T in the Park: Revellers savour set from Amy Winehouse

DUE to her allegedly rapacious intake of noxious substances, the general consensus is that Amy Winehouse isn't long for this world.

The troubled singer, best known for the aptly named hit Rehab, was hospitalised last week after collapsing at home and has apparently been told if she does not die soon, she could face life hooked up to oxygen cylinders in a wheelchair with emphysema.

As a result she has announced that, after five gigs that she is contractually obliged to do, she will avoid any further live shows for the foreseeable future – instead concentrating on making a full recovery.

All of which made her appearance at T in the Park yesterday something of an event. After all, it could be years, if at all, when fans next have the chance to see this colossal talent perform on the live stage again.

Aside from dedicating a song to her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, who is currently serving time in Pentonville prison, the Londoner kept chat to a minimum as she played in front of one of the biggest crowds of the weekend.

Wearing red hot-pants and a leather jacket, Winehouse played a 14-song set including Rehab, Back To Black and Tears Dry On Their Own, ending the show with her infamous cover of Valerie by The Zutons, which she originally recorded in collaboration with flavour-of-the-month producer Mark Ronson.

Winehouse dedicated Wake Up Alone to her husband during the set which was bereft of the controversy that surrounded her Glastonbury headline appearance last month.

Earlier in the day, the excellent Ting Tings – for many people's money the breakthrough act of the year – packed out the King Tut's Wah-Wah Tent to play to an ecstatic crowd.

The tent was at capacity a full half an hour before the Salford duo even took the stage.

By the time their set began, thousands of fans had rammed into the tent in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the pair, who began their set with Great DJ, going on to play Fruit Machine, Shut Up And Let Me Go and We Started Nothing, before closing with their chart-topping single That's Not My Name.

Singer Michael Stipe, of headline act REM, had talked about the challenge playing to festival crowds poses before going on stage, expressing how much he loves playing monster hits like Losing My Religion, his love for Tornoto's Holy F*** and Scouse band The Zutons.

If Stipe was feeling nerves before taking to the stage at the 15th T in the Park, it didn't show.

Performing at the festival for the first time in five years, REM were in buoyant mood as they brought down the curtain on this year's event, delighting fans with a string of hits interspersed with songs from this year's chart-topping album Accelerate.

The previous day, Rage Against The Machine headlined the Main Stage, following The Fratellis and The Kooks.

Proving they are still capable of causing controversy, Rage Against The Machine refused to allow photographers into the pit or have their headline slot filmed.

The LA band kicked off with Testify and lead singer Zack de la Rocha, who bounded around stage with the energy of a 20-something, urged on the huge crowd to sing along the tracks Bullet in the Head, Guerrilla Radio and Calm Like A Bomb, before encoring with Freedom and Killing in the Name.