It was standing room only on the Isle of Wight ferries as hoardes of music fans crossed the Solent for the third of the revived festivals. Having headed to the campsites to wrestle with their dome tents, fans trailed down the road to the main arena. But a late gate-opening time meant there were lengthy queues to get wristbanded and into the Seaclose Park site.  | | The Duke Spirit |
Once everyone did get in, the crowd was treated to a diverse first night line-up which has come to charactarise the Island's festival. Opening the festival bang on time was the unenviable task of The Duke Spirit. But they dived straight in and carried it off with a set which had a touch of Blondie about it. The 22-20s continued getting things rocking and the crowds filed in. It was definitely the day the Welsh came to Wight and the number of Welsh flags showed that plenty of fans had made their way from over the border.  | | Gruff Rhys |
The Super Furry Animals brought a whole helping of their own brand of Welsh psychedelic surrealism to the party, Gruff suitably dressed in his bright red Power Ranger outfit. Groove Armada brought their cast of thousands to the stage, with their mix of chill out favourites and Lovebox material which got everyone on their feet. Their Purple Haze seemed poignantly placed, although it has nothing to do with the Jimi Hendrix song, everyone knew that Hendrix famously played at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, just 18 days before his death.  | | Groove Armada |
It was left to another Welsh supergroup to headline Friday night. Stereophonics were making their first festival appearance in two years and Kelly Jones sported a big white hat for the occasion (festival veterans may have noticed a passing resemblance to Bob Dylan's Isle of Wight look). They rattled through their hits - including The Bartender and the Thief, Mr Writer and Have a Nice Day which had the crowd shifting between bouncing swaying and dancing. The perfect curtain raiser to a weekend of music in the sunshine. | 
