The year was 2009, no one had ever heard of Covid-19 or social distancing, and Swindon was enjoying the tunes of some of Britain's top artists at the time.
Around 40,000 people flocked to Lydiard Park to hear such artists as N-Dubz, Kasabian and Dizzee Rascal.
The free music festival was on May 9 and 10, 2009 with live music across four stages and was broadcast on Radio 1, as well as TV highlights shown on BBC3.
In this article, we'll take a look back at the artists who performed, and even some of the crowd that showed up.
Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal entertained the crowds by playing sections of the audience off against each other in a 15 minute set.
The British rapper, whose real name is Dylan Mills, appeared on the main stage supported by singer-songwriter Calvin Harris for a mixture of garage and hip-hop music.
He got different sections of the crowd to compete with each other in screaming stakes until the audience reached fever pitch.
"Swindon, you havin' fun? Make some noise!" he said.
Most popular were the songs "Dance Wiv Me", "Sirens" and "Bonkers".
Deadmau5
Deadmau5, or Joel Thomas Zimmerman, performed on the In New Music We Trust stage at the festival.
The stage aims to highlight new music coming through the British industry.
Other acts to perform on this stage included our next artist…
Florence and the Machine
This band appeared at Radio 1’s Big Weekend just two months before their debut album Lungs would be released.
The artist is known for Dog Days are Over and You’ve Got The Love, both of which featured on the first album in July 2009.
Kasabian
One of the biggest acts to perform at Swindon’s Big Weekend was Kasabian.
The band has had chart success with singles such as Club Foot, LSF, Processed Beats, Empire and Shoot The Runner.
Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist and songwriter with the band, said the guys had great fun at Lydiard Park and he really enjoyed meeting the Swindon crowd.
“We were signing autographs before the show and there were both kids and their mums. It was really good,” he said.
Chris Moyles
The at-the-time Radio 1 DJ appeared on the Main Stage at the Big Weekend alongside Scott Mills – another Radio 1 DJ.
Chris had been in Swindon a few months earlier to officially launch the festival for May and was greeted by fans at the Sir Daniel Arms in the town centre.
“It’s nice to see a crowd like this waiting for us,” said Chris. “We don’t normally have anything like this as our location is normally kept secret. This is massive for Swindon.”
The Saturdays
Pop group The Saturdays were spreading the music with their version of Just Can’t Get Enough and appeared at the Big Weekend months before their first ever UK Tour.
Their debut album Chasing Lights went platinum and Just Can’t Get Enough, which was released in aid of Comic Relief, was their biggest hit at the time.
The band would later return to the Oasis in July with a packed out crowd of 1,600 people.
N-Dubz
Another act to grace the Main Stage was hip-hop group N-Dubz.
Famous for their songs Live Life Love and I Need You, the band almost didn’t appear at the festival after a Swine Flu scare with singer Tulisa Contostavlos.
Luckily she tested negative for the virus and was able to perform.
Similarly to The Saturdays, the group would return to Swindon at the Oasis in April 2010.
Snow Patrol
The last act to feature in our list is Snow Patrol.
The band ended the first day of the festival on the Main Stage with hits such as Chasing Cars and Run.
With one spotlight on him Gary sung an acoustic version of "Run". The crowd, highlighted by dark blue, pink and red lights from above, knew every word and filled in all the spaces for them to join in.
"That was absolutely lovely," said Gary. Wearing a simple white t-shirt and jeans, he dedicated songs to members of the crowd who had attracted his attention including a cameraman and someone carrying a balloon.
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