Bastille give ‘Bad Blood’ the Main Stage send-off it deserves at Reading 2015

The rise and rise of Bastille so far has been remarkable, that much is undeniable. Nestled at the top of the bill along with fellow homegrown Brits Mumford and Sons and alt-J, they’re a trio of acts who have all blown up fairly soon into their careers, but Bastille are the only one to still just have one album under their belt.

Their set today, however, manages to pack in tracks from across their past four years as a band. From debuting brand new material – that we’re promised will appear on ‘Bad Blood’s follow-up - to offering up their well-honed classic cover of ‘No Scrubs’, their set list has a certain pace to it that keeps the audience enticed throughout. Hits like opener ‘Things We Lost In The Fire’ and ‘Laura Palmer’ garner quite the singalongs, but it’s when frontman Dan Smith dons his infamous grey hoodie for a rendition of ‘Flaws’ - during which he dives straight into the audience as if he’s back in a tiny venue - that really sees the crowd go into overdrive.

A midway highlight comes in the crashing crescendo of ‘The Draw’ before their explosive reworking ‘Of The Night’ sees Smith getting the whole crowd to jump up and down in unison. It’s the epic closing chants that accompany ‘Pompeii’ that are really impressive though. Having climbed their way up the bill over the last few years, their slot on the Main Stage feels like a satisfying end to the first chapter of their band. Now, we’ll just have to see what happens next time they grace the stage.