The V festival was the first British festival to have two sites – one in the north of England and one in the south, with bands travelling between the two – meaning that for the whole weekend, the M1 motorway services are generally awash with tour buses, bands and crew in various states of disrepair.
Coldplay played on the MTV stage, which they shared that year with Supergrass, Moby, Beth Orton and Joe Strummer, amongst others. Main Stage headliners were Travis and future Coldplay tour guest Richard Ashcroft. Notably, Chris’s firm favourites The Flaming Lips were also on the bill this year.
I’m told that the band were genuinely worried they’d be playing to an empty field, but were greeted with an ocean of arms aloft and a truly rapturous reception. They would of course return to headline the main stage just three years later.
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