Winds blamed for poor Reading sound

Organisers defend main stage volume levels

01 September 2009

This year, festival chief Melvin Benn blamed the wind for the poor volumes experienced at sets like The Prodigy, Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead.

Speaking to NME.com he said: "To be fair, the sound has been massively better. Last year we were having to run so low that it wasn't possible, that hasn't been the case this year. Generally, we've been running between 101 and 103 decibels, sometimes 107, amazing.

"The only issue has been there have been massive gusts of winds which can pick up the sound and throw it away. That's not a sound issue per se.

“Some people will have noticed on Friday we had to drop the screens on the Main Stage because of the wind. The sound has been pretty remarkable, the gusts of winds have been difficult. It’s generally a British summer issue."

Take our poll on the right hand of the site to tell us if you think the sound levels were better or worse than last year.

Melvin Benn also talked about the good response he’d had following the decision for the festival to ban flags. Commenting on the issue he said: “The feedback I've had from the fans has been very positive, they've really appreciated it.”

Last week Virtual Festivals ran a poll on the decision to ban flags from the festival with most of you agreeing with organisers.

An overwhelming 52% said they welcomed the flag ban, while 23% thought the choice was the wrong one.

Check back for our full review from Reading Festival.

Click here to watch BBC footage from the event.

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