History was made last night as the Island’s biggest rock festival was launched by one of the world’s biggest ever bands.



Grey skies and chill winds couldn’t dampen the sprits of the thousands who flocked to see The Who and left speechless and starry-eyed after a show that many agreed was the best they’d ever seen. What seemed even more incredible was that it all happened on their home turf. The ambition and reach of the Peel Bay Festival was thoroughly vindicated in what was a blistering opening night and a historical gig for one of rock music’s great bona fide legends.

Ever since the launch of the Peel Bay Festival, there has been a huge amount of curiosity and speculation about how it would all come together. Organisers Street Heritage knew they were mounting an event on a scale unprecedented on the Isle of Man, let alone the sleepy outskirts of Peel. There was a palpable buzz of excitement late yesterday afternoon: the big day had finally arrived and festival goers surged onto the site with eyes, ears and minds open to the evening ahead.

With the evening race practices cancelled due to poor weather, the open roads meant that the anticipated traffic was nowhere near the headache predicted; on the contrary, most people found travelling to Peel a breeze, and were simply eager to see the evening get underway. There were people of all ages from as near as Ballaugh and as far afield as Germany. Amongst the throng, there were TT visitors who had come as part of their Centenary experience; music lovers
curious to investigate Peel’s very own rock festival; and diehard Who fans for whom the night would be another chapter in their ongoing love affair with the band.

Amongst the people we spoke to, one gentleman had seen The Who seven times. Another man had last seen them at Wembley Stadium in 1979, while one lady confessed to having slept through their landmark Isle of Wight performance
ten years earlier! The night was a long time coming for some – a man queuing outside said, “I’ve wanted to see them for 35 years. If I didn’t take this chance I might never have got the opportunity.”

The Who are one of a handful of legendary bands who continue to inspire devotion and recruit new fans, decades after their commercial peak, and are worth seeing ‘just because.’ They’re a touchstone for young musicians, not least local support Back Door Slam, whose front-man, blues guitar prodigy Davy Knowles, commented: “It’s an incredible honour for us to do this and something not a lot of bands get to do.” Commenting on their triumphant recent shows in the
States, he added, “It’s one hell of a welcome home.” Despite being, on their own admission, a little nervous at playing to their largest crowd to date, the band played a storming opener which proved their mettle to a whole new audience.

By now, an estimated 7,000 people had gathered in the cavernous space of the Valhalla Marquee, aptly described by Tim Crookall MHK as “like a cathedral. So far what I’ve seen is absolutely awesome. I take my hat off to Street Heritage and Jonathan Irving: he said he’d do it and he’s done it. I think it’s great for Peel, great for the Isle of Man and great for the Centenary.” Another MHK looking forward to the night was David Quirk, who said: “I usually come to Peel for the ice cream but this time it’s a rock festival!”

‘Rock’ was the only word for it. Despite their very un-rock star-like punctual appearance on stage, The Who went on to deliver a performance so blindingly good that many felt it was, after all this time, a career high. Their stellar band
were certainly instrumental in this: Pete Townshend’s own brother, Simon, was introduced on guitar to rousing cheers; bass genius Pino Palladino provoked more deafening applause. But the wildest cheers came for ace drummer Zak Starkey, son of the one and only Ringo Starr. In introducing the band,
Townshend played touching tribute to their late bass player John Entwhistle, “not so much for his playing as his incredible sense of humour.”

While Roger Daltrey mostly let his still-roaring vocals do the talking, Pete was in fine, voluble humour all night, clearly enjoying the audience’s warmth. In recent interviews, he has spoken lovingly of his childhood days on the Isle of Man, and
he unleashed mild hysteria in the crowd when, recalling how his Squadronaire father took him to see ‘Rock Around the Clock’ in a Douglas picture house, he proclaimed the Isle of Man as “the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll!”

The set itself – which included some material from recent album ‘Endless Wire’ but mostly consisted of songs from their glorious back catalogue - generated an atmosphere that was never less than pure electricity. It was evident, too, that the band still cherish and inhabit their songs as much as their fans do. While they may have performed the last encore ‘Tea and Theatre’ with Roger Daltrey touchingly cradling a mug of tea, these fearsome veterans don’t fool anybody: they were and remain possibly the best live act to have graced music history. And when they played ‘My Generation’, it was clear that EVERY generation belongs to The Who.

The after-show reaction was unanimously awestruck: this was a show which will never fade from people’s memories. Mike Hennessy, from the night’s sponsor, HSBC, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be the main sponsor of The Who and
supporters of the whole Peel bay Festival. It was absolutely fantastic and the encore summed it up – it got everybody rocking in the aisles and sent everybody home happy.”

And did Jonathan Irving go home happy, with that crucial first night not only under his belt but a wild success? “I think it went extremely well…obviously they (The Who) really enjoyed it and came offstage with great excitement and enjoyment.” He speaks for the response of everyone who was there.