The Killers bring T in the Park to a close

Day three of T in the Park 2013 got off to a disco-dizzy start on the Main Stage with the 12-strong legend that is Earth, Wind & Fire.

The veteran American party band launched the final day of the 20th TITP with an appropriately euphoric set. Boogie Wonderland came to the Kinross-shire pastures as the dancin' dozen wowed the early-bird crowds. The band, too, were feeling the love. Lead singer Philip Bailey was backed up by his son Philip Doron Bailey, and the youngster was enjoying his first trip to Scotland. "I thought I was in a Harry Potter movie!" he beamed afterwards of the rolling Scottish countryside. That's T in the Park: pure magic.

Deap Vally continued the American invasion of Sunday's early slots, with a fiery set in the King Tut's Wah Wah Tent. The Californian female guitar/drums duo – think Suzi Quatro and Janis Joplin forming their own version of The White Stripes – delivered an ear-cleaning early afternoon blast of heaviosity. They must have enjoyed themselves – 12 hours later they were still roaming around the artists' area, availing themselves of backstage hospitality unrivalled on the international festival circuit.

Back on the Main Stage it was still about the Americans as Frank Ocean delivered a set of blissed-out, downtempo R&B. With the temperature soaring and the sun blaring, it was the perfect cooling experience for the high-heat afternoon.

Into the home stretch, the Big Hitters were duking it out on the outdoor stages. David Guetta threw everything he had at his bill-topping Radio 1 Stage set: mega-anthems, fire, smoke, more fire, more mega-anthems. The French DJ is a le grande fromage of giant outdoor club shows, and his skills did the job. The roar from the crowd was rapturous and delirious. Tuuuuuuuuunes!

But over on the Main Stage, The Killers weren't about to take that lying down. The American band – returning headliner favourites to T in the Park – were, simply, sensational. Under the giant skies of the Kinross-shire dusk, the Las Vegas foursome rocked their way into the hearts and minds of the heaving crowd. All These Things That I've Done, a crowd-pleasing Travis cover (Side), Brandon Flowers' matinee idol smile, another crowd-pleasing cover (I Think We're Alone Now) and some of the greatest rock songs of recent times had the fields jumping. By the time they closed with a giddy, ecstatic Mr Brightside, it was all over bar the fireworks… and the piper playing Happy Birthday… and a shout-out for T in the Park 2014.

What a climax. What a show. What a weekend. What a T. Scotland's only festival and its brilliant faithful fans couldn't have hoped for a better 20th outing. Now, how will we celebrate that all-important 21st…?


T IN THE PARK 2013: SUNDAY BACKSTAGE CHATS

EARTH, WIND & FIRE
Philip Doron Bailey (vocals): "It was good today; l like it. It was fun; big audience, good response. Everything sounded right on stage – so I hope it sounded right in the audience. And everyone's talking about how good the weather is.
"I've been learning about Scotland from a friend who lives here. I heard that you guys have a lot of history, and you guys have a lot of religious wars! And that you make history of the wars. But to perfectly honest, as soon as I got here I thought I was in a Harry Potter movie! All the architecture!

"We've been touring all summer and it's been good actually. It's been good energy. It's tiring, especially now that we're in Europe – we've been running pretty hard.
"There are 12 of us onstage, and we do have some sycnchronised moves that takes practice – we have a choreographed set, things that we do routinely, and we have to adjust those according to the audience. So we knew that, this type of audience, the regular stage performance that we usually give, wouldn't go over well. It would have been too structured. So you gotta know how to break out of the structure and keep your eyes open – for basses and guitars that are flying in your direction!
"But we got a great response from the audience."

What were you doing in 1994?
"I was 13 and I was singing definitely – and probably crying about some girl. I'm a romantic! So I was probably whinging on the phone. Yeah, absolutely – I would have been in junior high in the San Fernando Valley in California, so I would either have been in love with a girl named Edith, or I was infatuated with her best friend named Liza. Kid emotions, you know!"

What do you think of the backstage facilities at T?
"It's cool. I'm walking around and I'm seeing Frank Ocean's name and Rita Ora's name… I'm excited about the people. I'm not gonna get my hair cut, but maybe a goatee trim, I can do that…

"But I might not have time – we get to eat, then we're back to the hotel, shower, jumping right on the bus and heading to Zurich. It's like a 24-hour drive."

What will be the best memories of Scotland you take with you?
"It's probably gonna be the beautiful architecture."

STEREOPHONICS
Richard Jones (bass): "This is our eighth T."
Richard: "Our first one, we were in a tent, and I think Travis were on after us. We literally came up, jumped off the bus, got our gear onstage, did the gig, watched a couple of other bands and we were off somewhere else. So it was a flying visit. And it was a really good craic."

Kelly: "The best one might have been when we headlined, or were special guests. I had one where I tried to smash a guitar up on stage – took forever – it's in that BBC documentary. But to be honest I don't ever remember having a bad gig up here."

What makes T stand out from other festivals?
Kelly: "The atmosphere up here really. Whether it's pissing with rain or it's like this, they're always good people. As I said, we've never had a bad atmosphere up here. The backstage area is really chilled-out and people are nice. I've been up here when it's been pissing with rain, when the World Cup was on – and I've always had some really good times."

What were you doing in 1994?
Richard: "I was 20, and we were just schlepping round all the pubs and clubs around London and south London, just getting the band name out there, trying to get the songs out there. Just working our nuts off."

Kelly: "I was 20 as well. We were playing covers by the likes of Oasis and Nirvana, and just trying to write our first album. I think half of Word Gets Around was written by '94. Then got a record deal by August '96. We're almost the same age as this festival."

JOHNNY MARR
Where were you in 1994?
"I went to see this little band play in front of seven people, and probably a dog, in Manchester. They always started off with a very loud version of I Am The Walrus, by which time when they'd finished it, there was only four people and a dog, and I was one of them. So '94 reminds me of that time – Oasis knocking around my studio, and just being these little oiks in Adidas tracksuit tops. Whatever happened to them?

"At that particular time I personally didn't really like rock music. I went through a phase where I was really liking Ennio Morricone, a lot of soundtrack stuff, electronic stuff – Kraftwerk. And Chic had reformed and put out an album called Chic-ism. So it was stuff like that, and Aphex Twin. But the movement that happened that year, with Oasis, where Britain kinda reclaimed its own self-image if you like, was utterly necessary. The next thing I know, I didn't like guitar music, but Blur were making really good records. And their records really stand up."

Have you played T before?
"Once, with The Cribs, a couple of years ago – it was exactly like this weather. But the vibe here – everybody says it's mellow here, and I think it doesn't have that self-conscious media presence. There's something a little more free about it, 'cause it's so far from London.

"The organisers of T in the Park have got a different mindset to the others down south. I think they want to keep it, first and foremost, so that people from Scotland say it's great.
And they do. That's a cool thing.

"But when all's said and done, when you listen to the reaction that's going on over there for every single band, it's what festivals are supposed to be about. It's joyous really, isn't it?"

EDITORS
Tom Smith (vocals): "This is our sixth time here. They've been good to us. And I remember all the gigs. The first one was in the Futures Tent. It was a bit rowdy, but quite low on the ground in terms of numbers. But I remember it being quite intense. The one that was really memorable was the King Tut's one on our second record. That felt like the roof was taking off."
What were you doing in 1994?
"I was 13. Hadn't really discovered music in a big way by that point. Probably still kicking a football around at school. But it wasn't long before Definitely Maybe and Parklife came onto my horizon."

What makes T in the Park stand out?
"The cliché is it's the crowds, but they are slightly noisier and more vocal that all other festivals you do."

LABRINTH
"This is my third T in the Park – and all of my T in the Park moments have been insane. I've had really special times here. Last year the best bit was having beers in the media area! That was sick! That was lovely.

"Since then I've been writing lots of songs, and working with loads of people. It's been mad fun. And I've been kind of an equipment geek at the moment, a synthesiser-geek and upgrading my guitars and pedals – just trying to get something fresh for the new year. And hopefully it's gonna be very, very exciting with the new sound I've got going."

What are the vibes like today?
"Come on, man – there's sun in Scotland. I'm sure people are just out of their minds right now. I spoke to some of the other artist on the line-up, and they were just like, I'm loving it out here. Scots without weather, they go flipping insane. So Scots with weather – there's gonna be heads exploding.

"But you know what? It's more civilised backstage than I thought it would be. They've got
Sunday roast going on out here. There's a nice little jamming area where we were having a little play."

Where were you in 1994?
"I was five, and I was just like, waaah! That's all you could hear – me whinging and saying 'Mum! Mum! Mum!' Btu you know what, I was actually a funny kid. I used to laugh a lot. When my mum got upset with the other kids, I would just be the little kid stood there, laughing."

HURTS
Theo Hutchcraft (vocals): "This is our third time here – we missed last year… but it was muddy every other year, so this is brilliant. But we were saying earlier: in the mud, T in the Park is one of the best festivals. And in the sun it's even better. And today just proved it."
Adam Anderson (synths): "The crowd were good today. They're always good in Scotland, every time we come here. And cause the tent was full today, you can tell there's a lot of newcomers. That's why festivals are good: you've got to win people over. And now cause we've got two albums we can do a more dynamic set – less songs at 80bpm. The optimum festival bpm is 120bpm-plus."

Theo: "Our first T in the Park, I watched Calvin Harris play – he was in band mode. It was one of the last ones he did fronting the band, and it was just incredible. It's great to see him here, at a homecoming show. And now he's one of the biggest stars in the world. So his Friday show here this year must have been very special – you very rarely get to a see a homecoming show from an artist as big as that."

How do you rate the backstage facilities?
Adam: "This is particularly good. The best catering – the best catering in Europe.

What were you doing in 1994?
Theo: "I was eight years old, and I was playing footie. I was climbing trees. First fag? Not when I was eight. Btu I was three years into boozing.
Adam: "My mother made me eat a packet of fags once when I smoked one. I hate fags cause of it. But I was ten that year – big year for me."
Theo: "It was the World Cup in the USA. Brazil won it over Italy, Baggio put it over the bar in the final. I remember collecting the stickers."
Adam: "You know how McDonalds give you a toy with your Happy Meal? Well that month you got a footie, and a T-shirt. You got proper stuff."

Are you hanging around?
Theo: "It's the first time we've played early all summer, and we get to see people and just relax now. Which is a great feeling – it was a bit like, job done. So we'll see Frank Ocean, Johnny Marr, Foals – there's loads of brilliant ones today."

What makes TITP different?
Adam: "Great mentality, that sense of abandon the Scottish fans have. They're quite a liberated audience I always think. They have no inhibitions and it makes you have less. That's something special about Scotland."
Theo: "Considering it always rains in Scotland, and it's always good – you can't say that about many festivals. It's gonna rain but the crowd are so amazing. So today it's a double-whammy."

FRANK TURNER
"This is my third or fourth time at T in the Park. My memories of my first one, and indeed of the other previous ones, was it just raining and being horrible and cold. Not awful as a show, cause Scottish crowds can handle the rain, but I'm not sure I can. And today by comparison was glorious.

"I mean, Scotland's a funny one for me because I put out a record with the word 'England' in its title, and that was not the best received record I've ever done north of the border! But I get it, that's fair enough. And I feel like now I'm slowly starting to make amends in Scotland for that!

"But it was a record about where you're from, regardless of how you feel about it. I'm not proud of being English per se. But I definitely am from England. Historically we're the bad guys! The Scottish independence debate? I'm not touching that with a bargepole.
"We had a great show here today though, really, really great. It was certainly the best show we've ever had at T. It just really feel like we made some new friends and pleased some old ones."

How do you rate the backstage?
"Tell you what, in all honestly, this is one of my favourite backstages. Today I've had a haircut and a massage for free, and the food was good, and they gave me coffee when I woke up in the morning. There is nothing more I want in my life."

What were you doing in 1994?
"I was 12, and I was petitioning my mum to let me go to gigs – which she wouldn't let me do. Cause my mum, bless her, is quite traditional, shall we say. She doesn't have any
rock'n'roll in her life, didn't listen to it growing up, and I think she thought gigs just essentially just involved bikers drinking and shooting heroin! So Reading '95 was my first gig, Green Day headlining.

"But in 1994, I was listening to Nirvana, and Sunny Day Real Estate's first record came out, which was important to me. I was discovering punk rock at that time – and Nirvana were my signpost band towards punk rock. I started getting into Black Flag, Descendants, Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys…"

ANDERSON, MCGINTY, WEBSTER, WARD AND FISHER
Stevie Anderson: "This is our second T; we were lucky enough to play last year. Being Dundonians, we see this as a local thing and hold it very dear to our hearts. And getting to play here is a real honour.

Gavin McGinty: "We did come here as teenagers – it was a blast from the past today: you're at T in the Park, in the sunshine, and Ocean Colour Scene are playing. I feel like I'm back in the late Nineties, on my mate's shoulders."
Stevie: "We opened the Transmissions Stage, and the crowd were amazing. We didn't think we'd get too much of a crowd, but they were amazing – a lot of folk made the effort, so thanks to them."

What were you doing in 1994?
Stevie: "I was eight and I was in Primary Three."
Gavin: "So was I. So neither of us can remember what we were doing! Oh, the World Cup was on!"

JOSH RECORD
"This is my first festival summer, and it's feeling good. Everything becoming proper and me doing music full-time only happened four months ago, so it's amazing to look back and think, what the heck… For me everything happened when I felt like I'd stopped trying. It was probably about a year ago where I thought, you know what, I don't even wanna do music for a living – I just wanna do music because I love it. And write songs, cause that's what I love doing, and what I need to do. So I'm happy to have a normal job and do that…

"And then as soon as I made that decision it was like, woah, it all started to happen. It was awesome, man. It felt like the planets had aligned for me – every day, even now, it's overwhelming some of the great stuff that's been happening for me. Literally waking up in the morning thinking, what's gonna happen today? It'll be another Radio 1 DJ that plays it and loves it…"

"And I did know quite a lot about T in the Park before – I've watched it on TV. And one of the first gigs I actually did was a promo thing for T in the Park in Hamilton earlier this year, on a big double-decker bus - it was near where T in the Park first happened, Strathclyde Park. So right from then, a couple of months ago, I've been thinking about T in the Park, and remembering all those times I've watched in on TV or online. So it's really good to be here."

What have you seen of the crowds so far?
"You know what, I was up on the side of the stage for Earth, Wind & Fire. I am literally still buzzing from that. That was one of the best experiences of my life.

"But the thing I love about festivals is you've got people who have never heard your stuff before and they might be just walking past and like it. Even if you get 10, 20 people that hear your music for the first time, it's worth it and it's an awesome experience to play to new crowds and new places and stuff."

What do you think of the backstage facilities?
"Mate, it's so good! I'm thinking of going for a haircut, even though I pretty much don't need it. I might get a beard trim. And massage – I'm on that. But I feel like I don't wanna do that before I perform, cause I normally have to sleep for a couple of hours after."

What were you doing in 1994?
"'94 was the first premier league sticker book I ever completed. That was a big year for me. I was seven…"

THE RUEN BROTHERS
Henry Stansall: "This is our first ever T in the Park…"

Rupert Stansall: "…third trip to Scotland, first time we've seen Scottish countryside. And the first time we've been here when the sun's been out. I knew T in the Park was a pretty epic festival, but we didn't know where it was in Scotland…"

Henry: "We've been gigging for about ten years, doing pubs and clubs every weekend, 'cause that's been the only way we've made any money. So we've never had a chance to go to any festivals – even though we're proper into music.

Rupert: "All I heard was T in the Park was a pretty amazing festival, one of the biggest, and the crowd are bang up for it."

Henry: "And today was great – the Transmission Stage was a bit of a bigger stage than what we're used to. But we dragged quite a few in, so it was a really good vibe. But I was absolutely cooking in my leather jacket."

Where were you in 1994?
Henry: "I was five, and I was probably whinging about something. I was mad into dinosaurs – I wanted to be an archaeologist."

Rupert: "I was four and I wanted to be a scuba diver. I was proper into my marine biology and the navy. So that was where I wanted to be but it soon changed. Our dad has a massive vinyl collection so he was always playing retro stuff, Fifties, Sixties, Roy Orbison and The Rolling Stones. And eventually we picked up the guitar…:

Henry: "But being here at T in the Park is a bit of surreal for us – at the beginning of this year nobody really knew or cared who were. But then we uploaded a video to YouTube, then uploaded a track to BBC Introducing player. And it all took off from there. So to be able to come here and play a festival like this seems really…. I use this word a lot but it is very surreal."

Rupert: "It's real magic. To be able to go on stage and have people who have specifically come to watch us and are singing lyrics back, even at this early stage, is an amazing feeling."

Henry: "Playing at T in the Park is definitely one of the pivotal days for us. We'll never forget his first year. But we've not been to a festival yet with backstage facilities like this."
Rupert: "These are pretty incredible."

DEAP VALLY
Lindsey Troy (guitars): "I have lot of friends who live in London who come every to T in the Park and talk about it all the time. So there must be something good going on here.
Julie Edward (drums): "The crowd today were great, and they made lots of a noise. But also it's tricky when you get up at 7.30 in the morning to rock hard. You're not up to rocking speed. We were talking about how when we played Coachella, we were running late and it was high stress – but because there was all this adrenalin, we had energy. So the energy comes from weird places."

Lindsey: "I'm kinda glad that our set's over – we can just sunbathe the rest of the day."

Julie: "We're gonna get tans in Scotland! But I have Scottish blood - my middle name is Scott."

Lindsey: "And we're gonna eat. The catering is great, and there's a huge dessert spread. There's so many desert options it's not even fair."

What were you doing in 1994?
Julie: "I was 30 and I was a microbiologist."

Lindsey: "I wasn't even born yet. No, I was playing a lot of tag."