Sunday morning breaks to the sounds of screaming teenage boys: the main stage has been taken over by a play school. Skyline Heros (2/5) are basically EMO children on sweeties and Redbull, and yes, they are irritating. Think Funeral for a Friend at 12 and you won’t be far wrong.

After the pubescent unpleasantries, competition winners The Windows (3/5) walk on, and what a nice surprise they are. Although they are obviously very young, (they have their families cheering them from the mosh pit), The Windows come across as a Travis in the waiting. Their material ranges from funky bass driven beats, acoustic jams to soft rock melodies. Perhaps they will be the Keane of 2007.

In the time that Cathead (2/5) occupies the main stage, the crowd decreases in size, the queues at the bar grow and what little audience that remains is largely asleep. Cathead plays music ideal to ignore and fall asleep to, to boot his crowd interaction is limited to the odd murmured references to South Park. In a word, dull.

Thank God the Delays (4/5) turn up to reverse the shambles of this morning. Despite their mediocre success in terms of record sales, the Delays always seem to be festival favourites, and this slot is no exception. The disco tinged tracks from You See Colours give festival goers the opportunity of a much needed boogie while ‘Valentine’ and ‘This Town’s Religious’ (dedicated to “the chavs”) give everyone a much needed boost.

Next up are Procol Harem (3/5), who are beyond old. They have one hit song ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ which is actually better known for the Eric Clapton cover. They play this hit, and then continue to go down the road of a Jools Holland style jam, taking breaks after each song to joke about the fact that they should really be having a bit of oxygen. To be honest no one seems to care – that is, no one below the age of 50.

Sunday’s hit-and-miss line-up continues with an appearance from Kubb (1/5), and if you have seen the adverts for his single ‘Grow’ you will know fully well Kubb is dodgy. Designed to sell records to 40-something women, Kubb performs tracks with overly repetitive choruses that tend to drive the normal human being mad. Having said that, he still gains a modest amount of attention, which is odd to say the least.

Fortunately there is another Godsend in the form of Maxїmo Park (5/5), who from the opening chords of ‘Graffiti’ to the hit ‘Apply Some Pressure’, gains the complete attention of the IoW festival. One of their first festival dates this summer, the band has as much energy as hyperactive (Geordie) children. Many crowd sing-alongs later, lead singer Paul Smith, thanks the audience: “Remember to enjoy yourselves here tonight because…well there’s nothing much else to do” – he’s been right so far.

The biggest disappointment of the weekend had to be Lou Reed (2/5) who plays a largely unpredictable set containing two of his better known tracks ‘Waiting For My Man’ and ‘White Light/White Heat’. When not playing recognisable hits his band descends into experimental jamming wankery. In fact he is so dull that festival goers take solace in creating paper cup artwork. Lou then leaves not playing ‘Perfect Day’, leaving a lot of grumbling old crusties unsatisfied.

The second to headlining slot sees Mr God-complex, Richard Ashcroft (3/5) repeatedly shouting “Bring the boys back home, Tony”, although nobody really gets what he is going on about – it really isn’t the best way to start. In between mouthing off about Labour, Tories, Iran and Iraq, Ashcroft runs through classic Verve songs such as ‘Lucky Man’, ‘The Drugs Don’t Work and ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ which all deservedly get a rapturous applause; something that his own material doesn’t achieve.

Festival closers Coldplay (5/5) are nothing short of spectacular. Their entrance to ‘Square One’ and ‘Politik’ are breathtaking, with Chris Martin either playing piano or rolling and spinning around the main stage. Highlights are ‘Clocks’ (accompanied by an explosion of green laser light), ‘Yellow’, ‘The Scientist’ and ‘Don’t Panic’, all equally spellbinding. The Coldplay lads also have many surprises up their sleeves including a cover of ‘Perfect Day’ (a favour for Lou Reed) and the promise of releasing a single to pay tribute to striker Peter Crouch if England win the World Cup. Parting track ‘Fix You’ is the perfect end to the set, leaving behind a load of teary eyed softies.

Check for Live Dates  Photos: Simon Hoyle