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The Review - MUSIC - grooves with CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS
Published: 23 August 2007

SO was it worth it? That was the question I asked myself as I made my way home from far-flung Stafford’s Weston Park.
Set in the grounds of a stately home, the patch of mud usually left to heritage chasers was this weekend transformed into the northern quarter of V festival.
Headlining sets from American stars Pink, Kanye West, The Killers and the Foo Fighters were propped up by hit-makers from this side of the pond – James, Paolo Nutini, and James Morrison were the big Brits on the main stage.
Chucking it down was an understatement. When a big sign flashed up on the screen telling the sodden crowd there were thunderstorms and lightning in Chelmsford (the southern hand of the festival), jeers rose up like steam.
Unfortunately the rain (drizzling, constant) and the complete lack of sun (not once, never) killed the atmosphere slightly.
Of course the organisers couldn’t do anything about the weather. But what they could have improved was the queues: if you’re bursting for a pee at V, you’ll burst. The beer-token queues were equally demoralising.
Famed as the most commercial of all the festivals, the music was massively mainstream.
A decidedly average line-up that didn’t inspire, there were no ‘must-see’ acts.
While James – 90s britpoppers – were fun, they didn’t bring out their hits. Why?
Having a UK act with a bit of gravitas could have made all the difference: Oasis anyone? Someone like Blondie (who cheered everyone up at Lovebox) would have been good, or a surprise 80s act like the Eurythmics (if it’s good enough for Kanye West to sample, it’s good enough for the rest of us).
Munching their grass carelessly, the deer appeared indifferent to the arrival of 75,000 people on their Midlands’ mud patch. I felt exactly the same as I left.

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