Giving the festival a massive injection of memorable anthems and electrifying electronica, the two British favourites will ensure a spectacular start to what is the first festival of the summer, ahead of a full weekend of live music and entertainment.
Stereophonics’ Kelly Jones said: “I love playing the Isle Of Wight Festival. I got to steer the boat over last time. Captain of the ship and honked the horn! Only the captain gets to honk the horn. This will be our third time at the festival…. I'll leave my white suit at home this time though!”
Faithless said: "We cant wait to return to play such an iconic festival for the second time. We were proud to be part of its relaunch in 2005 and it's an absolute pleasure to be invited back.”
Festival promoter John Giddings said: “We are delighted to welcome Stereophonics and Faithless back to The Isle of Wight Festival to co-headline the Friday night. Stereophonics continue to prove they are still on top with a new No. 1 album and they are absolutely brilliant live. Likewise Faithless, who are currently celebrating their 20th year, have had hit after hit, and I know the crowds at the festival are going to go crazy when they bring their live set up to the Friday night. Looking forward to catching their sets!”
Without doubt one of the UK’s best bands, Stereophonics recently scored another No. 1 album with their latest release ‘Keep The Village Alive’. Their achievements over the past two decades are many; six No. 1 albums, 26 Top 40 singles, including the No. 1 hit ‘Dakota’, and wide acclaim for their live performance which has seen them become a firm festival favourite. Armed with new hits C’est La Vie, I Wanna Get Lost With You, Song For The Summer and classic songs such as ‘Local Boy in the Photograph’, ‘The Bartender and the Thief’, ‘Have a Nice Day’, ‘Dakota’ and more Friday night will be a fantastic evening.
British electronic dance icons Faithless created club classics such as ‘God is a DJ’, ‘Insomnia’ and ‘We Come 1’ and have sold over 15 million records worldwide. To celebrate their 20th anniversary the band created a special remix album ‘Faithless 2.0.’ featuring remixes from some of the biggest DJs today including Avicii, Tiesto, Eric Prdyz and Armin Van Buuren paying tribute to their enduring legacy.
For an act that has broken countless chart records, has one of the most enviable and loved catalogues in music, and performed in front of millions of people all over the world, today sees one of most iconic bands ever announce a career first. Rock royalty Queen + Adam Lambert will make their UK festival debut next summer as they are announced as the first headliner for The Isle of Wight Festival 2016 – their only UK show of next year.
Brian May said: “I think Queen at The Isle of Wight Festival is a date that was long overdue. How incredible to take on this challenge at this point in our lives. With an injection of new blood in the shape of the incredible Adam Lambert, Queen will be ready to tear it up on this legendary stage in 2016. Freddie would have loved it. Can’t wait.”
Roger Taylor said: “When I think of The Isle of Wight Festival I think of Hendrix, Dylan and The Who. What immortal company to be in! Queen are thrilled to be there and can promise a special night.”
Adam Lambert added: “I'm so excited to be a part of The Isle of Wight Festival and share the stage once again with the Queen family. I adore making music with Roger and Brian, and am thrilled to help continue their legacy into 2016. It is true I have large shoes to fill so I'm urgently planning on searching for a new pair of boots (or 5) to wear for the set.”
The band, who are currently celebrating the 40th anniversary of their record breaking worldwide iconic single, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, will close the festival on Sunday 12th June, just as the nation is united in honouring the otherQueen, with thousands taking part in street parties for Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday the very same day.
Guitarist Brian May is himself no stranger to celebrating royal occasions, having played a major part in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002 by playing a spine-tingling version of ‘God Save The Queen’ from the roof of Buckingham Palace. The Isle of Wight itself also has well-established royal connections. Queen Victoria lived on the island at Osborne House, with next year marking 170 years since she first took up residence there.
Queen’s headline set on the final day of The Isle of Wight festival will be the perfect way to celebrate all things Queen on this momentous and historic weekend next June.
Festival boss John Giddings said: “It’s an honour for us to have Queen + Adam Lambert at our festival. It’s the perfect way for us to celebrate our 15th anniversary. Queen’s music appeals to people of all generations and it’s hard to think of another band with such a famous collection of songs. It’s going to be an incredible moment for The Isle of Wight Festival when they share these songs with us.”
In an incredible career spanning four decades, Queen’s indelible influence is unrivalled, with a staggering list of awards, accolades and honours to their name including seven Ivor Novellos, an MTV Global Icon Award and two songs enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame. With record sales in the hundreds of millions of units – including their Greatest Hits collection which sold over 6 million copies in the UK alone, meaning one in three households owning a copy – and a string of No. 1 albums and chart topping singles, Queen are undoubtedly one of the UK’s most successful and best loved national treasures. With one of the most enduring song catalogues of all time, including ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ ‘Somebody to Love’, and of course ‘Bohemian Rhapsody, their musical repertoire is second to none and the legacy created by Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon lives on through the ongoing work by May and Taylor, now joined by Adam Lambert.
Adam Lambert’s debut album ‘For Your Entertainment’ earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and a worldwide smash hit with ‘Whataya Want From Me’. His second album, ‘Trespassing’, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. In 2013, Adam appeared as a guest star on the hit TV series, GLEE, and as a featured vocalist on Avicii’s album ‘True’. Adam released his highly anticipated third album, ‘The Original High’ this summer, it entered the worldwide chart at number 3, and took his overall worldwide sales to 2.5million. The single ‘Ghost Town’ has had over 100million streams worldwide including 37million views of the video. He has just announced his brand new single ‘Another Lonely Night.’
2016 will mark the 15th anniversary of The Isle of Wight Festival since it was successfully relaunched in 2002 to become one of the most exciting weekends of the summer, with a proud heritage of show-stopping headliners such as Foo Fighters, The Rolling Stones, The Killers, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Blur and Fleetwood Mac.
The Isle of Wight Festival takes place 9th-12th June at Seaclose Park, Newport. From Main Stage headliners, acoustic sets, DJ performances and up-and-coming talent, alongside a huge variety of additional entertainment and activities such as the Bohemian Woods, Kashmir Café and Hipshaker, there’s something for everyone to escape from everyday life for that one weekend in June. Summer starts at the legendary Isle of Wight Festival, all the biggest names in music: one unmissable weekend.
KISS EUROPEAN EXCLUSIVE, QUEEN EXCLUSIVE & FAITH NO MORE UK EXCLUSIVE HEADLINE SETS FOR SONISPHERE 2012
ONLY UK SHOWS OF 2012 FROM EVANESCENCE, MARILYN MANSON, INCUBUS, WITHIN TEMPTATION & WOLFMOTHER
EXCLUSIVE FESTIVAL APPEARANCES FROM MASTODON, ANDREW W.K., FLOGGING MOLLY, LACUNA COIL, GOJIRA, SWITCHFOOT, GHOST & KATATONIA
REFUSED TO PERFORM FIRST UK SHOW SINCE 1998 EXCLUSIVELY AT SONISPHERE
APPEARANCES FROM, THE DARKNESS, CYPRESS HILL, THE BLACKOUT, FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM, & I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN CONFIRMED
TIM MINCHIN LEADS COMEDY ELEMENT WITH HEADLINE SLOT ON SATURN STAGE
Queen’ Brian May and Roger Taylor today confirmed the band will headline the second day of this year’s Sonisphere Festival appearing at the festival home ground Knebworth Park, Stevenage, on Saturday July 7.
Knebworth was the setting for Queen’s final concert with Freddie Mercury in August 1986.
May and Taylor also confirmed that for this special one-off concert they will be joined by US singer-songwriter Adam Lambert.
Since first encountering each other during American Idol Season 8 in May 2009 where Lambert joined the band to perform We Are the Champions the two have repeatedly hinted at a future collaboration, most recently with Taylor telling Billboard Magazine "He (Adam) has grown into a really great performer with an astonishing voice with a range that's great. We would like to work with him again. There's nothing signed just yet but …it could be very exciting."
After their brief meeting on American Idol, the potent chemistry between Queen and Lambert finally broke the surface when at the invitation of Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor Lambert joined them for the closing showcase at the recent MTV Europe Awards where Queen were present to collect their Global Icon award.
Their eight minute MTVE set ignited an immediate reaction across the internet with social network sites buzzing with excitement and campaigning for a more formal union between Queen and Lambert. The Sonisphere 2012 Knebworth stage will at last provide an eager public the opportunity to see May, Taylor and Lambert delve deeper into exploring their very evident artistic appreciation of one another.
Says Brian May: “Judging by my incoming mail, this decision will make a lot of people very happy. It's a worthy challenge for us, and I'm sure Adam would meet with Freddie's approval! And what better place to revisit, and walk those emotional paths than Knebworth? It will be a rush.”
Lambert adds: “I'm completely in awe of the Queen phenomenon. The thought of sharing the stage for a full set is so beautifully surreal. I'm honoured to be able to pay my respects to Freddie's memory. He's a personal hero of mine and I am deeply grateful for the chance to sing such powerful music for fans of this legendary band. I know the evening will be a huge milestone for me, and with the support of Brian, Roger and the rest of the band I know magic will be on display.”
Queen’s previous performance at Knebworth Park, close on twenty-six years ago , August 9, 1986, was set up to be the glorious last stop for the band’s monstrously successful Magic Tour which had spread out across Europe over eight weeks of that summer. Over a million people had already paid to see them.
Now riding one of the highest crests in their career, Queen drew a record crowd of 120,000, their biggest ever UK audience. Coming on the back of two stunning shows at Wembley Stadium – to this day regarded as among their finest performances – anticipation was high.
Queen delivered the goods, winding up the crowd by arriving above their heads in a custom decorated helicopter, and then going on to perform a Queen textbook set to a deliriously enthusiastic audience, winding up with an emotional ‘God Save the Queen’ and Freddie wishing his audience ‘sweet dreams’.
What no-one in that Knebworth Park audience, and as far as we know, not even the band could anticipate that day, was that a new chapter in Queen’s history was being written: after more than 700 concerts together, what was taking place was the very last live concert of Freddie Mercury with Queen.
With the exception of an appearance in 1988 with Spanish operatic soprano Montserrat Caballe to launch Barcelona’s successful bid for the 1992 Olympic Games performing their duet ‘Barcelona’, Mercury would never again be seen performing to a public audience.
On what will undoubtedly rate as one of this summer’s most highly anticipated and emotionally charged concerts Queen’s Roger Taylor says: "I remember Knebworth as being the most incredible gig, with the most amazing audience and the sound on stage was utterly perfect. It was a fitting last stand before a live audience for Freddie. It will be a real challenge to complete the circle by returning with Adam."
Shooting rockets. Blood spitting. Face Paint. Shiny Boots and utterly jaw dropping triumphant live shows: SONISPHERE is proud to announce KISS as Friday's headliner. With a reputation for being perhaps the most flamboyant and entertaining band on the planet, the American Kings will bring their stage extravaganza to SONISPHERE as their only European performance of 2012.
For the final, Sunday night, SONISPHERE KNEBWORTH is proud to announce the legendary FAITH NO MORE as the headline act on the APOLLO stage. Mike Bordin, Roddy Bottum, Bill Gould, Jon Hudson and Mike Patton are poised to set KNEBWORTH on fire when they close the last night at SONISPHERE with their only UK appearance in 2012. Of their set Gould comments:"It was over 2 years ago when we decided to reform and play those amazing UK shows. The good news is, we've had a couple of years to improve our skills; moving our song to error ratio down 3.5 full percentage points. Watch out UK, we're going to do it right this time!!"
Joining the three superb headliners are some of the biggest names from the world of rock and metal including:
WITHIN TEMPTATION – only UK show of 2012, EVANESCENCE – only UK show of 2012,THE DARKNESS,INCUBUS – only UK show of 2012, MARILYN MANSON – only UK show of 2012, ANDREW WK – only UK festival show of 2012, REFUSED – only UK show of 2012,MASTODON – only UK festival show of 2012, THE BLACKOUT and more.
As well as the exciting names from the world of rock, SONISPHERE once again shows it’s forward thinking nature, and invites musician/comedian TIM MINCHIN to headline the Saturday night on SATURN. Since his first appearance at SONISPHERE back in 2010 theTIM’s success has gone from strength to strength, resulting in his first UK arena tour, his first West End Musical (Matilda The Musical) and numerous high profile TV appearances. After the astounding success of Bill Bailey’s SATURN slot last year, TIM – with full backing band in tow – is bound to deliver a much talked about and highly memorable show atSONISPHERE.
Tickets on sale to the public from 9:00am Thursday 23rd February fromwww.sonisphere.co.uk / 0844 871 8803priced at £145 for a weekend ticket (£180 with 4-day camping, £170 with 3-day camping), with a very limited number of day tickets available for £75. Rock Royalty and Day VIP packages will also be available from www.sonispherefestivals.com.
To spread the cost of the festival customers can pay a non-refundable deposit of £50 to secure their weekend tickets and then pay the balance off anytime before 30th April 2012.
SONISPHERE KNEBWORTHtakes place July 6th – 8th at KNEBWORTH HOUSE.
