By the mid-1990s, Vince Power, who has died aged 76, had become the biggest music festival promoter and venue owner in Britain. His Mean Fiddler Music Group encompassed such prestigious live events as the Leeds and Reading festivals and the Tribal Gathering, Phoenix and Fleadh festivals.
In addition it controlled the London Astoria and a clutch of other venues in the capital including the Clapham Grand, the Jazz Cafe in Camden Town, the Forum in Kentish Town and the original Mean Fiddler in Harlesden. Among the countless musical greats he brought to the stage were Prince, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Destiny’s Child, Britney Spears, Van Morrison, Joan Baez, the re-formed Sex Pistols and the Eagles.
