The Great British Music Weekend
Wembley Arena, London

FRIDAY

Back-stage, Graham of 808 State is resting on a flight-case, calmly wetting the reeds of his clarinet. He parps out a note. "It's a goer." At a door behind him a Manc follower is yelling past a security guard to his mate. "Eh, I er... cant get in, sort of..."

808 State take the stage at a quarter to eight. They sound just like their records – only louder – but it scarcely matters: the dancefloor is a field of waving arms and hair-plastered faces.

Jonathan King, bobbing around at the side of the stage in a baseball cap and hideous multi-coloured jacket that's even louder than the band, is telling anyone who'll listen that 808 are a band he always hated, but now loves. Peter Hooton of The Farm listens and nods tolerantly.

MARTIN TOWNSEND