Reading and Leeds Festivals line-ups#2002

The third NJF Festival saw the first non-Jazz acts appear, notably the Rolling Stones and Long John Baldry on the Sunday afternoon. The Sunday afternoon session featured the final heats of the National Amateur Jazz Contest featuring twelve jazz bands chosen from semi-finals held across Britain.

The Festival expanded to three days with the addition of a rhythm & blues themed Friday evening session. The Sunday afternoon session featured the fourteen best jazz bands from a National Amateur Jazz Contest chosen from regional contests held nationwide.

The Festival moved to the larger Windsor Racecourse venue in 1966 after five years at Richmond Athletic Ground. Cream were billed as 'Eric Clapton – Jack Bruce – Ginger Baker' as the band were still unnamed when promotional posters & advertising were printed.

Pink Floyd pulled out on Saturday evening due to singer/guitarist Syd Barrett's health problems and were replaced by The Nice. The Nice also acted as backing band for P P Arnold. A second "Marquee" stage was added on Saturday and Sunday evenings. Four bands played sets each night, three of which also appeared on the main stage on the same day.

The 1970 Festival was a four-day event for the only time in its history, with a South of England Local Talent session in the main arena on the Thursday evening. A 'Village' stage was added on Saturday and Sunday running from later afternoon to mid-evening.

In 1971 the Festival moved to its permanent home at Little John's Farm on the south bank of the River Thames in Reading, a venue it has remained at ever since (with the exception of two years in the 1980s when the Festival was banned by the Conservative Party controlled Reading Borough Council).

Roy Buchanan and Bert Jansch were scheduled to appear, but they did not play.

Frankie Miller, Widowmaker, Racing Cars, Blue, Tiger, and Hand Reef all made appearances, but their place on the lineup is unclear.

Thin Lizzy were scheduled to headline on Saturday but cancelled. After the Fire and The Ramones were also scheduled to play but cancelled.

Angel City withdrew and were replaced by Grand Prix, Q-Tips also pulled out, being replaced by White Spirit. Gary Moore's G-Force were also originally scheduled to play but cancelled. Headboys (replaced by Quartz) and Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz (replaced by Slade) were also cancellations, while The Pencils pulled out at the last minute when all of their equipment was stolen the night before.

Thompson Twins, Midnight Oil, Outlaws, The Marshall Tucker Band and Alex Harvey Band were originally scheduled to play but cancelled. Stan Webb's Chicken Shack pulled out due to illness and were replaced at short notice by Atomic Rooster.

The 1984 Festival was cancelled when the Conservative Party took control of Reading Borough Council. The announced line-up was due to be:

No festival held this year

Soundgarden were due to play but cancelled when Chris Cornell was diagnosed with polyps on his vocal cords.

Despite being billed as headliners on the Friday night, Rage Against the Machine played their set before The Prodigy

Curve were due to play on the Melody Maker stage on the Sunday but were replaced by Theaudience at short notice.

Liberty 37 (unknown position)

Also included Big Leaves, Black Box Recorder, Cha Cha Cohen, Chicks, Cube, Cyclefly, Dark Star, Dawn of the Replicants, Experimental Pop Band, The Jellys, Jim's Super Stereo World, Linoleum, Llama Farmers, Medal, Mercedes, The Motorhomes, Muse, Peeps Into Fairyland, Quasi, Rico, The Rocking Horses, Rosita, Seafood, Silt, Sonia Fariq, Stroke, Venni, The Webb Brothers, Witness

Orgy were due to open the Main Stage Reading Sunday/Leeds Monday, but pulled out days before the event. Lit filled in their spot.

Rage Against the Machine played their last UK gig at Reading before their break-up. They played their last gig three weeks later. Originally booked play on the mainstage Eminem had to pull out a few weeks prior for legal reasons in America. Elastica pulled out of their Leeds appearance.

This was the year that the Concrete Jungle Stage made its debut. Weekend tickets cost £80, day tickets £35. The Strokes were moved from the Radio One stage to the Main Stage.

Guns N' Roses played only in Leeds as they had a prior touring commitment in London on the day of the Reading event. In Reading they were replaced by Raging Speedhorn who appeared much lower on the bill. A weekend ticket cost £90, a day ticket was £39. Reel Big Fish pulled out of Leeds for undisclosed reasons. Antipop Consortium cancelled their Dance Stage appearance after they disbanded earlier that month. Feeder were invited by Melvin Benn to headline the main stage on the first day at Reading and the second day at Leeds. They later turned this down, as they did not want to play such a high-profile slot so soon after the death of their drummer Jon Lee in January of that year. As a result, Feeder would instead headline the Radio 1 Evening Session Stage.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club played as a replacement for The White Stripes, who pulled out after Jack White was in a car crash with his then-girlfriend, Renée Zellweger. Although they played second on the Main Stage, it was billed as with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, reflecting their smaller status. Jay-Z also pulled out, with The Darkness moving further up the bill to replace him. The Libertines were without Pete Doherty, who was at that time estranged from the band; he also missed their 2004 appearance. Other drop outs included Courtney Love, Lostprophets and Godsmack. A weekend ticket cost £95, a day ticket £40.

On the Radio 1 Stage, the Super Furry Animals headlined on the Leeds Saturday, with Graham Coxon second. This order was reversed when the bands played the Reading Friday. New Found Glory pulled out a few weeks before the festival. A weekend ticket cost £105, a day ticket £45.

In 2005 My Chemical Romance played Reading and Leeds on the same day, in an alteration from the original schedule, due to the MTV Video Music Awards. The Transplants were originally booked to play the festivals but pulled out in mid-August due to illness. Jimmy Eat World also pulled out due to other commitments. Other drop outs included Willy Mason, Simple Plan and Fall Out Boy (also due to the VMAs). A weekend ticket cost £125, a day ticket £60.

Shortly after the first line-up announcement, Feeder and Yeah Yeah Yeahs switched days, meaning that Yeah Yeah Yeahs would play Reading on Friday and Leeds on Saturday, and that Feeder would play Reading on Saturday and Leeds on Sunday. Audioslave pulled out of their slot due to the band being busy recording new material, The Shins pulled out for undisclosed reasons, and From First to Last pulled out due to the then lead singer (Sonny Moore) needing throat surgery, Paramore had to pull out because their singer (Hayley Williams) had throat problems and were replaced by Sonic Boom Six lower in the bill. Story of the Year and Bleeding Through also pulled out for undisclosed reasons. Flogging Molly played twice at both festivals, once in the punk tent and once on the main stage. Tickets were £135 for a weekend ticket and £60 for a day ticket.

Kaiser Chiefs played a secret slot on the Carling Stage at the Leeds leg of the event under the pseudonym of 'Hooks for Hands'.

Peeping Tom were due to perform on the dance stage, but pulled out.

+44 also dropped out. A weekend ticket cost £145 (plus a maximum of £7 booking fee).

The line-up for the Reading and Leeds 2008 festivals was announced on 31 March 2008, and tickets were made available thereafter.{{cite web|url=http://2008.leedsfestival.com/lineup/ |title=Leeds Festival 2008 :: LINE-UP POSTER |publisher=2008.leedsfestival.com |access-date=19 September 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://2008.readingfestival.com/lineup/ |title=Reading Festival 2008 :: LINE-UP POSTER |publisher=2008.readingfestival.com |access-date=19 September 2011}}