Culture Club: Reading and Leeds Festival, featuring Guns N' Roses, Arcade Fire, The Libertines and Dizzee Rascal

Readers review this week's big event

"It was a pretty lame line-up; Queens of the Stone Age were awesome and I can't imagine Guns N' Roses enjoyed coming on after that; they had no hope of beating it. Queens of the Stone Age should have been given the headline slot."

Matthew Smith

"Most exciting for me were Mumford & Sons – their music is entrancing as was their performance. Their set was worth the ticket price alone. The Libertines' comeback was phenomenal and the love that poured out from the band members and fans alike was unmistakable. The Drums' set was wonderful, except "Let's Go Surfing" wasn't performed. Foals played an invigorating set which I left to see the legendary Blink-182, who fulfilled their headline status with much charisma and showmanship. The magic of Reading Festival is something that could not be fabricated by watching it on television, only felt by the eagerness of the people, bands and organisers."

Katya Henson

"The music was unbelievable, but the rain made the site into an absolute mud bath. Highlights were Blink-182, Ash, Kele, The Libertines, The Cribs and Dizzee."

Jaya Ayesha Simpson

"Axl's had his day. His only chance of reversing the decline would be to make peace with Slash and reform the band properly – but that's not going to happen."

Adam Pooler

"Axl was shockingly bad. The band's performance was one of the most soulless performances I have ever seen. The crowd weren't interested and rightly so – each one had paid a small fortune to see Guns N' Roses, among others, and they didn't even have the integrity to start on time – an hour late, and even then Axl couldn't stay on stage for more than a few numbers before he felt the need for a costume change. I would ask for a refund if Queens of the Stone Age hadn't been so good."

Paul Mckee

"Axl's voice was good; however, it did sound a little like there may have been a backing track to his vocals and he was singing over them. The band was like a Vegas act, especially the replacement Slash. I can't believe that he dressed, moved and acted like Slash. He got covered in beer every time he went across the stage."

Matt V

"The storming off and swearing in the microphone only served to make Axl look foolish, his coming back on and ranting whilst the sound was turned off was farcical and his sit-down protest was child-like. I've seen Guns N' Roses before, in 1992 and 2006, and both times I've thoroughly enjoyed them. This on the other hand was a pathetic and undignifying spectacle."

Lex 3000

"Despite Guns N' Roses being late, they made up for it by putting on a great performance. The sound engineering was a mess, the LCD screen malfunctioned, plus it rained, yet they still played on... Cutting Guns N' Roses was a big mistake over a time-slot issue."

Jacques

"I thought it was brilliant. I was blown away. Axl can still hit the huge notes as he did in his prime."

Liam 'Bones' Kerrigan

"I've been a Guns N' Roses fan since 1987. What I saw sounded excellent; sure, Axl doesn't have the stamina he did 20 years ago, but neither do I. Festival Republic nearly lost their licence eight years ago when Guns N' Roses overran by two hours. No band is bigger than the festival and the only person who short-changed the fans on Friday night was Axl."

neil74

Next week in Culture Club: Brandon Flowers' 'Flamingo'

Please email your views on the debut solo album from The Killers' frontman to cultureclub@independent.co.uk. The best will be published next Thursday