Photo: Justine Trickett
As the dust settles on Bramham Park (or rather, as the mud dries out), another Leeds Festival has come and gone in blur of rock and roll, beer and horrendous weather. Seriously, what was with that rain?
The Leeds site was turned into a mudbath over festival weekend, but if a festival audience can't cope with a bit of rain, they probably should have stayed at home. The weekend saw countless show-stealing performances and memory-making incidents, but as we look back on a no holds barred weekend at Reading & Leeds Festivals, check out the stand out photos from Leeds (as you hose down your wellies and run your sleeping bag through a 90degree wash)...
1. Biffy Clyro
2013 has been a big year for Biffy Clyro. Not only did they release their epic double album Opposites (to huge acclaim and much love from fans), but they also took a step up to festival headliner status this weekend, performing at both Leeds and Reading Festivals. They've honed their screaming, shirtless show throughout the summer season, and to be honest, every time we've seen them at a festival this has felt like a headline set.
Also, they smashed Reading & Leeds. Emiwho?
2. Nine Inch Nails
Frontman Trent Reznor may have put a dampner on the band's Reading Festival slot (hitting out at Biffy Clyro and festival promotoers just hours before you perform? Not wise), but the only damp they faced in Leeds was the torrential rain. The band were one of the highlights of the festival for many, performing classic tracks, alongside new tunes from upcoming album Hesitation Marks.
3. Green Day
During their Brixton Academy warm up gig for Reading & Leeds, Green Day sent fans into a frenzy when they performed their iconic Dookie album in full. They repeated it twice at Reading & Leeds, to equal appreciation from their audiences. They invited one very lucky fan on stage during their Leeds gigs - although frontman Billie Joe Armstrong looks more excited in the photo (above).
4. Bring Me The Horizon
BMTH frontman Oli Sykes caused chaos at Leeds Festival (for security staff at least) when he invited fans to climb the barriers and rush the stage to attempt to give him a high-five. He had done the same during the band's Reading slot the previous day, so festival staff were ready for a fan frenzy - although a fair few did indeed make it to Sykes.
5. Chino Morena, Deftones
Even legendary rockers can mess up a stage dive. Deftones fans seriously let down Chino Moreno at Leeds Festival when he attempted a stage dive and instead of sailing majestically across a sea of hands - finished upside down in the audience. The legs sticking out of the crowd (above) is one thing, but the reaction from the female fan in the front row makes it for us.
6. Foals
Tipped by festival boss Melvin Benn as a future Reading & Leeds headliner, Foals had their mainstage R&L debut this weekend, and made the most of it - and their adoring audience. At Leeds Festival, the band took the unusual step of inviting photographers into the pit for the final three, instead of the first three, songs of their show, allowing them to snap frontman Yannis as he leapt from the stage and closed the show surrounded by fans. Headliners next year? Don't bet against it...
7. The mud
After weeks of baking hot temperatures across the UK, everything went horribly wrong (weather-wise) for both Reading & Leeds. Rain turned both sites into a mudbath, although Leeds arguably took it worse than down south. It didn't stop the party however, with the hardened partygoers at Leeds Festival embracing the mud wholeheartedly.
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