Carling WEEKEND: Headliners AND MORE!!!

The Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds Festivals are back! Voted the Live Event of the Year for 2006 by NME readers, the International Live Event of the Year by the prestigious CIC Music Industry Awards in Los Angeles and Best Festival at the Nokia Music Awards, the festivals are without a doubt the greatest rock ‘n’ roll weekend of the year and the best live music weekend in Britain. Over the year’ the twin sites of Reading and Leeds have seen the opening chapters of the biggest bands in the world, from Nirvana and Muse to Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes and a host of others. If you want to see every band that matters in 2007 then The Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds Festivals is the only place to be.

As ever, this year’s event has the biggest names in the world making exclusive performances and the brightest hopes of the year making their mark on the twin sites. Over the course of the weekend over 150 acts ranging from global superstars to the hottest new names, rock bands to performance artistes and comedians will grace the six stages with a host of other entertainment planned to ensure that there is something for everyone, from midday on Friday 24th August to late into the night of Sunday 26th August.

The Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds Festivals is a byword for the true power of rock music. Since 1989 when Mean Fiddler took over the running of the then Reading Festival through to 1999 when Europe’s first twin site festival, The Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds Festivals were brought to life, the event has seen some of the greatest and most memorable performances ever. NME readers recently voted Nirvana’s 1992 performance at Reading as the greatest Nirvana moment ever, whilst their mid afternoon performance the year before also made the chart. From L7’s mudfight through Guns ‘n’ Roses late night return in Leeds, from Pearl Jam’s debut UK festival performance last year to the Foo Fighters amazing debut UK festival performance on the second stage, the festivals are the stuff of rock ‘n’ roll history in the making.

This year’s headliners and supporting bill keep the quality threshold at the highest level with three bands taking to the Main Stage who are the epitome of what the festival stand for and yet another indication, were it needed, that The Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds Festivals are the "Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll show on earth" (NME).

As ever, the headliners are only the beginning of the story for this year’s event.

Over the three days, a host of well known and hotly tipped names will be taking to the stages, confirmed names for the weekend are as follows.

With a new label (Parlophone Records) and a third studio album in the pipeline, INTERPOL come to the twin sites with a great deal of excitement focused on the new record. Breaking into the UK with debut album, "Turn On The Bright Lights" in 2002, the band were acclaimed by the music press, leading to second album "Antics" cementing their position as one of the most successful and much loved bands in the UK. www.interpolnyc.com

With a Mercury Prize nomination, over ½ million sales and four Top 20 singles from their debut album, "A Certain Pressure", MAXIMO PARK’s return to the fray with new single, "Our Velocity" which seems sure to be their biggest hit to date. With second album, "Our Earthly Pleasures", due for release on 2nd April, 2007 seems guaranteed to propel the lads from the North East to even greater heights. www.maximopark.com

This year has seen the star of Beth Ditto and her band, GOSSIP rise at an incredible speed. Voted Number One in NME’s Cool List at the close of last year, the adoption of single, "Standing In The Way Of Control" on TV’s enfant terrible show, "Skins", alongside a host of magazine covers for the singer with and without her band means that GOSSIP are one of the most talked about new bands of this year. www.gossipyouth.com

Quite possibly the UK critics band of choice, the reception afforded "Neon Bible", The ARCADE FIRE’s second album has been universally positive. Recent live shows around the UK and 4 sold out nights at London’s Brixton Academy, have seen zealous fans baying for more, invading stages and singing to every note. With the album itself acclaimed by all comers as a work of genius, The Arcade Fire are setting out on a magnificent 2007, these festival live shows are sure to draw further critical adoration. www.arcadefire.com

With their second album, the European wide Top 10, "A Weekend In The City", BLOC PARTY built on the breakthrough success of 2005’s "Silent Alarm". With the album also debuting in the US Billboard chart at Number 12 and a total sale of over ½ million worldwide in the first week of release, the band have firmly established themselves as one of the UK’s most successful domestic and international acts. www.blocparty.com

With a world wide hit in the form of "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" from their debut album, "A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out", PANIC AT THE DISCO have seen their debut album propel them to worldwide stardom. Signed by Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy to his Fuelled By Ramen imprint label, Decaydance, the Las Vegas four piece won over the crowd at both sites last year and are set to play the role of returning heroes this year.  www.panicatthedisco.com 

Over nearly twenty years, NINE INCH NAILS have earned a reputation for fierce live shows, constant artistic evolution and ground breaking recordings that have seen them become one of the most respected and admired bands in the world. With their sixth studio album, "Year Zero", due in April, these shows are sure to attract huge attention from fans eager to hear songs both new and old from one of the US’s most important bands ever. www.nin.com

Following two albums for cult US indie Fuelled By Ramen, FALL OUT BOY found themselves nominated for Grammys and MTV Awards in their native US with the release of their major label debut, "Songs From Under The Cork Tree" in 2005. Now triple platinum in their home country, the band followed this breakthrough with current album, "Infinity On High", a US Number One and UK Number 3 album placing being their reward. Lead single, "This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race" entered the UK chart at Number 2, emphasising the band’s huge fanbase in the UK. www.falloutboyrock.com

With their debut album, "When Your Heart Stops Beating", in November of 2006, former Blink 182 members Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker’s new band +44 took up where their old band left off. A Top 10 album on the US chart, a sold out London Astoria show for their second ever gig followed by a sold out Brixton Academy and sales of over ¼ million in the US are merely the start of what is shaping up to be another transatlantic success for the pair alongside guitarists Craig Fairbaugh and Shane Gallagher.  www.plusfortyfour.com 

With rave reviews across the board for their third studio album, "The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me", BRAND NEW are hotly tipped to break through to super stardom this year. Relentless touring since their formation in 2001 has seen the band collect 260,000 friends on MySpace and sell nearly a million copies worldwide of their first two albums through indie Eat Sleep. With a major label deal now in place, expect to hear the name a lot more and earmark this show as a must see this year. www.fightoffyourdemons.com

The rise of ENTER SHIKARI is one of the stories of this year. Recent winners of the NME Award for Musical Innovation, the four piece have brought their fusion of hardcore rock and trance techno to the public ear through hard touring and word of mouth growth. Rejecting record company overtures having sold out the London Astoria, the band continue to be completely independent and to grow at a phenomenal rate. An incredible live band, this could be one of the year’s most talked about performances. www.entershikari.com

One of the highlights of this year’s NME Awards Rave Tour, CSS have a well earned reputation for incredible live shows. Fronted by every indie boy’s wet dream in the shape of vocalist Lovefoxxx, the Brazilians saw their eponymous album snapped up by US indie Sub Pop and then, subsequently Warner Brothers. With both a reissue of the "On The Hook" single and the album now putting them in front of UK music buyers, CSS look set to be one of the big stories of 2007. www.csshurts.com

Day Tickets which do not allow camping are priced at £62.50 plus booking fee.

National Credit Card Hotline : SEE Tickets, Wayahead : 0870 060 3775

www.meanfiddler.com  www.readingfestival.com  www.seetickets.com  

Mean Fiddler Box Offices:

The Astoria, 157 Charing Cross Road, WC2 . Monday to Saturday 10am-6pm

Mean Fiddler Head Office, 16 High Street, Harlesden, NW10. Monday to Friday 10am-6pm

By Post:

Cheques / Postal Orders payable to 'Reading Festival Ltd'

Weekend Tickets £145.50 including 50p booking fee (+ £4.95 on overall booking for 4 or more to cover registered post)

Please enclose SAE and daytime phone number.

Send to:

Reading 2005

P.O. Box 1707

London NW10 4LW

Please note that postal booking are subject to availability and cannot be guaranteed. Postal bookings are dealt with on a first come basis. Those received after the main allocation of tickets is sold out will be returned.

Tickets are strictly limited to a maximum of six per household - for those booking by telephone or online - or a maximum of four per person for those purchasing tickets at the Mean Fiddler booking offices.

Children under 13 (12 and under) are admitted free but MUST be accompanied by a ticket holding adult. Please note there is no separate children's area at this event.

ON SITE FACILITIES INCLUDE:

Bars, Cash Points, First Aid & Paramedics, Food & Non Food Stalls, Information Tent, Left Luggage, Meeting Point, Market Stalls, Merchandise, Showers, Welfare Tent.

PLEASE NOTE – NEW SERVICE:

Tangerine Fields Easy Camping

Please request a booklet and application form on 020 8961 5490.

Mean Fiddler Information Hotline (Mon-Fri 10am - 6pm) 020 8963 0940

THE GREATEST ROCK ‘N’ ROLL SHOW ON EARTH

"I f***ing love Reading so much! I’ve been to so many festivals but this is the only one I love." DAVE GROHL, THE FOO FIGHTERS

"It really means a lot to us, as we used to go to this festival when we were kids. We always had this thing where I’d say to Dom, ‘Have we made it now?’ and he’s say, ‘Nah, not until we’ve headlined Reading." MATT BELLAMY, MUSE

"We love you Reading" JOSH HOMME, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE

"…with all its tradition, diversity and capacity for self renewal, Reading will rock on forever." THE DAILY TELEGRAPH