 to 22 June at Seaclose Park in Newport, will be headlined by Sting, Stereophonics and Justin Timberlake.

After 23 years of organising the event, Mr Giddings said: "I absolutely love it, which is my downfall because I work all the time, I never think I've actually had a job.

"There's nothing better than sitting in an office in Fulham in November, it's wet and windy outside and you're imagining putting an act on in a field on the Isle of Wight in June, and then you see it nine months later and people are going wild to it.

"It's the most satisfying thing ever to provide entertainment for people."

You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.