Having recovered from the blitz on my liver the previous night, it was with great trepidation that I ventured out into the drizzly, grey day. As I stumbled up to the Other Stage, Athlete walked on stage. If ever there was a band to play feel-good songs on feel-good summer afternoons, I'm sure that Athlete with their beery, singalong anthems would be up there with the best of them. So when they launched into 'El Salvador' (possibly the greatest song to feature international air travel since the Venga Boys' 'Fly to Ibiza') I was surprised, but overjoyed to find myself bouncing around with the rest of the crowd and instantly forgetting my hangover, my inhibitions and most importantly, the rain.
There was more to follow. Single 'Beautiful', for me at least, would become a particularly poignant 'festival song' - one which I replayed in my head as I sat at the stone circle after sun-down on Sunday night ('oh, this is beautiful, I've got to soak it up, I've got to soak it up'). 'Vehicles and Animals' and 'Westside' were all well received and enjoyed by the crowd, but none more so than "You Got The Style", with it's melancholy verse and big, shouty, stupid, stupendous singalong of a chorus, which singer Joel Pott decided to reprise a cappella style after the last crash of the guitar. My first band of the day, my first band of 2003, my first band ever, in fact, at Glastonbury. I'm glad it was Athlete, because I know whenever I hear their songs, a big, dumb smile will become etched on my face - and it'll take more than a little bit of rain to wash it away.
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