JIMI HENDRIX - WOODSTOCK FOUNDER PLANNING ANNIVERSARY SEQUEL

WOODSTOCK FOUNDER PLANNING ANNIVERSARY SEQUEL

The founder of the legendary Woodstock music festival is said to be looking for sponsors to fund a 40th anniversary event.

Michael Lang, who co-founded the iconic 1969 show in Bethel, New York State, is hoping to raise £10 million (£6.8 million) in sponsorship money to celebrate the festival that epitomised the classic concert featuring the likes of Jimi Hendrix and the Who.

"The chances that something will happen are probable," he told the Times newspaper. "But I don't really have the answer yet as to what that will be."

A 30th anniversary festival was held at a former air base outside New York City in 1999 and ended in rioting and violence, with fires scorching the site.

"I think what happened in 1999 was a function of the times and the music that we booked," Lang explained at the SXSW music showcase festival.

"There was a lot of anger around with bands like Limp Bizkit and Korn who were heavier than I would have liked. It turned into more of an MTV event than a Woodstock event and that was a lesson learnt.

"This time we will go for bands with more of a social conscience."

To that end he is looking to hold a "free event" which has "as small a carbon imprint as we can".

"Depending on how successful we are in raising that sponsorship will determine when and how we do this event," he is quoted by Billboard magazine as saying.

The Who, Carlos Santana, Joe Cocker and Crosby, Stills & Nash are among a list of so-called 'legacy acts' said to be in talks for a 40th anniversary show while the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who played the ill-fated 1999 event, could also feature.