The Bestival 2008 was the fifth instalment of the

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festival relocated to the Lulworth Estate in Dorset. The event was organ ...

a boutique music festival at Robin Hill on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. The festival was held between 5–7 September 2008 and over 30,000 people attended. The festival was nominated for Best Medium Sized Festival, Grass Roots Festival Award, Family Festival Award, Best Lineup and Best Toilets in the UK Festival Awards. 2008 marked the return of Bestival Radio. The station broadcast on-site and kept listeners camping at the festival up-to-date on news and events over the weekend. Bestival FM was sponsored by

Jokers' Masquerade ''Jokers' Masquerade'' is an online retailer selling fancy dress costumes and accessories. History Founded in 2001, the company was originally an online joke shop run by owners Mark and Sandra Lewis. Following the lack of availability of fancy d ...

The event was marred by heavy rain on the Friday and Saturday causing stage closures and widespread misery for festival-goers.Review: Bestival 2008
The fancy dress theme was '30,000 freaks under the sea' so most were prepared for the ensuing aquatics.

Line-up: Main Stage

Friday

* My Bloody Valentine *

Pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward th ...

* Foals *

Jamie Lidell Jamie Alexander Lidderdale (born 18 September 1973, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England), known professionally as Jamie Lidell, is an English musician, soul singer and podcast host living in Nashville, Tennessee. Lidell was formerly a part of ...

The Wedding Present The Wedding Present are an English indie rock group originally formed in 1985 in Leeds, England, from the ashes of The Lost Pandas. The band's music has evolved from fast-paced indie rock in the vein of their most obvious influences The Fall, ...

* Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, Bastila and The Shanklin Freakshow did not appear due to adverse weather

Saturday

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

* Hot Chip *

DJ Yoda Duncan Beiny (born 1977 in London, England), better known as DJ Yoda, is a hip hop turntablist who uses samples to create an animated musical style. He is known for several awards and media industry achievements. Early life and career Aft ...

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

* Special Guest: Grace Jones * Special Guests:

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynval ...

- although they played under the name of Terry Hall and friends due to legal constraints * The Cuban Brothers * Gary Numan * Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip * Kitty Daisy & Lewis *

Jeffrey Lewis Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist. Early life Lewis was born in New York City and grew up on the Lower East Side. He attended State University of New York at Purchase, graduating i ...

Laura Marling Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is a British folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for the same award at the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 Brit Aw ...

Sunday

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

* George Clinton &

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkade ...

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

Roni Size Ryan Owen Granville Williams (born 29 October 1969), better known by his stage name Roni Size, is an English DJ and record producer. He came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and frontman of Roni Size & Reprazent, a drum and bass collective. ...

Baaba Maal Baaba Maal ( ff, 𞤄𞤢𞥄𞤦𞤢 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤, italics=no, born 13 June 1953) is a Senegalese singer and guitarist born in Podor, on the Senegal River. In addition to acoustic guitar, he also plays percussion. He has released several al ...

* Sebastien Tellier *

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly Sam Duckworth (born 1986) is an English musician who performs as Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. He is also sometimes referred to as ''Get Cape'', ''Cape'', ''GCWCF'' and ''Slam Dunkworth'' (the latter title apparently first coined by Emmy the Great ...

King Creosote Kenny Anderson (born January 1967), known primarily by his stage name King Creosote, is an independent singer-songwriter from Fife, Scotland. To date, Anderson has released over forty albums, with his latest full length, '' Astronaut Meets Appl ...

* The Fairey Band (Acid Brass)

Line-up: Big Top

Friday

* The Dub Pistols *

Slam Slam, SLAM or SLAMS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional elements * S.L.A.M. (Strategic Long-Range Artillery Machine), a fictional weapon in the ''G.I. Joe'' universe * SLAMS (Space-Land-Air Missile Shield), a fictional anti-ball ...

* CSS *

Chromeo Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from blue-eyed soul, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. , the band has ...

The Breeders The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherso ...

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. '' Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, S ...

* Ladyhawke *

Ebony Bones Ebony Bones ('' née'' Thomas; born 9 October 1982) is an English singer-songwriter model, actress, and producer. Her musical style is eclectic and often blends elements of afrobeat, art rock, post-punk, classical, new-wave and electronic. Her ...

Transglobal Underground Transglobal Underground (sometimes written as Trans-Global Underground) is an English electro-world music group, specializing in a fusion of western, Asian and African music styles (sometimes labelled world fusion and ethno techno). Their f ...

* The Hat * Cazals

Saturday

* 808 State * Aphex Twin *

Hercules & Love Affair Hercules and Love Affair is a dance music project created by American DJ, singer, composer, musician and producer Andy Butler in 2004. Consisting of a rotating cast of performers and musicians, the band work within the genres of house music, d ...

Lee 'Scratch' Perry Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese s ...

* Sub Focus * Bailey *

The Count & Sinden "Beeper" is the debut single by British music duo the Count & Sinden, featuring vocals from American hip hop artist Kid Sister. The song was released via Domino Records in April 2008. Background and release "Beeper" was released on Switch and S ...

Slagsmålsklubben Slagsmålsklubben (; often abbreviated as SMK) was a Swedish electronic music group from Norrköping, Östergötland. The group's name is a comically literal Swedish translation of the title of the novel and film ''Fight Club'' by Chuck Palah ...

Red Snapper Red snapper is a common name of several fish species. It may refer to: * Several species from the genus ''Lutjanus'': ** ''Lutjanus campechanus'', Northern red snapper, commonly referred to as red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlanti ...

Chas & Dave Chas & Dave (often billed as Chas 'n' Dave) were a British pop rock duo, formed in London by Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock. Hodges died in 2018. They were most notable as creators and performers of a musical style labelled ''rockney'' (a port ...

I Am Kloot I Am Kloot were an English rock band, formed in Manchester in 1999. The band was composed of vocalist/guitarist John Bramwell, bassist Peter Jobson and drummer Andy Hargreaves. The band released six studio albums, and was nominated for the Mer ...

The Qemists The Qemists are an English electronic music group, hailing from Brighton, England. They are signed to Amazing Record Co., an indie record label based in the UK. The band have a separate deal with Beat Records for distribution in Japan and wit ...

Sunday

Neon Neon Neon Neon is a collaborative project from producer Boom Bip and Gruff Rhys, the frontman for the Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals. They began work on the project in October 2006 originally under the moniker Delorean. In March 2008 the duo, by ...

Carl Craig Carl Craig (born May 22, 1969) is an American electronic music producer, DJ, and founder of the record label Planet E Communications. He is known as a leading figure and pioneer in the second wave of Detroit techno artists during the late 1980s ...

Coldcut Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, ...

Midnight Juggernauts Midnight Juggernauts were an Australian band from Melbourne, composed of Andrew Szekeres, Vincent Vendetta (Vincent Heimann), and Daniel Stricker. The band has been described as anything from 'prog dance meets cosmic film scores', to 'slasher-fl ...

The Coral The Coral are an English rock band, formed in 1996 in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside. The band emerged during the early 2000s. Their 2002 debut album '' The Coral'', from which came the single " Dreaming of You", was nominated for ...

* Filfthy Dukes *

Ulrich Schnauss Ulrich Schnauss (born 1977) is a German electronic musician and producer based in London, England. He is best known for being a member of Tangerine Dream from 2014 to 2020. Biography Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German seaport of ...

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...

* Emma J Mac

Line-up: other stages

* BBC Introducing:

Cage the Elephant Cage the Elephant is an American rock band formed in 2006 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They moved to England, U.K. and settled in London in 2008, shortly before their self-titled first album was released. The band currently consists of Matt S ...

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Idol ...

, The Bees - a number of artists including

Black Kids Black Kids are an American indie rock band. Formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 2006, the group consists of singer/guitarist Reggie Youngblood, keyboardists/backup singers Ali Youngblood and Dawn Watley, bassist Owen Holmes, and drummer Kevin Sno ...

Sam Sparro Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional c ...

Lykke Li Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson (born 18 March 1986), known as Lykke Li (), is a Swedish singer. Her music often blends elements of indie pop, dream pop and Electronic music, electronic. Her debut studio album, ''Youth Novels'', was released in 2008 ...

, The Shortwave Set,

Ida Maria Ida Maria Børli Sivertsen ( ; born 13 July 1984), better known simply as Ida Maria, is a Norwegian musician and songwriter. Biography Early life Maria was born and raised in Nesna. She taught herself to play guitar and began performing at loca ...

, Natty,

Noah and the Whale Noah and the Whale were a British indie rock and folk band from Twickenham, formed in 2006. The band's last line-up consisted of Charlie Fink (vocals, guitar), Tom Hobden (violin/ keyboards), Matt "Urby Whale" Owens (bass guitar), Fred Abbott ...

, Hadouken!, Late of the Pier and Pete & The Pirates had been due to play but were cancelled due to flooding of the lower part of the Bestival site * Red Bull 54 Speakeasy: Alphabeat,

Lethal Bizzle Maxwell Owusu Ansah (born 14 September 1984), known by his stage name Lethal Bizzle, is a British rapper from Walthamstow, London, of Ghanaian origin. He emerged in 2002 as a grime MC as part of More Fire Crew, with their grime single "Oi!" ch ...

The Sugarhill Gang The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop trio. Their 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight" was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; reaching a peak position of number 36 on January 12, 1980. This was the trio's onl ...

* Bandstand:

Yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

, Sophie Barker,

Misty's Big Adventure Misty's Big Adventure are an English eight-piece band from Birmingham. Their music is an eclectic mix of jazz, lounge, psychedelia, 2 tone, pop and punk. The band is composed of singer and sole songwriter Grandmaster Gareth (real name Gareth J ...

, Lucky Elephant, MC'd by comedian Scott Anderson

References

External links

{{Commons category, Bestival 2008
Bestival Website
Music festivals on the Isle of Wight 2008 in British music 2008 in England