Edinburgh Man Faces T In The Park Drugs Charge

By Michael MacLeod

A MAN has been charged over an alleged bid to take over £5,000 worth of drugs into the T in the Park festival.

Robert Stewart Glasgow, 24, is suspected to have been planning to take a range of substances to the weekend’s Balado, Kinross, event.

Police said they seized a quantity of drugs during investigations on Friday in the capital’s Craigmillar area ahead of the music event.

Mr Glasgow was arrested on Friday morning and appeared today(Monday) behind closed doors at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

He was charged with being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs.

The Edinburgh man made no plea or declaration to the charge and was released on bail.

The case was committed for further enquiry and Mr Glasgow must return to court at a later date.

Police said they had made 64 arrests at the event, compared to 2009’’s total of 59.

T in the park heading for a wash-out

By Cara Sulieman

REVELLERS were put on MUD-alert last night as weather forecaster predicted torrential rain for Scotland’s biggest music festival.

But there was no dampening of excitement yesterday as the first wave of 80,000 ticket holders kicked off this year’s event at Balado near Kinross.

Headliners included Muse, Faithless and the Black Eyed Peas, with hip hop legend Eminem due to play on the Main stage.

Kwaja Mahuh, 32, from Glasgow, had dressed to impress with his homemade Tennent’s hat and said he’d enjoy himself whatever the weather.

At his third T in the Park, Kwaja was still as excited as he was the first time.

Revellers gear up for Scotland’s biggest music festival

Becky Cutler, Lauren Gibson and Zoe Kinnaird arrive at the festival ready to party

By Cara Sulieman

THOUSANDS of excited music fans started to descend on the small town of Kinross today as T in the Park got underway for the 17^th time.

The festival – which grew from a humble 17,000 capacity back in Strathclyde Country Park in 1994 – will see 85,000 people gather to listen to live sets from headliners Eminem, Muse and Kasabian.

And although most of the revellers will congregate from Friday an advance guard of some 30,000 were pitching their tents today for an evening of fun before the full festivities.

Fans queue in the rain for coveted T in the Park tickets

Left to right Mari Bell, 16, Blair Thomson, 17,David Collins, 17, Sophine Myles, 17, Alex Heriot, 17.

By Cara Sulieman

THESE desperate music fans queued for hours in hail and pouring rain today (Fri) to get their lucky hands on the first T in the Park tickets – shortly before Scotland’s biggest music event announced it had SOLD OUT.

All briefs were gone within an hour and a half, making the Thursday night wrapped in blankets and huddled under umbrellas during freezing weather worthwhile for those lucky enough to get them.

But their spirits were raised when Ripping Records on South Bridge – which could easily have been named ‘Dripping’ Records because of the rain – opened half an hour early to start selling the coveted tickets to drenched fans.

With a line up boasting US rapper Eminem alongside British band Muse, around 200 fans didn’t want to risk missing out on the music festival at Balado this year.

Biffy Clyro hope to play T in the Park

By Cara Sulieman

SCOTTISH band Biffy Clyro told excited fans they hoped to play T in the Park as they signed copies of their new single at HMV in Edinburgh yesterday (Tues).

Cameron Grady, 18, from Penicuik asked guitarist Simon Neil if they were planning on playing any festivals, and was told that the trio hoped to perform on stage at Balado.

If 2009 is already a Blur, get your T in the Park 2010 tickets

By Michael MacLeod

KEEN festival lovers can snap up next year’s T in the Park tickets today (Tuesday) from 10am.

While some campers are still making their way home from this year’s Balado spectacular, others are already looking ahead to 2010.

Limited tickets for next year’s event go on sale online today, at this year’s prices.

Organisers were celebrating a successful 16th festival yesterday (Monday) as they waved goodbye to the 85,000 music fans.

They said the festival crowd had been noted as one of the most relaxed and happy in the event’s history.

Heavy rain threatens T in the Park

By Cara Sulieman and Michael MacLeod

REVELLERS heading for this year’s T in the Park were put on flood alert last night after heavy rainfall swamped the area.

The Met Office said it expects “torrential downpours” right up until the weekend sparking fears of a washout.

Dozens of flood emergencies were reported yesterday with Tayside Fire and Rescue Service receiving its first calls from worried residents at about 9.30am before pumping out water from various locations.

Most of the calls came from the Kinross and Milnathort areas – both within a few miles of the festival site in Balado.

Boot-up for a mudfest at T in the Park in 2009

By Michael MacLeod

REVELLERS should pack their wellies for T in the Park this year as forecasters are predicting a muddy washout.

Torrential downpours and thunderstorms next week are set to leave the Balado festival site soaked, with the Met Office predicting localised flooding.

But with 10 days to go, organisers insist the heavy rain won’t put the festival in jeopardy.

And local garden centres are stocking up on Wellington boots and waterproofs to cash in on the mudbath.

In 2007 many retailers ran out of wellies on the first day of Scotland’s biggest music event, leaving music lovers with no option but to trudge around the Kinross site up to their knees in mud.

T in the Park’s £2,500 ticket

By Rory Reynolds

REVELLERS at this year’s T in the Park festival can look forward to spending a luxury weekend with private toilets, bedrooms and fine dining – at a cost of £2,500 a ticket.

Organisers are battling the credit crunch head-on and offering the exclusive, VIP-area tickets to festival goers fed-up with mud baths, flimsy tents and filthy toilets.

The luxury tents, which range from £940 to £2505 for the weekend, are called “Cloudhouses, yurts and squrts” and will be fitted with sheepskin rugs, cushions and ornate lanterns.

A T in the Park spokeswoman said that the facilities are so luxurious that they would even “turn the headliners green with envy.”

T in the Park chiefs hope Amy hits the high notes – and not the fans 086

By Douglas Walker

T in the Park officials have given troubled Amy Winehouse permission to jump off stage in the same way as she controversially did at Glastonbury.

The Rehab singer appeared to lash out at a fan after they grabbed her trademark beehive-styled hair at the end of her set.

However last night she won the backing of bosses from the Balado festival who said they didn’t have any plans to restrict her performance.

Winehouse, 24, is due to star on T in the Park’s main stage on the Sunday of the festival which starts a week on Friday.

The beleaguered singer seemed to throw a punch at a member of the audience after climbing down to greet fans at the end of her Glastonbury performance on Saturday night.

However she escaped punishment from police who said they received no assault complaints regarding the incident.

And T in the Park chiefs have also disregarded the fracas saying no special provisions have been implemented to prevent a similar incident.

A spokeswoman confirmed: “We have no intentions of restricting any of our artists’ performances, and we have adequate security measures in place to protect both fans and artists.”

Weekend TV footage from Glastonbury shows Winehouse scuffling with an unseen reveller after she jumped from the Pyramid Stage at the end of her set.

The footage does not indicate a clear cause of the altercation, though witnesses said a fan tried to grab her.

Her spokesman confirmed: “The lashing out was when someone tried to grab her hair and she reacted.”

He added that ‘one person misbehaving’ did not spoil the London-based singer’s enjoyment of her performance.

Earlier, Winehouse could not resist pining for her imprisoned husband Blake Fielder-Civil, telling the audience: “My husband is out of jail in two weeks.” But despite the rambling banter between songs, she produced a top performance.

Recently diagnosed with emphysema, she overcame her troubles in front of 80,000 fans and sang an hour-long set, including hits ‘Rehab’ and ‘You Know I’m No Good’.

The previous night she performed alongside other stars, such as Geri Halliwell and Leona Lewis, at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday celebration concert in London.

T in the Park takes place at Balado, Kinross-shire, from July 11 to July 13, with The Verve, Rage Against The Machine and REM all headlining.