The Who have been announced to headline the Isle of Wight Festival.
The legendary rock group will return to the music extravaganza for a fourth time when they take to the main stage on Saturday 11 June for what will be their only UK festival date of 2016.
Festival boss John Giddings announced: "The Who are part of the fabric of The Isle of Wight Festival, and it’s great to welcome them back to the island as part of their ongoing 50th anniversary celebrations. We’re proud to have a lineup of homegrown headliners to help celebrate our own 15th anniversary and ensure that this year delivers yet another unforgettable weekend of music."
Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and their live band – which includes Zak Starkey, Pino Palladino and Pete’s brother Simon Townshend – will be bringing their ‘Hits 50!’ show to Seaclose Park, where they’ll play all of their greatest hits including ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’, ‘Baba O’Reilly’, ‘The Seeker’, ‘Pinball Wizard’, ‘Who Are You’ and ‘My Generation’.
Meanwhile, Richard Ashcroft – who is releasing ‘These People’, his first solo album since 2006 on May 20 – has also been confirmed as the iconic band’s special support act.
The Who first played the festival in 1969 and returned a year later.
And most memorably they played when the late David Bowie headlined in 2004, in what would be the ‘Starman’ hitmaker’s last ever festival show in the UK.
The Who join previously announced headliners Queen and Adam Lambert, Stereophonics and Faithless.
Organiser Giddings previously admitted he deliberated for a long time over booking Queen as he wasn’t sure they would work as a headline act without their late frontman Freddie Mercury.
Giddings told BANG Showbiz: "The thing about Adam is I was really unsure about booking them. It took them two years to persuade me. But Adam’s great isn’t he? All the girls love Adam. I kept getting all of these tweets and Facebook messages saying how much they love him. It’s incredible. As for Brian May and Rodger Taylor, they are the biggest rock gods you could ever meet in your life. They are like Genesis; they are like Pink Floyd. They know the story, they’ve been through it."
The Isle of Wight Festival takes place June 9 to June 12 at Seaclose Park, Newport.
Go to Isleofwightfestival.com for tickets and more information.
The Who to headline Isle of Wight Festival
