V Festival 2012 - Sunday

Gary Lightbody throws himself into Snow Patrol's set

MORNING! Ssssh, not too loud!

A bit of a sore head and the stupendous heat is back in full force in Chelmsford for day two of V Festival.

Today’s line up – to be honest – doesn’t have quite the same appeal as yesterday, but there are a couple of must-sees on my list.

I start the day slowly, taking in a number of acts including The Stranglers, The Rifles, Shed Seven and a touch of Olly Murs. The latter occurred as I waited for one of those must-sees – Madness.

Despite being a fan since childhood, I had never seen them perform live and they were not to disappoint. It did seem the band – and especially lead singer Suggs – may have been at the free bar ahead of their performance at around 3.30pm, but it added to the charm and showmanship.

Indeed, so involved with the fun and ‘banter’ of the afternoon were the band that saxophonist Lee Thompson missed his solo in Baggy Trousers because he was off-stage kicking inflatable balls into the crowd.

Murs returned to perform It Must Be Love with the band, and despite the disappointment of Suggs not singing that one, the performance overall was superb.

Sadly, the other classic to follow them – Tom Jones – didn’t have quite the same appeal or fun factor and my jubilant mood was dampened somewhat. A great singer, don’t get me wrong, but he didn’t do it for me on a festival stage.

I proved to be something of a disjointed running order on the main stage. Veteran Jones was followed by Tinie Tempah, who in turn was followed by Snow Patrol.

There are few similarities between the acts for them to smoothly follow one another, but I suppose the idea of a festival is that there is something for all.

Olly Murs performed his set and then returned with Madness

Snow Patrol were, however, one of the highlights of the day.

I had heard some of their music when they stepped up as headliners after Oasis pulled out in 2009, but was surprised at how good they were and how many songs I knew.

This time round, I knew more of what to expect and was not disappointed. Gary Lightbody is such an enthusiastic frontman that the crowd cannot but believe him when he says how wonderful they are and what a good time he was having.

It was another triumphant set.

The Killers then followed as headliners and seemed to work their magic on the crowd. While they have delivered some exceptional songs – not least Mr Brightside – there is something about the band that doesn’t pull me in. And while I listened and enjoyed a number of their songs, there was still not enough to make me ‘a fan’.

And so a wonderful weekend ends on something of a downer, but there was still plenty across the two days that makes me want to return in 2013.