Stayin' Alive

Another morning full of housework before we headed out to North Greenwich. We wanted to see the exhibition about the Isle of Wight festival at O2's Innovation Building, which turns out just to be a bit to one side of the O2, near the sky-diving place.

First, we walked around the outlet mall but found nothing to buy. I was looking for inspiration for a new short-sleeved shirt to take on holiday, but I didn't find it, so I'll try Next near home.

We went in when we found the exhibition space, starting by perusing all the festival posters. Of course, we can now say "we saw them", but only for the most recent years. The rest of the exhibition celebrates the rich history of the Isle of Wight Festival, which has evolved from a Sixties anti-establishment event into one of the UK's premier festivals over the past 25 years.

The festival's origins with Bob Dylan in 1969 and Jimi Hendrix in 1970 are well documented. Still, more recent artists like Jarvis Cocker/Pulp from last year, Amy Winehouse, Mick Jagger, and The Doors are all recognised. There's even a recreation of the workspace of festival founder Ray Foulk, but that's mainly a desk with an old-style telephone placed on one side.

It was terrific. They screen television coverage from past years, so you can listen to performances while looking at the memorabilia. I'm glad we made the effort.

Then it was straight off to central London, and there was another Crazy Coqs night. Tonight, the Bee Gees' music was another well-attended show. Sadly, MRP was ill, but he'd messaged PY earlier to tell us and see if we would do a video for him, which I happily did.

Of course, the Bee Gees were renowned for their distinctive style of music, particularly the use of falsetto, which became a signature aspect of their sound. We did not get too much top-end falsetto, but the performances were brilliant.

Of course, all the classics were there: How Deep Is Your Love, Jive Talkin', Masachusetts, Night Fever, and the big ending with Stayin' Alive. It was lovely to say hello to Jane Milligan, who took on Mark's hosting duties and sprinkled in some Bee Gees anecdotes of her own. Perhaps the highlight was Freddie King getting the audience to perform the Steps' choreography to Tragedy.