T in the Park - Highlights through the years - 1994 onwards

T in the Park has brought the biggest and the best to Scotland, the festival is quite unique in the fact that it is not just popular with the fans and the artists but it's also popular with the local community and politicians.

From 1994 onwards T in the Park has had line ups to die for and has given lesser known artists their first break - so have a look through this bijou guide to who's played T in the Park and in what capacity.

1994

The inaugural T in the Park. A fantastic line up, great support from the artists and an amazing reaction from the crowd. Rage Against the Machine, Bjork and Cypress Hill were on the Main stage and an incredible lineup of Blur, The Manic Street Preachers, Pulp and Oasis all packed into the King Tut’s Tent. Robbie Williams turned up to hang out and play football and Oasis proclaimed that this was their best ever performance. An unknown band called Glass Onion – who later changed their name to Travis - played the New Talent Stage.

1995

Paul Weller, M People, The Verve, The Charlatans, Tricky, The Beautiful South, Cast, Supergrass and Shed Seven all performed across the stages, with a memorable appearance from Kylie Minogue who created the longest queues at the signing tent that weekend. Kermit from Black Grape performed a memorable set sitting down on the stage, after breaking his ankle earlier in the day and refusing to go to hospital.

1996

The final year at Strathclyde Country Park and a phenomenal set from Radiohead on the Saturday evening, with performances from Alanis Morrisette, Prodigy, Foo Fighters, Beck, Leftfield and Black Grape. This was also the year that Keanu Reeves arrived on a shuttle bus to play the festival with his band Dogstar, and Joe Strummer busked in the campsite.

1997

A move to Balado coincided with brilliant sets from Texas, Travis, Fun Lovin Criminals and Spearhead. This was The Slam Tent’s first year, and they presented a brilliant line up, which included Daft Punk, Green Velvet and Death In Vegas. Stereophonics and Mogwai played the King Tut’s Tent.

1998

Robbie Williams stole the show with his first official appearance at the event, but other names included Prodigy, Pulp, Beastie Boys, Ian Brown, Portishead, Natalie Imbruglia, A Tribe Called Quest, Idlewild and appearances again from Travis and Stereophonics. Fans saw extremes in the weather, with Saturday being scorching hot and Sunday seeing heavy rain. Pulp’s Common People provided a rousing finale to the weekend.

1999

Blur, Stereophonics, Manic Street Preachers, Massive Attack, James, Placebo, Travis, Happy Monday, Gomez, Carl Cox, Fat Boy Slim, Fun Lovin Criminals and Faithless were amongst the names on a strong line up. The Manics made their memorable tribute to King Tut’s from the Main Stage, thanking them for being the first venue to give the band hot food on tour.

2000

A momentous occasion for Travis, who played the first T in the Park as an unsigned band and this year closed the Main Stage. Moby performed a breathtaking set, and there was strength across all stages with artists such as David Gray, Iggy Pop, Leftfield, Macy Gray and Scotland’s own Lulu. This was All Saints last Scottish appearance, and once again the King Tut’s stage proved its knack for spotting future stars, with relative unknowns Coldplay and Toploader performing.

2001

This is the year that Noel Gallagher came to hang out, and ended up taking Stage Two by surprise when he joined Paul Weller for an impromptu acoustic set. Stereophonics, Texas, Beck, Coldplay, Toploader, David Gray and Placebo were on the bill, and a memorable set by The Proclaimers raised the roof on Stage Two. Stereo MC’s, Nelly Furtado, Lambchop and Mull Historical Society played the King Tut’s Tent.

2002

Then virtually unknown, the Polyphonic Spree provided an opening that T in the Parkers will never forget as the 18 members took to the stage dressed in their now trademark white smocks. Nine years after playing mid bill in the King Tut’s Tent, Oasis returned to headline the main stage on Saturday, while Nicole Appleton challenged Bobby Gillespie to a dance off at the side of the stage. Gwen Stefani provided haute couture glamour, while the Hives left the festival bare necked as fans scrambled to claim their famous white ties. Idlewild received a hero’s welcome as the crowd sang American English in perfect time and new kids on the block, The Coral were two of the most talked about bands of the weekend.

2003

2003 saw T celebrate its Tenth Year, which helped to generate the fantastic party atmosphere over the two days. Tickets for the event sold out weeks in advance, the sun shone over Balado, and major international names such as REM and The Flaming Lips performed alongside the UK’s biggest acts including Coldplay and Idlewild. The event’s Tenth Year saw the elements combine to produce arguably the perfect festival celebration, and everyone from Idlewild to Scotland’s First Minister Jack McConnell wished T in the Park many happy returns. The Balado crowd enjoyed their own birthday presents as they rocked out in the X Tent, chilled out in the T Garden, and ooh-ed and aah-ed out at the closing firework display. Backstage resembled a zoo as the Super Furries and show-stealers The Flaming Lips added a little animal magic to their sets, with a host of people including Har Mar Superstar dressing up in furry costumes to form the dancing menagerie that joined Wayne Coyne and Co on the Main Stage. Appleton, Sugarbabes, Skin, and The Cardigan’s Nina Persson turned the stages into catwalks, while The Darkness’ spandex-clad Sunday Main Stage opening set provided the perfect beginning to the day that headliners Coldplay closed. The legendary REM’s inaugural performance received a fitting T in the Park welcome, as the sounds of over 55,000 music fans singing classics like ‘Everybody Hurts’ resounded across the Balado fields.

2004

The success of 2003 saw an increase in capacity to 60,000 and a ticket sell out ten weeks early, as fans snapped up tickets to ensure their place at the festival. Just one year after opening the Main Stage, conquering heroes The Darkness returned to close the event after David Bowie had to pull out due to ill health. New York’s finest The Strokes watched backstage in awe as the legendary Pixies received the longest ovation in the festivals’ history, before going on to show that Frank Black and co had taught them well as they delivered a blisteringly cool set. Both The Killers and Kasabian performed sets that saw them tipped as huge future stars while Massive Attack reminded fans just why they are considered one of the most groundbreaking atmospheric dance acts of all time. This was also the year that Scottish bands were the must see acts of the festival. Franz Ferdinand attracted one of the biggest crowds of the weekend as they performed songs from their now platinum selling debut album, while Snow Patrol arguably delivered the event’s highlight as they headlined the King Tut’s Tent and performed ‘Run’ in perfect unison with the crowd, leading singer Gary Lightbody to shed a tear as the festival came to a close.

2005

T in the Park’s most successful year to date saw tickets sell out in a staggering four days and a further event capacity increase as totals reached 69,000 music fans per day. A newly redesigned site layout saw the festival’s perimeters expand by a third as part of T in the Park’s continued commitment to providing the most comfortable festival experience possible. World class and seminal headline acts took to every stage as Green Day flew the flag for the punk contingent, making three fans year as they invited them to play on stage, and the Foo Fighters rocked out in Main Stage style whilst James Brown showed fans exactly why he is hailed as the ‘Godfather of Soul’ with the support of a theatrical stage show. New Order played a career spanning set including Joy Division classics before declaring the Balado faithful to be ‘the best audience in the world’ and treating them to yet another amazing T in the Park collaboration, as they were joined onstage by Brandon Flowers of The Killers in an electrifying performance of Crystal. Scottish favourites Travis were the feel good hit of the summer whilst elsewhere, buzz band The Magic Numbers brought the X Tent down and The Futureheads got fans involved in a split crowd sing off during their cover of the iconic track ‘Hounds of Love’. Backstage Dizzee Rascal and Snoop Dogg were seen indulging in a relaxing pre-set game of crazy golf and basketball under blazing sunshine. No sooner had T in the Parkers returned home, than tickets for 2006 went on sale, and surpassed everybody’s expectations in selling 25,000 briefs in four hours. Like the event itself, the year finished on a resounding high as T in the Park scooped the highest festival accolade of both Best Major Festival and Best Organisation and Facilities (for the second year running) at the UK Festival Awards.

2006

2006 followed in 2005’s ultra successful footsteps as the clamour for tickets reached fever pitch in February when music fans made T in the Park the UK’s fastest selling festival, snapping up all remaining tickets in little under an hour, before a further release of 6,000 tickets per day sold out in a staggering 10 minutes in June.

Classic T in the Park moments were plentiful across all stage in 2006 as feel good pop princess Lily Allen discovered her summer hit ‘Smile’ had hit the coveted no. 1 spot as she entertained a crammed King Tut’s Tent. . . last minute surprise additions, Kasabian wowed the very same tent later that night with a blistering performance of their latest release ‘Empire’ with Serge only just making it back for their climactic encore, such was his delight at his native Italy being proved victors in the World Cup - and proceeded to play the rest of the bands set shrouded in his nation’s flag . . . Actor Billy Boyd and El Presidente drummer Dawn Zhu helped the event mark the fact that we are a year on from Live 8, through their involvement in ‘The Beat Goes On’ – a partnership with Christian Aid . . . and surely one of the event’s proudest moments came as The Who’s Pete Townsend declared from the Main Stage ‘This has been the best festival experience ever. You guys have been better than Woodstock or The Isle of Wight Festival’ as they rounded off what was unanimously declared to be T in the Park’s most impressive line up to date.

T in the Park’s 2006 highlights were not confined to the stages in ’06. The event lead the way in environmental practice and pledged to leave a positive legacy for both the environment and generations of music fans as it became the world’s largest festival to become CarbonNeutral, by offsetting emissions produced by the event planting trees in forests in Dumfries, Mexico and Uganda. Across the site a cup recycling initiative was introduced, encouraging T in the Parker’s to responsibly dispose of their used cups after finishing Scotland’s fresh pint, Tennent’s Lager.

Another spectacular year was once again capped with a slew of award wins as T in the Park was again voted ‘Best Major Festival’ in the UK Festival Awards before picking up the title of ‘Music Festival of the Year’ in The List’s annual end of year reader’s pole.

2007

2007 was T in the Park’s biggest year to date. The campsite capacity increased to 60,000, the festival capacity to 80,000 and the event itself expanded to 3 says – a surprise ‘thank you’ to those buyers who’d snapped up 35,000 tickets immediately after T 2006 without a single artist having been announced. Luckily for them, the event announced it’s most eclectic bill to date in February with acts as diverse as The Killers, Brian Wilson, Rufus Wainwright, Kasabian, The Fratellis, My Chemical Romance and Sinead O’ Connor confirmed as just a handful of the 180 who played across 11 stages over the weekend.
For the first time ever a whole evening of entertainment was offered on Friday in the Main Arena as the legendary Main Stage swung into action a whole day early to host spectacular sets from Lily Allen, Bloc Party, The Coral and the Arctic Monkeys. Elsewhere King Tut’s Wah Wah Tent opened up to T in the Parkers as the biggest burlesque club in the world, Club Noir packed up its valise and left its home city of Glasgow to put on a tantalising glimpse of their full club show.
The legendary Brian Wilson certainly gave off ‘Good Vibrations’ in the 8,000 capacity Pet Sounds Arena - introduced to the event in 2006 and named after the Beach Boys seminal 1966 album - in what was one of the most amazing and uplifting sets of the weekend. More legends took to T’s stages as punk icons The Skids reformed to play a spectacular Main Stage set in honour of their 30th anniversary. The home-grown act attracted a huge amount of fans old and new who were astounded by the trios blistering performance, and which acted as a fitting final farewell to the mighty Stuart Adamson.
T held firm to its green commitments as it renewed its CarbonNeutral status for a second year running. The festival is one of only two CarbonNeutral events in the UK (the other being DF Concerts, Connect) and is the biggest in the world. This year the event chose to offset unavoidable emissions predominately through a German Methane Capture Project and a tree planting scheme Myndd-Y-Garnedd in Wales.
In a fitting conclusion to the weekend Snow Patrol brought an emotional end to Sunday’s proceedings. The band returned to play T in the Park’s hallowed Main Stage (having appeared a staggering eight times since first appearing on the new bands T Break Stage in 1996) and gave fellow T in the Park veterans Biffy Clyro a massive shout out as they encouraged the audience to join them in an ear shattering chorus of ‘Mon the Biffy’. Done with that passion unique only to T in the Park, the roar could apparently be heard in both bands adopted city, Glasgow. With half the tickets for T 2008 selling out in record time straight after T 2007 the clamour for the hottest festival ticket has never been higher.