Video: Time to get Leeds Festival rocking

A lifelong dream will come true for rockstars The Libertines when they headline Leeds Festival at the end of the month.
The Mallrats are set to perform at Leeds Festival.The Mallrats are set to perform at Leeds Festival.
The Mallrats are set to perform at Leeds Festival.

The recently reformed rockers have dreamed of headlining at the festival since they began performing as youngsters, according to its organiser Melvin Benn.

Benn, managing director of Festival Republic, told the YEP: “They’re delighted to be playing their first headline set at Leeds.

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“They have dreamed about this since the inception of the band, since they first started playing in people’s bedrooms and kitchens.

The Mallrats are set to perform at Leeds Festival.The Mallrats are set to perform at Leeds Festival.
The Mallrats are set to perform at Leeds Festival.

“That would give you a small idea about how important it is to them.”

Also playing the festival is a fresh batch of Yorkshire talent thanks to two competitions helping new bands to storm the music scene.

Leeds band Calls Landing will play the Lock Up Stage on the August Bank Holiday weekend alongside international acts like New Found Glory after beating 40 other bands to win this year’s prestigious Futuresound competition.

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Drummer, Charlie Thomas, said: “The opportunity to play Leeds and Reading Festival is beyond words for the five of us. Each of us grew up going to the festival, staying up late to buy tickets with our friends and building a summer around a weekend away with our favourite bands playing. The fact that we are now a part of this festival is an absolute dream come true, it’s impossible to summarise just how much it means. This moment in time that we’ll share with each other, the audience and our families will be a very emotional one for us all.”

The LibertinesThe Libertines
The Libertines

York-based outfit the Mallrats will perform on the BBC Introducing Stage after their victory in the Centre Stage Competition which has provided a platform for over 170 young Yorkshire acts and raised over £180,000 for Martin House Children’s Hospice.

Benn was among the judging panel for this year’s Centre Stage competition, which saw the Mallrats win the votes of all the judges.

Benn added: “It was a completely unanimous decision,

“I think they will really stand out at Leeds.

“What’s interesting about these guys is they were not born when the festival started.

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“It’s great that they realised that writing songs and playing their instruments is the best thing they could do.”

Rock gods Metallica and the popular Mumford & Sons are also headlining the event which will see hundreds of thousands of festival fans flock to Bramham Park later this month.

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