The group was founded in 1982 by Irish-born chairman John Vincent Power, with a venue called simply Mean Fiddler.[1] At the end of the 1980s they took control of the Reading Festival from Harold Pendleton, beginning a move into festivals.[3] After acquiring the LA2 (now known as the Astoria2) in Charing Cross Road in 2000, they were renamed to become the Mean Fiddler Music Group.