After four years of glorious sunshine, Bestival was due a downpour. Ever willing, the English weather duly obliged, turning the Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight into a squelching bog.

“I hope you put your tents up OK,” said Bilinda Butcher, singer-guitarist of Friday night headliners My Bloody Valentine. By the small turnout at the Main Stage, it looked as though some had gone back to check.

Those who stayed felt the full force of the group’s intense live show. When My Bloody Valentine performed in London recently, after a 16-year break, earplugs were handed out. Fifty yards back in a field, tinnitus still felt only a power chord away. The main offender, shoe-gazing singer-guitarist Kevin Shields, wrestled some incredible sounds from his instrument. One part Chewbacca, one part supervolcano, he was at his best during the 15-minute one-chord chaos of You Made Me Realise.

Saturday at Bestival can mean only one thing: fancy dress. This year’s theme, was the somewhat fitting “30,000 freaks under the sea” and the stage was decked out in nautical fare before Amy Winehouse’s headline slot. On board the good ship Winehouse, the going was as rocky as ever. Rehab was performed whisky in one hand, beehive in the other. Unless she can get her hands back on the wheel, this is one ship headed for the rocks.