Wednesday 4th December 2013 by Andrew Trendell | Photos by WENN.com/Press

When bassist Mark Hoppus said 'prepare for the fury', he probably meant a rush of pure adrenaline when Blink 182 take to the stage at Reading and Leeds to headline - not the sheer agression of naysayers shooting down the 'unworthy' headliners without giving them even a whisper of a chance. It's a sad tale that will never end, but it's certainly not the first time.

Some of the biggest and best acts on the planet were once magnets for doubt when they stepped up to the plate to top the bill. If we didn't give artists the benefit of the doubt, then we'd have missed out of historic sets from everyone from Biffy to Beyonce, Kings of Leon to Jarvis Cocker, Pulp to The Prodigy and Muse to My Chemical Romance. 

So, as the furore around whether are not Blink 182 are really up to headlining Reading and Leeds (and if they should really be playing so soon after their last time in 2010), here are 13 acts that were panned at first, but found triumph as headliners and surprised us all.