Eagle Rock EntertainmentA clip of The Doors performing their classic song “Light My Fire” during the band’s appearance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival has been given an exclusive premiere at Billboard.com.
The nearly 14-minute version of the tune is featured on the upcoming archival concert video The Doors: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970, which will be released on Friday, February 23.
Doors guitarist Robby Krieger recalls that the star-studded 1970 Isle of Wight Festival happened at “a nervous time” for the band, as singer Jim Morrison was in the middle of a trial where he faced charges of indecent exposure and obscenity stemming from a 1969 concert in Miami.
“[H]e wasn’t in the best of moods, and we were into the part of his career where he was way overweight and had the beard,” Krieger explains to Billboard. “He sang well [at the concert], but he didn’t move an inch, and usually he was real animated and all over the place, depending on how much drugs he had in him. And he insisted on green light only. He wanted it as dark as possible on stage.”
Regardless of Morrison’s lack of movement, The Doors gave a strong performance at the Isle of Wight, which was among the band’s last-ever live performances. During the extended instrumental break in “Light My Fire,” Krieger threw in snippets of John Coltrane‘s version of “My Favorite Things” and The Beatles‘ “Eleanor Rigby.”
“‘Eleanor Rigby’ was one of my favorite songs ever — still is,” notes Robby, “and I still do that when I play ‘Light My Fire’ at my own gigs.”
Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 will be available as a DVD/CD set and Blu-ray/CD set package, as well as a digital video.
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