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As
people filtered into a scorching Seaclose Park on day three of the
Isle of Wight Festival, Jerry Fish and Mudbug Club greeted them
with a friendly mix of cuban jazz and salsa.
Jerry
Fish's saucy tunes and live brass section wafted out across the
sun-drenched grass making us feel as though we were in South America
rather than the South of England.
 Photo
gallery of Sunday's bands
Bringing
us back to Britain were The Ordinary Boys. As a welcome last minute
replacement to Alfie, the lads shook up the already packed park
with a huge slice of mod-rock. With more than a nod to Paul Weller
and The Jam they played tracks from their debut album Over The Counter
Culture including the single Week In Week Out.
Ending
with The Who's Summertime Blues, they received a big cheer from
those who witnessed The Who's set the night before and knew that
it was the one track the legends hadn't played themselves.
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| Suzanne
Vega |
Suzanne
Vega stepped out next and soothed us with a calm, acoustic set.
The flame-haired singer/songwriter played well known songs such
as Luka, as well as her own version of The Who's Behind Blue Eyes.
Unfortunately, having heard the real thing the night before, it
fell a bit flat with the audience.
Crowd
participation was a must when she finished with an acapella version
of her classic hit, Tom's Diner.
Playing
their first ever summer festival, Southampton pop quartet Delays
had a lot of fans present. An array of England shirts could be seen
dotted around, prompting singer Greg to quip, "Is there a match
on or something?"
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| Delays'
Greg |
Their
feel-good, summery tunes sounded great in the afternoon sun. Tracks
such as Wanderlust, Hey Girl and Nearer Than Heaven went down a
storm and bouncy new song Hideaway was just the perfect summer tune.
Northern
Ireland's Snow Patrol were also playing their biggest ever gig.
After the obligitory "You look beautiful" to the crowd,
they launched into some of the mighty anthems from the Final Straw
that have finally launched the foursome's career into the stratosphere.
The
Charlatans had the unenviable task of being on at the same time
as the England match. Luckily, they had more than enough songs to
keep our attention from wandering to Beckham and co. Hits such as
North Country Boy, Just Looking and The Only One I Know delighted
fans even though singer Tim Burgess did sound completely off-key.
Not
only that but they also managed to drag Carl from The Libertines
up on stage too. The cheeky rocker had hitched a ride on The Charlatans'
tour bus and was watching the day's events from backstage.
As
the indie boys left the stage, the huge screens at either side began
to beam out the England v France match just in time for the second
half.
An
excruciating 45 minutes followed but thankfully we didn't have to
dwell on Beckham's missed penalty or Zidane's last minute goal for
long. No sooner had the match ended, Mr David Bowie appeared to
wash our cares away.
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| David
Bowie |
Kicking
off with Rebel, Rebel he took us on a journey through four decades
of pop history. Looking fantastic in a tight T-shirt and slinky
scarf, Bowie performed vintage tracks like Hello Spaceboy, Fame,
Ashes To Ashes, Heroes and and the amazing The Man Who Sold The
World.
He
had his usual band with him. Long-term Bowie guitarist Earl Slick
rocked out at the side of the stage and his elegant bass player,
Gail Ann Dorsey, even joined him on a rendition of Under Pressure,
taking on Freddie Mercury's part.
We
we're also treated to some of Bowie's newer material and heard a
few songs from his latest album, Reality, including recent single
New Killer Star.
Renowned
for never playing what is expected, Bowie chose to give us some
of his obscurer work and sandwiched his classics with tracks like
Quicksand from his Hunky Dory album and also a cover of The Pixie's
Cactus.
With
such a huge list of songs to his name, Bowie would never be able
to please everyone and some people were left disappointed that their
favourites weren't played. Even so, he managed to squeeze in tracks
from every Bowie era.
He
was clearly happy to be there and was up for a laugh, joking with
the crowd that they shouldn't sing along to the chorus for All The
Young Dudes. Of course, he knew everyone would do the exact opposite.
And they did.
As
the legend left the stage, a huge display of fireworks heralded
the end of the festival. Thousands of happy, sun-kissed people began
to make their way to the ferry terminal with memories of a great
weekend that will surely be remembered for years.
What
did you think of this year's festival? Have your say on our Music
Message Board
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