Foals at Reading: from house parties to headliners in 10 years
In geographical terms, haven't had to travel far to reach the Reading festival site - the band are from Oxford, just 25 miles up the road. However, their journey to the has taken a decade of dedication, playing ever-more-energetic shows to ever-bigger crowds.
Now that Foals have reached the summit, let's look back over their history of thrilling Reading festival performances.
2006: First steps
Formed in 2005, Foals cut their teeth playing impromptu house party shows in their native Oxford and beyond throughout 2006 and early 2007. Wherever there were people, carpets and a bath full of dubious-tasting punch, they would play. As frontman Yannis Philippakis says in the video below, "I look back now and I can't believe that people let us into their house, because those places got trashed."
2007: Giddy up
Foals made their Reading festival debut in 2007, playing a Saturday afternoon slot on the second stage. As you can see from this photo, the band were still in house party mode, setting up as close to each other as possible. "It's the kind of performance that could have been designed by algorhythm [sic]," of their funky math-rock.
2008: Breaking into a gallop
With their debut album Antidotes having reached the Top 5, it was a more confident Foals that returned to rock the Reading tent in 2008. Yannis was even relaxed enough about their performance to enjoy a .
2010: Foals at a canter
After a year off, Foals returned to Reading in 2010 touting widescreen new album Total Love Forever. They were still only third on Sunday's NME/Radio 1 stage bill below Klaxons and We Are Scientists, but put in a colossal performance nonetheless. Arguably their 2010 Leeds set was even more eventful, with Yannis leaping into the crowd and clambering up the lighting rig.
2013: Joining the thoroughbreds
Foals finally made their Main Stage bow at Reading 2013. Despite describing it as a "harsh graduation from the tents" they managed to get the whole field jumping to newly minted classics like Inhaler. And of course they got to hang with Greg James and Jen Long in the treehouse.
Interview with Foals
Greg James and Jen Long talk to Foals in the Tree House at the Reading Festival
2015: Champion jockeys
Foals' 2015 album What Went Down cemented their status as one of Britain's best bands. They weren't originally named on the Reading 2015 bill, so when Yannis casually tweeted a picture of himself onsite on the Saturday morning of the festival, the excitement was palpable. Foals' six-song secret set on their old stomping ground of the NME/Radio 1 stage was the breathless highlight of the weekend, as you can see from this footage.
Foals
Highlights of Foals' set at Reading 2015
"It was awesome, it was feverish," Yannis told Newsbeat afterwards. The scene was set for Foals to finally headline the whole shebang this year.
2016: Reading royalty
Foals - A Knife In The Ocean (Reading + Leeds 2016)
Friday's headliners bring their epic sound to the Main Stage
