V Festival
V Festival, often referred to simply as V Fest or VF, was an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the third weekend in August. The event was held at two parks simultaneously which shared the same bill; artists performed at one location on Saturday and then swapped on Sunday. The sites were located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and Weston Park in South Staffordshire. It was announced by Richard Branson on 30 October 2017 that V Festival would be discontinued but that a new festival would replace it. In 2018, a new festival called "Rize" was held in on the same weekend as the "V Festival" but only at Hylands Park.
The "V" represented the Virgin Group, with the event being sponsored by Virgin Media.
It was originally televised by Channel 4 from 1997 to 2013, predominantly on their sister channel 4 Music, with the exception of the 2003 event with ITV in charge. It was then televised by MTV from 2014 to 2015, and the 2016 edition of the festival was televised by Channel 5.
History
The idea for V came in 1996 when Pulp's front man Jarvis Cocker said that he would love to play two outdoor venues in two days. Pulp's promoters got together and came up with the idea of putting the gig into Victoria Park Warrington and Hylands Park Chelmsford giving fans in both the North and South a chance to see the band. Then came the idea of adding more bands to the bill, putting on a second stage and letting people camp for the weekend. In the end Victoria Park was just too small for 3 stages and camping. So in August 1996 there was one day of artists in Victoria Park and 2 days at Hylands Park with camping. The northern leg of V97 was switched to Temple Newsam, Leeds to provide room for camping and three stages. In 1999 the Northern leg of the festival was moved to Weston Park in Staffordshire, and has remained there since.Previously it had been held at Temple Newsam in Leeds, before being replaced by Carling's Leeds Festival. Originally, the festival took the name of the current year, with the first festival being named "V96". Since 2003 it has been known as simply the V Festival. Its weekend format, low queuing times and professional organisation have given it a loyal audience. The festival sold out in record time in 2006.
Mel C, Dido, and N.E.R.D. have all performed at the festival, and both Razorlight and Faithless performed in 2006. V showcases a mix of British and international musicians, from up-and-coming bands such as Coldplay in 2000 and the Kaiser Chiefs in 2003 and 2008, and glam rockers El Presidente in 2005, to veteran crooner Tony Christie. Girls Aloud also performed at the 2006 show, and received rave reviews for their performance. V97 was the first V Festival to be webcast. This was audio-only, and had about 30,000 unique listeners.
Festivals and line-ups by year
V96
The first V festival took place on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 August 1996, and had two stages and one tent.- V stage: Pulp, Paul Weller, Supergrass, The Charlatans, Cast, Lightning Seeds, Gary Numan, Shed Seven, Stereolab, Incognito, Jonathan Richman, The Mike Flowers Pops, Longpigs, Edge Park
- 2nd Stage: Elastica, Sleeper, Heavy Stereo, Menswear, Fluffy, The Cardigans, Super Furry Animals, The Wannadies, Denim, Kula Shaker, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Space, Tiger, Pusherman, Orbital
- Dance Arena: Tricky, The Aloof, Morcheeba, Lamb, Mad Professor, Alan Hale & Helen Welch
V97
- V Stage: Blur, The Prodigy, Kula Shaker, Beck, Dodgy, Foo Fighters, Reef, Placebo, Pavement, Fluke, Teenage Fanclub, Apollo 440, The Supernaturals, Echobelly, Linoleum
- NME Stage: Ash, The Bluetones, Mansun, Gene, The Divine Comedy, Longpigs, Monaco, Echo & the Bunnymen, Symposium, Geneva, Silver Sun, Veruca Salt, Embrace, Hurricane#1, AC Acoustics, Stereophonics, The Driven, Radish
- Virgin High Energy Tent: The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, Dreadzone, Propellerheads, Death in Vegas, Sneaker Pimps, GusGus, Lionrock, Jimi Tenor, Olive, Finley Quaye, Bentley Rhythm Ace, Carl Cox, Trademark
V98
- V Stage: The Verve, The Charlatans, The Seahorses, Texas, Green Day, Robbie Williams, The Lightning Seeds, Space, Iggy Pop, James, Chumbawamba, Stereophonics, Marion, Feeder, Whale, Rialto, Young Offenders, Headswim
- NME Stage: Underworld, Fun Lovin' Criminals, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Ian Brown, Catatonia, PJ Harvey, Saint Etienne, Morcheeba, Lo Fidelity Allstars, Republica, Gomez, The Dandy Warhols, The Montrose Avenue, theaudience, Midget, One Lady Owner, Superstar, The Smiles
- Dance Tent: James Brown, All Saints, Roni Size, K-Gee, Björn Again, Cornershop, Roachford, 67y, Karen Ramirez, Faithless, Regular Fries, DJ Norman Jay, Tin Star, Lionrock, Dean Thatcher, Moloko, Boom Boom Satellites, Disque Blu, Cuba
V99
- V Stage: Manic Street Preachers, Suede, The Beautiful South, Stereophonics, Placebo, Happy Mondays, Cast, The Levellers, Gomez, Faithless, The Cardigans, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Afro Celt Sound System, The Saw Doctors, Melanie C
- NME Stage: James Brown, Massive Attack, Super Furry Animals, Mercury Rev, Shed Seven, DJ Shadow, Travis, Gay Dad, dEUS, Red Snapper, A, Death in Vegas, Dot Allison, Eve 6, Liz Horman, YY29, Medal, One Lady Owner
- JJB Arena Stage: Orbital, Finley Quaye, lan brown Lamb, Rae & Christian, Freestylers, Sneaker Pimps, The Egg, Groove Armada, Mishka, Richie Hawtin, Luke Slater, Regular Fries, Technique, ManCHILD, Archive
- Reebox Arena: Paul Oakenfold, DJ Sneak, Dave Ralph, Derek Carter, Dope Smugglaz, Justin Robertson, Aphrodite, Dave Angel, Jumping Jack Frost, Andy Weatherall, Layo, Mr. C, Matthew B
V2000
- Richard Ashcroft goes solo and Travis unveil their cover of Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" which they had already played at Glastonbury Festival in June 2000.
- V Stage: Travis, Richard Ashcroft, Macy Gray, Paul Weller, Ocean Colour Scene, James, All Saints, Cypress Hill, Morcheeba, Barenaked Ladies, Semisonic, Brand New Heavies, The Bootleg Beatles, Björn Again, Andreas Johnson, Toploader
- MTV Stage: Supergrass, Moby, Mansun, Beth Orton, Bloodhound Gang, Joe Strummer, Saint Etienne, Feeder, Dum Dums, The Dandy Warhols, Soulwax, Coldplay, Hefner, SX 10, Big Leaves, The Webb Brothers, Pacifica
- JJB Puma Arena: Underworld, Leftfield, The Flaming Lips, Death in Vegas, Moloko, Groove Armada, Bentley Rhythm Ace, Kelis, M. J. Cole, Horace Andy, Jamelia, Day One, ManCHILD, LSK, Emilíana Torrini, Hybrid, Dara
- Shockwaves Club Tent: Pete Bromley, Sander Kleinenberg, Guy Ornadel, Sasha, Seb Fontaine, Hybrid, Junkie XL, Lee Burridge, Dean Wilson, Craig Richards
V2001
- V Stage: Texas, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Charlatans, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, David Gray, Faithless, Placebo, Embrace, Neil Finn, Nelly Furtado, Idlewild, The Spooks, Powderfinger, Jimmy Barnes, Witness
- WTV Stage:, Muse, Toploader, JJ72, The Divine Comedy, Shed Seven, Doves, Wheatus, Public Image Limited, Starsailor, Ben Folds, Nina Persson, Spearhead, Webb Brothers, Phoenix, Turin Brakes, Snow Patrol, Ed Harcourt, Ben's Symphonic Orchestra, Lifehouse, Santa's Boyfriend
- JJB Puma Arena: Kylie Minogue, Ian Brown, The Avalanches, Grandaddy, Mos Def, Tricky, Alabama 3, Sparklehorse, Zero 7, Rea and Christian, Atomic Kitten, Red Snapper, Hooverphonic, Alfie, Big Dog, The Bush The Tree And Me, Relish
- Slinky Dance Tent: Daniel Bailey, Andy Passman, Garry White, Scott Nuskool, Matt Cassar, Marc Vedo, Dave Lea, John Dale
V2002
- V Stage: Stereophonics, The Chemical Brothers, Alanis Morissette, Primal Scream, Nickelback, Gomez, Supergrass, Starsailor, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, The Bluetones, Kosheen, Mull Historical Society, Beverley Knight, Ed Harcourt, Rhianna
- NME Stage: Basement Jaxx, Manic Street Preachers, Ian Brown, Doves, The Beta Band, Idlewild, Sigur Rós, Elbow, My Vitriol, The Coral, Halo, The Donnas, Athlete, Seafood, The Burn, Phantom Planet, The Leaves, Crescent, Longview
- JJB Puma Stage: Badly Drawn Boy, Groove Armada, Turin Brakes, Soft Cell, Paul Heaton, Lamb, Stereo MCs, Röyksopp, McAlmont and Butler, Sugababes, Gemma Hayes, Custom, Damien Rice, Ashton Lane, Kid Galahad, Venus Hum, Montana High Rise, Rachel Mari Kimber
- Strongbow Golden Dance Arena: Stanton Warriors, David Holmes, Adam Freeland, Unkle, Plump DJs, DJ Touché, Ali B, Medicine, Dean Wilson, Pete Bromley, James Camm, Sounds, Freestylers, Tayo, Complete Communion, Dean Wilson
V2003
- V Stage: Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, David Gray, Ash, Queens of the Stone Age, The Hives, PJ Harvey, The Cardigans, Morcheeba, Reel Big Fish, Inspiral Carpets, Echo & the Bunnymen, Skin, Eisley, Tom McRae
- NME Stage: Feeder, Underworld, Turin Brakes, The Coral, Killing Joke, Tim Burgess, Athlete, Evan Dando, Damien Rice, The Distillers, The Bees Shack, The Basement, Spearhead, Martin Grech, Haven, Futureheads, The Stands, Rachel Mari Kimber, The Zutons
- JJB Puma Arena: Lemon Jelly, Kosheen, Moloko, Asian Dub Foundation, Goldfrapp, Appleton, David Holmes, Mint Royale, Misteeq, Dirty Vegas, I Am Kloot, Gus Gus, Slovo, Jamie Cullum, Uncut, Amy Winehouse, The Rainband, Just Jack, Bell X-1, Speedway, Mankato
- Strongbow Golden Shower Arena: Jon Carter, Jacques Lu Cont, Way Out West, Junior Sanchez, Freq Nasty, West London Deep, Freestylers, Themroc, Barry Ashworth, Will White, Tayo
V2004
- V Stage, Muse, The Strokes, Dido, Pixies, The Charlatans, N.E.R.D, Faithless, The Thrills, Pink, Badly Drawn Boy, Athlete, Snow Patrol, The Divine Comedy, Jamie Cullum, Big Brovaz, Kosheen
- NME Stage, Kings of Leon, Massive Attack, Embrace, Starsailor, Elbow, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Keane, Scissor Sisters, Dashboard Confessional, The Zutons, The All-American Rejects, Fountains of Wayne, The Killers, Mull Historical Society, Hal, Goldie Lookin Chain, Thirteen Senses, Chikinki, 10,000 Things, Kasabian, Blacklight
- JJB Puma Arena, Basement Jaxx, Primal Scream, Kelis, Groove Armada, Amy Winehouse, Beverley Knight, The Human League, Audio Bullys, Jamelia, Roni Size, Freestylers, Kristian Leontiou, Aqualung, Josh Ritter, Phoenix, Chicane, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Fried, Backlight, Headway
- New Band Stage: The Bees, Delays, Hope of the States, The Stands, Longview, The Concretes, Tim Booth, South, Easyworld, InMe, The Dead 60s, The Infadels, The Crimea, Thea Gilmore, Cath Davey, Jerry Fish & The Mudbug Club, Kevin Mark Trail, Rooster, Polly Paulsuma, The Casuals, Colour of Fire, Magnet, Mohair, Stateless
V2005
Chelmsford Saturday/Staffordshire Sunday:
- V Stage: Oasis, The Streets, Maroon 5, The Zutons, Jet, The La's, Goldie Lookin Chain, The Stands, Vulcan
- Channel 4 Stage: The Chemical Brothers, Doves, Kaiser Chiefs, The Bravery, Good Charlotte, KT Tunstall, The Magic Numbers, The Departure, Tom Vek, Road To V Winner
- JJB Puma Arena: Texas, Robert Plant, Sonic Youth, The Polyphonic Spree, Lucie Silvas, The Proclaimers, The Presidents of the United States of America, Tom Baxter, Emilíana Torrini, Tara Blaise
- V Stage: Scissor Sisters, Franz Ferdinand, Embrace, Athlete, Joss Stone, Tony Christie, Idlewild, Rooster
- Channel 4 Stage: The Prodigy, The Hives, The Music, Turin Brakes, The Ordinary Boys, Thirteen Senses, I Am Kloot, The Frames, El Presidente, No Hope In New Jersey
- JJB Puma Arena: Ian Brown, The Roots, Dizzee Rascal, Goldfrapp, Natasha Bedingfield, Jem, Estelle, BodyRockers, k-os, Tyler James
- Volvic Stage : Super Furry Animals, Nine Black Alps, The Kooks, Kubb, Morning Runner, Stephen Fretwell, Róisín Murphy, Ray LaMontagne, Tooty Reynolds
V2006
Tickets for the festival went on sale on Monday 27 February, exclusively to Virgin Mobile customers, and went on general sale on Friday 3 March.
There were complaints from festival-goers in 2006 due to the excessive price of food and merchandise, and lack of prior information about the band schedules, the only timetable available being a programme sold at the festival. Despite knowing the numbers attending, the print run of programmes was sold out.
The "Road To V" competition for 2006 was won by Bombay Bicycle Club and Keith.
- V Stage: Radiohead, Morrissey, Faithless, Paul Weller, Beck, Keane, Bloc Party, Sugababes, Hard-Fi, The Magic Numbers, The Dandy Warhols, Kubb, Gavin DeGraw, The Divine Comedy, The Dead 60s, Daniel Powter
- Channel 4 Stage: Razorlight, The Charlatans, Starsailor, James Dean Bradfield, Delays, The Feeling, Morning Runner, The Rifles, Dogs, Kasabian, Editors, The Ordinary Boys, We Are Scientists, The Cardigans, Orson, Kula Shaker, Biffy Clyro, The Saw Doctors
- JJB/Puma Arena: Groove Armada, Rufus Wainwright, The Beautiful South, Gomez, Nerina Pallot, Imogen Heap, Richard Hawley, Bic Runga, Lily Allen, Mutemath, The Boy Least Likely To, Fatboy Slim, The Go! Team, Girls Aloud, Kano, Echo & the Bunnymen, Xavier Rudd, Matt Willis, Shack, Phoenix, Pure Reason Revolution, Rushmore
- Virgin Mobile Social: The Cooper Temple Clause, The Dears, Bell X1, The Pipettes, The Crimea, Oceansize, Liam Frost and the Slowdown Family, Jim Noir, Lorraine, James Morrison, Butch Walker, The Grates, The Dodgems, Love Bites, Sandi Thom, Mew, Regina Spektor, My Morning Jacket, Matisyahu, Art Brut, The Young Knives, Captain, The Upper Room, Paolo Nutini, Seth Lakeman, Director, Milk Teeth
V2007
The line-up was as follows:
- V Stage: The Killers, Foo Fighters, Kasabian, Snow Patrol, Vulcan, James, Pink, The Fratellis, Kanye West, KT Tunstall, Paolo Nutini, James Morrison, Editors, The Goo Goo Dolls, The Proclaimers and Just Jack.
- Channel 4 Stage: The Kooks, Manic Street Preachers, Lily Allen, Mika, Guillemots, The Hours, Basement Jaxx, The Coral, Babyshambles, Jet, The Fray, The Cribs and Captain, as well as Road To V winners Rosalita and The Brightlights. Foo Fighters also performed an acoustic set under the name 606.
- JJB/Puma Arena: Damien Rice, Corinne Bailey Rae, Iggy Pop & The Stooges, Lemar, Willy Mason, Rilo Kiley, McFly, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Mutya Buena, Seth Lakeman. Primal Scream, Happy Mondays, Jarvis Cocker, Ocean Colour Scene, Dizzee Rascal, Sinéad O'Connor, Beverley Knight, Martha Wainwright, Glenn Tilbrook & The Fluffers, Jesse Malin and Chungking.
- Virgin Mobile Union: Graham Coxon, Robyn, Stephen Fretwell, Bedouin Soundclash, Air Traffic, The Rumble Strips, Remi Nicole, Cherry Ghost, Tiny Dancers, Unklejam, Passenger, The Dodgems, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Boy Kill Boy, Plan B, The Holloways, Mr Hudson & The Library, Mumm-Ra, Switches, The Wombats, Ghosts, The Hoosiers, Pop Levi and Rebecca.
V2008
Tickets went on general sale on 7 March 2008 at 10am, and sold out in 90 minutes.On 26 June 2008 at 10am, extra tickets for both venues went on sale.
V2009
Tickets for V 2009 went on general sale on 6 March 2009. A limited number of tickets went on sale at 10am on 19 August 2008, following the end of the 2008 festival. Weekend tickets were priced at £132.50 and £152.50 for the weekend. On 2 March 2009 NME confirmed The Killers and Oasis as headliners. However, Oasis did not perform in Chelmsford due to frontman Liam Gallagher having viral laryngitis. Oasis split-up as a band just weeks later, making their Staffordshire show their last.The event was held on 22 & 23 August 2009.
V2010
The 2010 lineup for V Festival was officially announced on 11 March 2010 through the festival's site and on Absolute Radio. The headliners for both days were Kings of Leon and Kasabian. Tickets went on sale on 5 March 2010 at 9am, with Virgin Media customers pre-sale tickets being available on 2 March, and Essex residents tickets being available on 4 March from 9am. General sale tickets became available at 9am on 5 March 2010. Organisers said they sold out in record time, just one and a half hours. Cheryl Cole was supposed to headline the Arena but had to cancel due to Malaria.V2011
| Day | Virgin Media Stage | 4Music Stage | Big Blue Tent | Virgin Media Undercover Stage |
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| Calvin Harris |
V2012
- Nicki Minaj cancelled her appearance at this weekend's festival because of damage to her vocal cords. LMFAO was moved up to headliner spot whilst DJ Fresh performed in LMFAO's place.
Performers such as Sean Lock and Milton Jones appeared in The Glee Club Comedy Tent.
Pop Artist was appointed Official Artist to the V Festival. The first person to be appointed in 16 years of the Festival. url=https://www.nme.com/photos/v-festival-2012-in-photos/280661/1/1#14
| Day | Virgin Media Stage | 4Music Stage | The Arena Stage | Virgin Media Undercover Stage |
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V Festival 2013
At the 2013 V Festival, Beyoncé made only her second and third European festival appearances of the calendar year. The other main stage headliner was Kings Of Leon, with headliners on other stages including Jamie Cullum, Basement Jaxx and former Swedish House Mafia DJ Steve Angello.For the 2013 festival, one stage was renamed: the stage previously known as 'Virgin Media Undercover Tent' now became known as 'Futures Stage'. A poster released by the organisers initially seemed to suggest that the stage previously known as '4Music Stage' had been renamed as 'Stage 2', leading to speculation that Channel 4 had ended their sponsorship of the event, however a revised version of the poster released later reinstated the original name of the stage.
Multiple changes were made to the bill in the days leading up to the festival. Beady Eye were scheduled to headline opposite Beyoncé on the 4Music Stage, however they had to cancel all live shows through August 2013 because of the hospitalisation of member Gem Archer. Thus, their headlining slot on the 4Music Stage was taken over by Steve Angello, whose own previous headlining slot on The Arena Stage was taken over by Ocean Colour Scene. Ocean Colour Scene had themselves previously been scheduled to play an earlier timeslot on the main stage on the opposite day - that slot was taken over by Scouting For Girls, whose previous slot on the 4Music Stage was in turn taken over by previously-unannounced act Reverend and The Makers. In unrelated developments, Little Mix were removed from the line-up for undisclosed reasons, and their fellow The X Factor winner James Arthur also cancelled his appearance the very day before the festival, citing a throat infection. Finally, on the official V Festival lanyard offered to festival attendees upon their arrival on site, it was confirmed that four previously-unannounced acts had been added to the Futures Stage - these were James Bay, Hero Fisher, Gamu Nhengu and Paul McCartney's son James McCartney.
The majority of the line-up, with day and stage splits, was announced on 30 May 2013. With the Comedy Stage line-up announced later, as well as the changed outlines above, the full bill ended up as follows:
| Day | Virgin Media Stage | 4Music Stage | The Arena Stage | Futures Stage | Glee Club Comedy Tent |
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V Festival 2014
The 2014 V Festival was the first to be staged with the new shareholders Live Nation and new broadcaster and sponsor MTV, took place over the weekend of 16–17 August 2014. The main stage headliners were Justin Timberlake and The Killers, as announced at 8pm on Monday 3 March 2014, with tickets on general release the following Friday morning. Other high-profile bookings included Paolo Nutini and Ed Sheeran, who had between them released the two biggest-selling albums of the year up to the festival, and festival debutants included Chic featuring Nile Rodgers, Janelle Monáe and Kodaline.| Day | Virgin Media Stage | MTV Stage | The Arena Stage | Futures Stage | Glee Club Comedy Tent |
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V Festival 2015
Lineup
V Festival 2016
Lineup
Most of the line up was released on 22 February 2016.V Festival 2017
The 2017 V Festival Line Up was announced on 31 March 2017 with more acts added on 2 April 2017 and the full lineup poster on 20 April.Lineup
Criticisms and reputation
The festival was noted for its commercial nature in comparison with other British music festivals. The V Festival received criticism for charging £10 to buy a programme - the only way festival-goers can see what time artists are performing - while others have mentioned the fact burgers cost £7 and water bottles are sometimes confiscated at the entrance, costing up to £2 once inside the grounds. Buying four crates on site would cost a person the same price as a ticket. Some fans have referred to the organisers of the event as 'greedy'.Despite this, the New Statesman argues that the commercial nature has some advantages:
"Yet there are undeniable advantages to the environment. V is a remarkably non-threatening festival, with few of the rougher edges prevalent at other large-scale gatherings."
The Evening Standard gave the 2009 festival 3/5 stars after headliners Oasis pulled out of the Hylands Park leg of the festival due to illness. Furthermore, approximately 800 people were injured, mainly due to falls causing sprains and ankle injuries.
In 2012, during Cher Lloyd's performance, the crowd booed and a bottle filled with urine was thrown at her, causing Lloyd to walk off stage. She came back on to finish her set but another bottle was thrown and she ended her set early.