Embrace, Starsailor and Snow Patrol were to come - but first up on the main stage Countermine set the tone for the day with some heartfelt numbers. As the sun peeped in and out of the clouds it was a choice between another layer of sun block or another layer of clothes. Singer songwriter Kate Aumonier arrived on stage shivering admitting she’d made the wrong choice.  | | Countermine |
The wide open spaces of the main arena could’ve swallowed Aumonier’s set, and she admitted that she was more at home playing to smoke-filled venues – but along with some friendly chat she was able to win friends and fans with her well presented set. Despite their early set, The Subways’ catchy punk rock tunes coaxed a lot of people to the stage. The trio crammed an amazing amount of short, punchy songs into their 30 minute slot which were punctuated by lots of energetic hair flinging, especially from their incredible drummer Josh. Prog rockers Caravan brought a bit of nostalgia to the festival. The band played on one of the original Isle of Wight line-ups back in 1969 and bassist Jim Leverton was in full nostalgic mode playing the same bass he plucked over 30 years ago.  | | The Subways |
They kept the sun worshipping festival crowd entertained with their chat about the old days and I don’t think anyone was expecting the electric spoon playing solo! Keeping the retro theme going, the new darlings of indie rock The Magic Numbers arrived in a gust of hair and 70s style to play to their biggest audience to date. Despite only being familiar with their current single Forever Lost, the festival goers loved the Numbers’ cheery tunes which were the perfect accompaniment to the afternoon sunshine. Those that were starting to believe they really were in a 70’’s time warp were beamed back to 2005 with the arrival of the talented Starsailor.  | | The Magic Numbers |
A few in the crowd would have been hoping to get their heads down for a bit of snooze (what with Embrace and Snow Patrol to follow) but were surprised into life with the energy and conviction of frontman James Walsh. They glided through a convincing set, Walsh's vocal talents setting them apart from their contemporaries. With a quick sprint around the park to check out BBC Radio 1’s Bobby Friction and Nihal whipping up a sitar remix of Jumpin’ Jack Flash in the Bollywood Bar and Greg Wilson playing pop floor fillers in the Ice Cube it was time to head back for Embrace. They each have their followers, but it's sometimes hard to tell where one earnest bloke band finishes and another begins.  | | Snow Patrol |
Embrace now have an abundance of sing-a-long tunes and delighted the tightly packed main arena playing all of their best known numbers, with a smattering of album tracks for good measure. Snow Patrol have come a long way since they appeared at last year’s IOW festival. One word from Gary Lightbody was enough to get fans screaming and the up tempo track Spitting Games had the entire festival crowd bouncing in unison. Playing in the UK for the first time this year, the Irish lads were having the time of their lives on stage, sprinkling their set with some brand new songs and of course their breakthrough hit Run which provided the audience with a great excuse for a sing-a-long. 35,000 pairs of eyes were on REM frontman Michael Stipe as he emerged wearing his trademark mask of blue make-up. His flamboyant showmanship left the rest of the band in the shadows as he climbed monitors, danced around and generally put on a great show for the crowd. The band dipped deep into their back catalogue pulling out classics like Orange Crush, Nightswimming, The Great Beyond and Electron Blue but there are some songs that just epitomise REM and as Michael, Mike and Peter began to enjoy themselves, the big anthems reared their heads. The sound of thousands of voices singing along to Everybody Hurts, Losing My Religion and Man On the Moon was still echoing around the park as the huge firework display marked the end of the super-band’s set and the finale of the festival. | 
