Friday 27th June

The rain stopped about 3am. I woke at 4am to an eerie quiet. The thudding of boots on the metal path a few metres away had quietened. It was like people were waiting.

After getting my head down for a few more hours I took a look at my trainers. They were splattered. Reluctantly, I reached into my rucksack and pulled out the green Dunlop wellies that had saved my arse for the previous two Glastonburys.

Grabbing some breakfast, I trundled down to the Other Stage where the sound-checking was taking place. The grass was still green. Spreading a copy of the Q Glastonbury Daily on the ground I sat looking at the sky trying to judge which direction the clouds were going.

I always try and make the first band on the Other Stage, it's tradition. We'd been promised the HILLTOP HOODS an Australian Hip Hop act, but they'd failed to show so instead we got...

IDA MARIA

Scandinavian indie rock with quite a powerful punch, Ida Maria kicked off the Other Stage in a great fashion. There was only one quite disconcerting point and that was the fact the band was fronted by Whose Line Is It Anyway improv queen Josie Lawrence.




IDA MARIA, INDIE BAND









JOSIE LAWRENCE, IMPROV QUEEN





While tunes like 'I Like You Better When You're Naked' were joyfully bounced out, our personal favourite was 'Stella' which we assume was about the nation's favourite fighting beer.

GET CAPE, WEAR CAPE, FLY

Great name! Mediocre band! A project from the doesn't-he-look-like-you-could-take-him-home-to-meet-your-mum-moppet Sam Duckworth (son of Vera), GCWCF's mix of smooth indie and pop ballad was so middle of the road, you could be forgiven for thinking it was a traffic island. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, it wasn't passionate either, it was just a bit meh. Maybe Sam needs to take more drugs or go to South America or something, but overall this washed over me like the drizzle that continued to fall from the sky.






Horsing about in a drizzly corner of the Pyramid Field.









KT TUNSTALL

I don't think we expected to KT Tunstall to be so damn funny. Sexy, yes, ballsy, certainly, but she was just really amusing. She happily spent her time telling us stories about her friends with mental illnesses ("If you're a nutjob this one's for you!") and persuading the crowd to participate in some hip-hop stylee dance moves ("You may think you're cool for not doing it, but you're just a dick"). To be honest we were only there for the final track, 'Suddenly I See', which KT doesn't seem to have tired of yet and pulled off with aplomb. Great stuff.

Around this time, I managed for the second time in my life to appear on the BBC regional news show Points West (the first was circa 1993 when I was interviewed about the school opting out of Key Stage 3 exams). Clinton Rogers was reporting from the bottom left corner of the Pyramid Field, where a group of people had started a conga behind him. As I was wearing my Fifth Estate t-shirt I tried to get in shot and generate some publicity. Two minutes later my phone rang. "John, it's Dad, we've just seen you on TV!" RESULT!

After an interview with the 1623 Theatre Company, I headed over to the Park feeling that the Silent Disco would be just the thing to cure my rainy day blues.

DJ OD was still there! Had he stopped partying from the previous night? I chose to believe not, I figured the DJ booth must come complete with an intravenous supply of coffee and liquid festival burgers. Finding myself alone again, I decided a quick rave was needed. I was then recovered by my mates who stuck me in the Glade just in time to hear Primal Scream's 'Come Together' probably my favourite festival tune, that was a special moment.

But I kept getting dragged back to The Park. It was nearing the time for the special guests of the evening. The Park was getting into the swing of supplying outstanding special performances and tonight would be no exception. Imagine my surprise when they suddenly announced...

FRANZ FERDINAND

Not billed to play and yet there they were onstage! I got as close as I could and made friends with a bloke called Glenn. Glenn, if you're out there, it was nice to talk to you. The 'Nand ripped into 'Matinee', 'Michael', 'Do You Want To' and, strangely, mid-set 'Take Me Out' which is up there with one of my favourite singles ever. Proof that the music scene is ever-changing, lead singer Alex Kapranos mentioned that one girl had asked the band "Which part of Sheffield are you from?" The band finished with 'This Fire' and proved that for brevity, wit and pop-rock Franz Ferdinand are still among the best in the land.

And I decided to call it quits, I was shattered and the wellies weren't helping, so I got an early night in and prayed the rain would not return...