PLUS AN ELECTRIC ATMOSPHERE FUELLED BYTHE WORLD’S MOST PASSIONATE FANS  

Day three of T in the Park 2012 got off to a sophisticated start on the Main Stage. Scots classical sensation Nicola Benedetti wowed the Kinross crowd with a 15-minute set. 

The spirit of adventurism that characterises the weekend’s line-up continued through the day, with McFly, Rita Ora and The Wanted representing shiny pop at its best, Happy Mondays flying the flag for the revived Madchester era, and Keane providing singalong anthems by the bucket-load. 

On the BBC Introducing Stage, Admiral Fallow were also eliciting whoops and cheers. The Scots’ second album Tree Bursts In Snow has been busy generating rave reviews left, right and centre. They didn’t fail to deliver: the industrious, amped-up indie-folk band were a fitting finale to the bill on one of T in the Park’s many platforms for up-and-coming bands, rousing passionate followers and converts alike. 

But no one, perhaps, can move the hearts like Elbow. Despite singer Guy Garvey feeling somewhat under the weather, the Manc lads put on a storming show. Big-hearted soul-anthems like Lippy Kids, The Seldom-Seen Kid and Open Arms were an emotional highpoint of the entire weekend. And for a finale, of course, there was only one tune. Arms aloft, lungs out, joy overflowing, One Day Like This brought communal chorusing to the festival. Some tune, some band, some weekend. 

Moving the masses in a slightly different manner were Swedish House Mafia. Crowning the Radio 1/NME stage with what was their ever last performance on Scottish soil, the Scandinavian dance trio pumped out dance belter after dance belter. 

Where the Swedes set off giddy disco light, in the Transmissions Stage,  The Horrors were conjuring swirling, rhythmic darkness to an appreciative crowd. Meanwhile out on the Main Stage, one of T in the Park’s favourite bands were doing what they do best. 

Kasabian put their good foot forward with a blistering set that filled the night sky with punchy drama. Psychedelic rock’n’roll turned all the way up to 11… The only thing that could match them for a climax were some serious fireworks. And on that score too, T in the Park delivered. 
And so, nearly, to bed.

As Guy Garvey put it: “The festival is everything. The festival is all. It’s the point of the whole year.” 

Till next year…2013, the 20th year of T in the Park – an unmissable milestone….a seminal and magical moment not to be missed….a memory that will last a lifetime. Let the good times roll. 

Geoff Ellis, Festival Director, said: “It’s been another fantastic year. We have the best audience in the world here at T in the Park – our fans really make the festival, and this weekend they’ve proved that come rain or shine, the atmosphere is always incredible. It was a dream come true to see The Stone Roses headline T in the Park, and a seminal moment in the festival’s history. It was celebration enough to hit record attendance this year with 85,000 fans per day but next year for the 20th year we’ll be pulling even more out the bag to ensure it will be the best birthday party T in the Parkers have ever seen.” 

Here’s what the artists had to say:

Elbow: Craig Potter (organ), Pete Turner (bass)

Pete: Our last T in the Park I remember cause Seasick Steve was sat there inside the barrier, just watching us. 

Craig: I remember a lot of great atmospheres at T in the Park. Apart from weather issues, we do love the festival season. During the week you’re at home, being a dad, then you’re away at the weekend, having fun. It’s not hard when you’re just doing festivals throughout the summer. It’s good fun. 

Pete: And you can catch up with people you haven’t seen for a while. Yesterday we were driving to Vienna and I was thinking, this is a great job! 

Will you play your BBC Olympics theme tonight?

Craig: No, it’s not a song that we’d ever play really. In fact we don’t even think of it as an Elbow song. We wrote it for the Olympics and it’s an Olympics song rather than an Elbow song. Guy doesn’t sing on it, it’s just a choir. So we’d never play it live. But it was a great thing to do though. 

Pete: It’s funny though, people have said it sounds like an Elbow song. My mum was telling me that Craig’s old music teacher Mrs Grundy straight away knew it was when she heard it. 

Craig: I suppose it’s a big orchestra piece. We wanted to make it quiet classic-sounding rather than like a rock band. So it’s very classic instruments, mainly orchestra. Looking forward to hearing it behind some of the actual footage of people running and winning – and there’s a losers section in the piece as well! 

Pete: It’s a funny one – Guy was very, very insistent that he wasn’t gonna sing on it. We didn’t want to make it obviously Elbow. But it’s quite difficult to make the lyrics not too “you’re a winner” and all that. So it took a while. 

Craig: Guy came up with the idea of wiring it about a baby’s first steps, which sums up a lot of the feelings you’d have without it being directly about running as fast as you can. 

What’s so good about T in the Park?

Pete: It sounds like you’re wheeling out an answer but Scottish audiences are vibey, and that makes it good for you. We’ll go and do a festival somewhere - I won’t say where – and the crowd might be more reserved, and not quite into it.

Craig: That certainly doesn’t happen at T in the Park. 

Kasabian: Tom Meighan (singer)

We kinda grew up with this festival. We were first on at 12 o’clock in the afternoon, and we’ve worked our way up, man, which is great. So nothing but great memories actually of T in the Park. To see where we’ve come from to where we are now, it’s a beautiful thing. 

I don’t think there’s anything quite like it in Europe. It’s a different vibe completely from all the other festivals we’ve done before. It’s a great one because it’s Scotland and they just got something about them, the jocks. They’re amazing. 

The very first time we played Scotland was at King Tut’s. Our van broke down, and we had to push it up the hill. It was pretty amazing actually, the gig. It was 2003 and I was 23 years old - amazing. 

The Imagineers: Steven Young (singer), Scott Bonnyman (guitarist)

Steven: We’ve just come from the T Break Stage and we’ve still got the adrenalin in our blood stream. This is a major stepping stone for our band – last year we did a couple of festivals, but this one’s always been the big one for us. Coming from Glasgow it’s been our ambition to play it. We only got the slot last Thursday – very last minute. We’d played King Tut’s and had the place rammed. 

Scott: First time we’ve ever played T in the Park, so it’s a special day. I’ve dreamed of playing T in the Park ever since I picked up a guitar. We got the monkey off our back. But we still haven’t got that Main Stage monkey off our back. 

Steven: It looks great on the CV for any unsigned band, which we are. People are always asking you, have you played T in the Park. And we’ve always been, nah… But now we can say we have.

Scott: You talk about the public perception of T in the Park – I don’t think there’s a festival that would resonate with a punter more than that. You tell them you’ve played T in the Park, they’re like, “you must be doing well.” It’s a stamp of approval.