The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
‘A palace? My gaff’s bigger than this’ – a signature move by Noel
SCONE: Singer punctuates visit for BBC festival gig with line of his trademark humour
It was already an unforgettable weekend but now the Scone Palace guest book contains a permanent memento of Noel Gallagher’s visit: a friendly jibe calling it smaller than the cheeky singer’s house.
The music legend wowed the crowds at BBC Biggest Weekend on Saturday, closing the show at the Perthshire estate with his High Flying Birds.
Known for his sarcasm, he did not disappoint when he stopped off to sign the visitor book inside the palace. He wrote: “A palace? My gaff’s bigger than this”, followed by his signature and two kisses.
Noel, who is married to Scottish publicist Sara Macdonald, closed the two-day music festival with a 90-minute set on Saturday evening. Hits from his current band, High Flying Birds, as well as Oasis songs and a cover of The Beatles’ All You Need is Love prompted a mass sing-a-long from the crowd.
The festival was hailed a huge success by organisers and attendees, with 20,000 people descending on Scone Palace between Friday and Saturday – the biggest event to be held at the venue.
It is hoped it will pave the way for future festivals at Scone, and Perth and Kinross Council leader Murray Lyle said the local authority is committed to hosting more major events.
“Having attended the event myself, I can say without a doubt that the weekend was a huge success for the BBC, the bands, the crowd and for Perth and Kinross,” he said.
“We were truly blessed with the weather and the images from Scone Palace grounds over both days of the event, together with the comments from performers on stage and afterwards on social media, plus the feedback from the audience, clearly shows that Perth is the place for events.
“This council is committed to attracting more high-profile events which will place Perth and Kinross on a global stage, demonstrating to the world why this is a fantastic place to live, work and invest in.”
This was backed by Angus Forbes, convener of the council’s environment and infrastructure committee. He also defended a number of road closures around Scone and Perth city centre, which some had deemed excessive ahead of the festival.
He said: “Hosting the only Scottish date of the BBC’S Biggest Weekend was a fantastic opportunity and it was great to see how Perth and Kinross shone.
“The traffic management plan developed by a multi-agency group, led by Perth and Kinross Council, was a success, working as designed to bring 20,000 people safely on and off site.
“I’d like to thank local residents and businesses for their patience during the event. Events of this size will always have an impact on people living nearby and it is important that we get feedback from people about how things worked so that we can learn lessons for the future.”
ecrichton@dctmedia.co.uk