Sunshine fighting through the showers brought hope of a drier day, at least underfoot as the field was a sea of mud and I wished I’d invented Wellies. 160 tonnes of straw had been brought in to tackle the mud, but it wasn’t enough.

By the time we got through the mud Sunderland’s Frankie and the Heartstrings, (the best thing since the A19 to come out of Sunderland I thought) were wowing the crowds in the NME/Radio 1 stage with their effervescent brand of pop, a band to look out for certainly!  Miles Kane followed, ex of The Last Shadow Puppets, performing tracks from his debut solo album Colour of the Trap.

We then took a wander to view the traders. The food was an array of takeaways at hiked up prices, with the spicy price of £7 for a kebab. The bars drew in some people and service was quick, well at £4 a pint…

One brave lady with crutches battled the mud and a hilly rise to the main field, and some wheelchair users had to be ploughed to the stages tilted on their back wheels. Perhaps a thought for better disabled access should be given in the future in light of the mud bath that ensued?

Returning to the NME stage the brilliant Vaccines took hold of the audience playing tracks from the fastest selling debut album of all time.

Noah and the Whale opened with an orchestral version of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody which totally enthralled the crowd. They went on to play ‘Tonight’s the kind of night’, current single ‘L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.’ and ‘It’s five years time’, after the lead singer Charlie Fink announced to fans it was almost five years to the day since the bands formation.

The night on the NME stage ended with Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye where Gallagher strutted, snarled and swore around the stage as only Gallagher can.

Article by Janet Hart