Rob Da Bank - Bestival

It probably takes the relaxed demeanour of someone like Rob Da Bank to deal with the kind of year he's had. An almost guaranteed fixture at Glastonbury and Big Chill and a firm favourite at any festival he can get himself along to (and he gets to a lot), his DJ sets are all about sticking smiles on faces and having fun in the sun. The king of novelty, this year he took his musical concept one step further by putting on the first ever Bestival, a small gathering of like-minded party people in a country park in the Isle Of Wight.

Virtual Festivals: How did the idea of Bestival come about?
Rob Da Bank: My wife Josie and I have been going to festivals for around 15 years, all sorts of things from small events to Glastonbury - that's where we got engaged. It's always the high point of our year and it was only a matter of time before we expanded Sunday Best into a festival in its own right. In the end though it all came quite suddenly; the right money and the right people to partner it fell into place and there we were, with only nine months from thinking 'let's do this' to it actually happening.

VF: Were you happy with it?
RDB: Creatively and visually it unfolded much better than we could have expected. It was the perfect festival. Even financially it was ok. We didn't make a profit but then I don't know who does first time round. We've got a 10-year plan and, although we didn't sell out, I wasn't too bothered about numbers. It was more to do with the line up and people having fun and games, keeping on the Sunday Best vibe of having a right old knees up. I wanted to ensure people got their money's worth in terms of acts, as I think there are a lot of people who make money out of festivals but don't give the punters what they deserve.

VF: It was mainly dance music on the bill. So were The Bees just there because they were from the Isle Of Wight?
RDB: No, The Bees were really keen to do it and we were even keener to have them. If anything the festival will move away from dance. Sunday Best is very much about rock, indie, dub and disco as well as dance. There are a lot of different styles of music you can get off your head to! Next year will definitely be eclectic, but it will be carefully programmed so that there's something for everyone.

VF: What was your best moment?
RDB: Probably still being alive on Monday morning! Basement Jaxx were incredible. It was great to have them and we were lucky because they're our mates. They'd played some massive festivals over the summer but to see them playing for us was something special. I was also really pleased with the way the whole site looked. We put more effort into that than most festivals do. And the atmosphere was great. I think we found a perfect balance. While some festivals are a bit dull, and others are just full of people completely off their nut, we got it right, somewhere in the middle.

VF: Any teething problems?
RDB: There were a hell of a lot of small issues, things like setting the right water pressure and fencing off the lake, but these are things that don't crop up until you're in the thick of it and it means we'll know exactly what to do next year. The Isle Of Wight authorities were brilliant, we had no issue there. But it was still the most stressful thing I've ever done in my life! It took me and Josie a good couple of months to recover from it all.

VF: What about the massive police presence and sniffer dogs at the gates?
RDB: It wasn't ideal. Isle Of Wight is one of the first places to implement some new law to do with drug enforcement. We'll see more of it over the next few years at other festivals because it's in line with new government guidelines. We had no major trouble, so it could work out better for us in the end as they might be less heavy-handed next year. But you can't really argue with the police. They've got their rules and they've got to follow them. We will be changing our security firm next year though. They weren't ideal.