Rap-ture as Eminem and Jay-Z head for T in the Park

Published on Tuesday 23 February 2010 21:42

CONTROVERSIAL rapper Eminem is to return to Europe for the first time in almost five years for Scotland's biggest music festival.

• Rappers Jay-Z and Eminem, two of the biggest names in the music industry, will both perform at T in The Park 2010 in July

The Detroit artist, who last played live in the UK in 2003, will top the bill at T in the Park, which will take place from 9-11 July at Balado, Kinross-shire.

He will be joined by British rockers Muse and Kasabian as the main headline acts for this year's festival.

Unveiling the line-up yesterday at SWG3 studios in Glasgow's West End, festival director Geoff Ellis said that organisers had "pushed the boat out" and spent the most money in the event's history to attract big names.

Also expected to appear are Jay-Z, the Black-Eyed Peas, the recent Brit Awards winners Florence and the Machine, Goldfrapp, Vampire Weekend, Hot Chip and Dizzee Rascal.

Mr Ellis said: "Our line-up is already undeniably strong and diverse this year, and we've still got lots more up our sleeves to announce.

He went on: "Shaping the bill for Scotland's finest and favourite festival is an absolute honour, and I can't wait for 8 July when the campsite gates open for the Thursday-night campers and the party begins."

Among the Scottish acts appearing will be the Proclaimers, Biffy Clyro and Paolo Nutini.

It will be the first British festival Eminem has headlined since Reading in 2001. The rapper's Anger Management Tour brought him back to the UK in 2003, but a scheduled European tour was cancelled in 2005 because of exhaustion.

Other names booked to play T in the Park 2010 include the Prodigy, Faithless, Stereophonics, David Guetta, John Mayer, Calvin Harris, La Roux, Gossip, Temper Trap, Dirty Projectors, Wolfmother, Rise Against, the Coral and the Stranglers.

Having Jay-Z as a headliner at last year's Glastonbury Festival caused controversy when former Oasis star Noel Gallagher claimed the decision to include the rapper was "wrong". Dizzee Rascal said that he did not have the necessary "cross-over element" to take the top spot.

However, Scots DJ Jim Gellatly thought Balado would take both Jay-Z and Eminem to their hearts. He said: "I know there was a controversy about Jay-Z at Glastonbury last year, but I saw him play a Coldplay gig and he went down a storm. If anything, I thought Jay-Z would be more alien to their audience than a T in the Park audience, so I think the hip-hop acts will get a great reception."

On the subject of the groups announced yesterday, he said: "There's some really exciting new acts appearing as well, and there's a lot more to come.

"To put it in perspective, I'm a huge Biffy Clyro fan, but there were so many big names flying by that I actually missed their name being announced."

The festival is in its 17th year, and a second tranche of 85,000 tickets is due to go on sale on Friday; a three-day weekend ticket costs 170, compared with 45 for the two-day event in 1994.

Questions have been raised about the continuing sponsorship of the festival by Tennent's amid concerns over Scotland's alcohol problems.

Mr Ellis said the company had been key to the festival's existence and went on: "I think it's fair to say that T in the Park would not have existed if it wasn't for Tennent's, because we would not have been able to start T in the Park without the support they gave us.

"There wasn't any public funding available to us when we were starting – nobody could see the financial impact of a festival in Scotland. Obviously, festivals exist without major sponsors, but it would be very difficult to do something on the scale of T in the Park without that."

George Kyle, head of sponsorship at Tennent's, said the company had gone to great lengths to encourage responsible drinking at the festival.

"It's a real privilege to be a partner in Scotland's greatest festival," he said. "Every year I'm as eager to hear about the line-up as our audience are and, yet again, DF (Concerts] have pulled out all the stops and delivered a bill of heavyweights.

"We're proud that the T Break Stage is back in 2010. Tennent's have been supporting new music through this initiative since 1996 and we'll be showcasing more of Scotland's best unsigned talent."

• Andrew Eaton: Lack of fanfare for Jay-Z reveals genuine strength of festival's line-up