CityLife

Paul Harvey's Glastonbury highlights

Glastonbury - festival on an epic scale

IT'S Friday morning, it's raining, and there is a palpable sense of dread among the 200,000 assembled on Worthy Farm that Glastonbury 2009 is going to be a washout.

Bjorn Again lift spirits in the drizzle with their Abba tribute, but the festival only truly kicks into life once the sun comes out. T

o everyone's relief, it hangs around for the entire weekend, creating a positive atmosphere that not even the sad news about Michael Jackson can dampen.

In the afternoon, US punks ****ed Up cause a near riot on the John Peel stage thanks to their tubby, half-naked frontman Pink Eyes' rock'n'roll antics, charging around the crowd like an overgrown toddler.

Later, Lily Allen charms the pants off the Pyramid Stage, her potty-mouthed pop an unreserved joy in the afternoon heat.

Fire-emitting bra

In contrast, Lady Gaga’s Other Stage set is all style and no substance, with five costume changes, but the considerable crowd laps it up, fire-emitting bra and all.

Even the normally curmudgeonly Pyramid Stage headliner Neil Young seems swept away by the good vibes, delivering a hits set with a joie de vivre rarely seen from the craggy-faced Canadian.

The next day, national treasure Rolf Harris’ lunchtime slot draws a huge crowd, with renditions of "Two Little Boys" and "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" ecstatically received in Jazz World.

An even larger mass gathers for Dizzee Rascal, who is clearly revelling in his new found pop star status. The crowd takes its cues from "Bonkers" and "Dance Wiv Me" to go suitably wild for one of the highlights of the festival.

Blue-collar anthems

After tolerating the dismal Kasabian, Glastonbury waits to see whether Bruce Springsteen can deliver with his much-anticipated set.

The Boss’s blue-collar anthems prove thrilling for an hour, but for a festival crowd the near three-hour set proves too light on hits and it’s not the knockout show it could have been.

The closing day sees art-poppers Yeah Yeah Yeahs turn in a storming performance on the Other Stage, then it’s back to the Pyramid for a skank through Madness’s greatest moments "It Must Be Love" and "Our House" the highlights of a heavenly hour with the Nutty Boys.

The incomparable Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds provide darker thrills, their blood-soaked tales of murder and revenge a stark contrast to what has gone before, but nevertheless lapped up by the delighted throng.

Unlikely reunion

It’s then time for the return of Blur, whose acrimonious split in 2003 made this show an unlikely reunion.

However, with old differences now put aside they turn in the performance of the weekend, a run through their back catalogue so rapturously received Damon Albarn is moved to tears. "

Tender" proves to be the anthem of the festival, the crowd singing it long into the Glastonbury night as they trail back to their tents, ready to pack up and make their way back to the real world.

The next day, organiser Michael Eavis calls this year's festival the "best ever" and there's a feeling that for once, he might actually be right.