by David Renshaw | Photos by WENN.com

Wireless (day three) @ Hyde Park, London, 07/07/12

Rihanna, Calvin Harris and an awful lot of mud

 

Wireless (day three) @ Hyde Park, London, 07/07/12

Photo: WENN.com

If you hear a scream at a music festival it tends to mean that either a) somebody on stage has taken their top off or b) a fight has broken out. Very rarely does it mean c) a rain shower so violent people are sheltering under bins has begun and everyone is running scared.

Pity poor J. Cole then who must have thought he was doing something pretty special when, mid-way through his set on the main stage, the screams started. Sadly it was not his mixture of laid back party anthems and rhymes that caused the hysteria, rather a wave of torrential rain that only added to the rivers of mud linking the stages on this final day of Wireless.

Cole's slot on the main stage capped a great day for US rap making their way across the Atlantic however, with A$AP Rocky, Kreayshawn and Theophilus London also impressing throughout the afternoon.

Into the evening and it was the poppier end of the spectrum that everybody focused on. Calvin Harris showed why he is one of the most in-demand producers on the planet right now with a perfectly pitched DJ set encompassing everything from Justice and Chemical Brothers to his masterpiece 'We Found Love'. Manipulating the audience at will into absolute euphoria, it was as if he had the crowd controlled via a remote.

We Found Love made its second appearance of the day during Rihanna's headline set - another success for conveyor-belt pop of the highest order. Those who saw the Bajan star in Hackney two weeks ago know the drill  but songs as good as 'Man Down', 'Only Girl In The World' and 'Run This Town' sound good even on what feels like their millionth play.

Ironically, it was during Rihanna's set that the audience didn't need their umbrella (ella ella) but popped them open regardless during an explosive finale that had 65,000 people showing their love in a very, very muddy place indeed.

Below: Rihanna, Rita Ora, Tulisa and more at Wireless 2012

 

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