When organiser Hugh Phillimore told the Oxford Mail he was hoping Cornbury would resemble a "microcosm of Glastonbury", the heavens promptly opened, Wet Wet Wet re-formed and I began to fear the worst.

KingB took to the stage with a plaintive rendition of Let the Good Times Roll early on Friday evening to a crowd numbering hundreds rather than thousands, and despite the fairground atmosphere, the event felt more like a wedding party than Woodstock.

Will Young at the festival But then the James Taylor Quartet (I counted seven) launched into a Hammond organ-driven set, and by the time everyone was singing along to the theme from Starsky and Hutch, the crowd was swelling. When Jools Holland wandered on, the party was in full swing. You can't go wrong with Holland's frenetic big band take on everything from blues to reggae and funk, punctuated with solos from each member of his orchestra, and the talents of vocalist Sam Brown and the superb Ruby Turner.

The country set turned out in force on Saturday, donning free ponchos. The rigid schedule -- bands were whisked offstage sharply after their allotted hour -- worked against Hothouse Flowers, whose set was marred by sound system problems. An injection of African rhythm into Don't Go had the crowd on their feet, but lead singer Liam O'Maonlai had barely got into his stride before the plug was pulled and the Will Young fan club surged for the front.

Will Young is maturing fast as an artist, to judge by this inevitably brief showcase set. Although short on songs, he turned the charm dial up to 11, donning a T-shirt borrowed from local drama group Shed to the audience's delight.

The highlight was a surprisingly soulful cover of Outkast's Hey Ya. A version of Paul McCartney's My Love was less successful, but Light My Fire, Friday's Child and Leave Right Now showed off a voice stronger than expected, and less cluttered with the mannerisms that characterised his Pop Idol performances.

If Will Young charmed the crowd, Blondie blew them away with a quickfire gallop through Atomic, Dreaming and Hanging on the Telephone before drawing breath. As for Debbie Harry at 59, if Carlsberg made grandmothers ...

PHILLIP LAMPHEE