Reading and Leeds 2011: Watch it now

Did you, like much of the world, not get much chance over the bank holiday weekend to watch Reading Or Leeds?

Good news, if you have a television - you can still suck down highlights on BBC Red Button:

Here's when and where:

Available on all platforms

Sky/Freesat/Virgin Media:

Tue 30th August, 6:00am-6:00am
Wed 31st August, 6:00am-6:00am
Thu 1st September, 6:00am-6:00am
Fri 2nd September, 6:00am-4:00am

Freeview:
Mon 29th August, 6:00am-6:20pm & 7:40pm-10:45pm
Tue 30th August, 6:00am-7:45pm & 9:00pm-06:00am
Wed 31st August, 6:00am-9:45pm & 11:00pm-06:00am
Thu 1st September, 6:00am-10:00am & 12:40pm-06:00am
Fri 2nd September, 6:00am-9:20am, 12:55pm-4:50pm & 9:10pm-04:00am

Weezer retain their privacy

Obviously, it's their choice, but Weezer electing not to be filmed by the BBC during Reading does have a smack of the prima donna about it.

Reading/Leeds: Monkeys on top

NME is reporting that the Arctic Monkeys will headline this year's Reading Festival, which obligates them to do the same for the Leeds Festival as well.

NME.com is going to unveil the rest of the bill this evening at 7pm, and, simultaneously, will be selling tickets via Seetickets. You'd think they'd have put the tickets on sale ten minutes later, so that you could read who's playing before joining the log-in rush. After all, if it's Spandau Ballet on Saturday night, and George Sampson headlining the second stage every night, you might think twice about investing your cash.

Doherty solo gig announced; axed

Pete Doherty's living up to the stereotype: today, in fairly short measure, a solo gig at the Reading Fez was announced, and then cancelled. Unforeseen circumstances, apparently.

Smashing Melons? Corgan rewinds to 1959

We don't know if Billy Corgan is thinking of joining Focus On The Family anytime soon, but judging by his remarks at Reading, he'd fit right in with anyone who shares their views:

Midway through the set stage cameras panned the crowd, which included a scantily clad young woman, about whom Corgan commented "There's something about a girl who's willing to take her top off so quickly."

"American girls are sluts too," he added. "See - isn't it great to be alternative - You can say all those things."

Erm... no, Corgan. Being "alternative" is not having those sort of views. Seeing women as sluts is more of a mainstream attitude. But even in the mainstream, blurting out that sort of shit is frowned upon these days.

... and talking of good use of public funds

If the Environmental Agency really had the funds and resources to lower a river three inches, was the most appropriate use of that to drop the Thames three inches on behalf of Festival Republic?

Policing the festivals

So far, police have arrested 25 people across the two Reading/Leeds festival sites, mainly for drugs offences.

However, there have been over 108 thefts in Leeds alone.

Is mopping up some low-level drug users really the best use of police resources when the people who are paying for them to be there are having their stuff nicked?

Reading's role as Bloc's foundation

After they've done Leeds tomorrow, Bloc Party are going to head into the studio to spend the autumn making their thrid album. Today, mind, they were at Reading, which turns out to be the band's Woolton Village Fete:

"This is the third time we played Reading and we've always been successful here so it's got a special place in our hearts," he explained, adding that without the event the band may never have formed.

"I met Russell our guitar player over there and we decided to be in a band."

Understandable, of course: most of the line-ups at Reading are so poor you'd believe that forming a band with some you've just bumped into at random would have to do better.

Benn denies Reading/Leed slip

Although Digital Spy have renamed Melvyn Benn as Melvyn Bragg, they're reporting his denial that last week's Reading/Leeds ticket cock-up was down to them. Apparently, everyone misread their "this isn't a confirmation email" as "this is a confirmation email":

"There were no tickets for Reading and Leeds that were cancelled at all, there were a number of applications that were rejected but at no time was a completed and confirmed application ever cancelled.

"Everybody got a note that said thank for your application and this isn't a confirmation, confirmation will be sent within the next three or four hours and some people took that as being that they'd got the tickets.

"But they didn't get the tickets because either they'd inputted the wrong card number or the card didn't have enough money on it."

Curious - you'd have thought that since you can sit in a cafe in St Petersburg and pay with a card which instantly is accepted, the Reading/Leeds computer would have been able to check cards faster than "three or four hours".

Leeds/Reading ticket sales screwed up

Leeds-Reading ticket sales - which usually go quite smoothly - hit a glitch this year when people well sent confirmations which were subsequently withdrawn. The Mean Fiddler is blaming its own efficiency:

Melvyn Benn, managing director of festival organiser Mean Fiddler, said: "Cards were rejected either because their numbers were inputted incorrectly or they did not have sufficient funds.

"The sad thing is they got a confirmation and then relaxed and it wasn't until the next morning they were told there was a problem, by which time the weekend tickets were gone.

It's not entirely clear why the company sent out confirmations when they hadn't confirmed the sale.

Reading/Leeds headliners announced

You never thought you'd be pleased to see Razorlight anywhere, but at least the presence of Johnny and The Borrells on the headline list makes you able to pin down what year we're in - the other two headlines, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Smashing Pumpkins suggest we're just at the dawn of the 1990s.

Also announced: Ash, Nine Inch Nails, The Gossip, Maximo Park, Bloc Party and The View. Yes, Barbara Walters, live in Reading. Or maybe not.

Tickets will be on sale about an hour before they all sell out.

Round the Bloc a few times

Bloc Party are laying plans to complete the summer treble: appearances at Glastonbury, Reading-Leeds and T in the Park.

They're aware that's carrying a risk of over-familiarity:

Gordon Moakes, who spoke exclusively to 6 Music News:

"I don't know which ones have been announced from which one's haven't, I know we're playing T In The Park, I think we're playing Reading Festival, Glastonbury, so I think we'll be ever-present over the summer."

Gordon also gave the story of the Aberdeen coin incident from the band's perspective:

"Somebody threw a coin and it kind of threw Kele's concentration more than anything else, because he was in the middle of a song. When we got through to the end of it, I said 'do you want to go off stage?' So we came off, and I think we were all a bit shaken by the whole thing."

"There was this general feeling before we went on that the crowd was different to the sort of crowd we're used too. We're used to very enthusiastic, carefree audiences, but for some reason there was quite a muted tone to the whole evening and at least one person wanted to make them their presence felt."