HOT ON the heels of winning the prestigious Best Major Festival Award, the Bestival have announced blinding headline act The Cure who will be playing their only European show of 2011 on the Saturday night.

Not only this but Primal Scream will perform their ‘Screamadelica’ and those canny Bestival bods have also managed to persuade ex Beach Boy and once reclusive genius Brian Wilson to venture over the Solent next September.

“We’ve been itching to tell you this, so we’re deliriously happy that the time has finally come to unveil the very first wave of acts for Bestival 2011 and by crikey are we excited,” said a Bestival spokesperson.

“Yes! One of the most influential bands around, The Cure will be crossing The Solent to join us at the festival season’s last hurrah for their only European show of 2011!

“From their debut album ‘Three Imaginary Boys’ to 2008’s critically acclaimed ‘4:13 Dream’, The Cure have inspired countless bands in the last three decades and, whilst most of their contemporaries have fallen by the pop wayside, they remain as relevant and vibrant as ever. As one of the Bestival crew’s collective favourite bands of all time, we’re all jumping for joy that The Cure are coming to the party to headline Saturday night at Bestival. September really can’t come quickly enough for us.”

A gleeful Rob da Bank said: “I’ve spent the last twenty years of my life listening to The Cure and the last five attempting to persuade Robert Smith and the crew to hop on a ferry to our magical Isle. I’m still not sure what we’ve done right but I’m overjoyed that they are coming as Saturday night headliners. Few bands have had such a massive impact on my life (and hairstyles) so I’ll see you down the front!”

Iconic Cure frontman Robert Smith commented: “I am delighted and excited that The Cure’s only European festival performance in 2011 will be at Bestival… We will do all we can to help make it a weekender to remember!”

“Topping 2010’s Best Major Festival Award winning show will be no mean feat, but Rob da Bank and the ever-trusty Besti-crew have left no stone unturned to make our 2011 show even better than ever ensuring that Bestival will again be the festival for music lovers! Bestival’s eighth outing - taking place at Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight from September 8 to 11, 2011 - is all set to be truly legendary. And here’s why…

“Fresh from their triumphant London Olympia gigs we can announce that the mighty Primal Scream will be presenting their landmark album ‘Screamadelica’ in its entirety, headlining the Big Top on Saturday night. ‘Screamadelica’ transformed the musical landscape in the early 90s and with the band’s current run of shows celebrating the album completely sold-out, this is a golden chance to catch a pioneering band performing their meisterwerk in all its coruscating glory.

“And the legends keep on coming for Bestival 2011, with Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson set to bring his baroque surf-pop to Robin Hill. Brian’s songwriting prowess and production ingenuity has made him one of the most deeply revered figures in pop music and one of the most influential composers of the 20th Century. With a litany of timeless hits that can’t fail to ignite the Main Stage crowd, it’s a complete honour to have him onboard.

“There are still plenty more stellar acts to be announced, including two more headliners, plus there will be lashings of trademark Bestival off-the-wall behaviour with merriment, magic, mayhem and plenty of lovely tea and cakes. We’ve listened to all the feedback from you and have made a few little tweaks so that there will be some changes to the wondrous landscape of the UKs most creative festival courtesy of Josie da Bank’s eye-catching expertise that are going to make Bestival 2011 the greatest show on Earth!”

Commenting on Bestival 2011 Rob da Bank added: “This year felt like a landmark year for Bestival. There’s no avoiding the fact that we’ve become a large festival but I still feel we’re more intimate than any of the other shows our size and, crucially, we’re 100% independent.

“That means we book who we want to book, choose all the food stalls and traders ourselves and listen to our message boards and fans 365 days a year to make sure we keep Bestival the best. Things we’re focussing on for Bestival 2011 are keeping Besti as the place to see new bands, making the campsites much more of a community with better roadways to clear litter and make finding your tent easier, and we’re also starting to put stages at the other end of the site so it’s not just one long tunnel of stages. Hope you can make it in 2011!”

Remember to keep checking www.iwgazette.co.uk for all the latest Bestival news.