The Cure and Foo Fighters to headline Reading and Leeds Festivals

 
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13 March 2012
The Weekender

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Foo Fighters, The Cure and Kasabian are to headline this year's Reading and Leeds Festivals.

The bands will take it in turns to perform at both locations for the twin-site event staged over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Also on the bill for the shows are The Maccabees, Metronomy, Justice and the reunited At The Drive-In.

The Cure will be performing at Reading for the first time in 33 years. They last performed the event - the longer-established of the two events - in 1979 to support their debut album Three Imaginary Boys.

Foo Fighters have previously headlined Reading/Leeds in 2002 and 2005 and their performances this year will be their only UK festivals of 2012.

Kasabian - who released fourth album Velociraptor last year - are topping the bill at the festival for the first time.

Paramore, Florence + The Machine, The Shins and The Vaccines are also among the bands lined up for the events which take place from August 24 to 26.

Melvin Benn, managing director of organisers Festival Republic, said Foo Fighters are "a band that runs through my veins".

Speaking at the festival launch party at the Cockpit gig venue in Leeds, he said: "Probably my favourite band ever is the Foo Fighters. Anybody that's been associated with Leeds and Reading for any period of time, the Foo Fighters absolutely runs through your veins - probably the greatest rock band around at the moment."

The festival svengali described The Cure as an "extraordinary" band.

He said: "Can't believe The Cure have finally, finally decided they want to play Reading and Leeds festival. Out of the blue they wanted to do it, we love it, we can't wait for that."

Speaking to a crowd made up of musicians from the Leeds music scene, journalists and music industry workers, Mr Benn announced plans to give away a beer and a burger to each festival-goer every day of the festivals.

Later, he said: "It's do-able. Basically, I felt that it would be great to give something back, to make the effort. I hope the sponsors will pay for it, if they don't I will pay for it."

Tickets went on sale last night. Further details are available from www.festivalrepublic.com.

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