'Pure dead brilliant' 6Music Festival gets Glasgow seal of approval

It was a weekend that defied stereotype, lived up to reputation and surpassed expectation. The sun shone on Glasgow, the city’s music scene came to life as more than 70 acts turned in show stopping performances. It was, pure dead brilliant - that’s a phrase I heard repeatedly over the weekend, a very Glaswegian way to describe something really great. The city outstretched its arms, welcomed us and helped us lay on a live music extravaganza. Yes, there were headline grabbing headline sets by the likes of Depeche Mode and The Jesus and Mary Chain but there were also wonderful daytime events which included a very special acoustic set from Edwyn Collins and an explosive late night rave with Simian Mobile Disco.

Glasgow takes pride in its music heritage. Quite rightly. It’s a city that has spawned legendary musicians, artists and comedians. In fact, the only other time I’ve been to Glasgow I shared a lift with the excellent comic, Kevin Bridges. The evening was knocking on and I laid it on thick how much I loved him. Really thick. I embarrassingly quoted a couple of his gags back at him, repeatedly told him that he was incredible and one of the funniest human beings’ on the planet. He politely posed for a selfie, after which I let him go and as we went our separate ways, I clutched his hand and sincerely said, "Cheers Jeff". Wrong Bridges.

Meanwhile, back to now, take either Glasgow or Kingston bridge over the Clyde from the city centre and you are a stone’s throw from one of the five venues that became home to 6 Music for three extraordinary days and nights.

Future Islands performed first on Friday and of course they did THAT song and frontman Sam did THAT dance.

He's a man whose hips become possessed on stage, in stark contrast to Russell Mael from Sparks who was no less entertaining but was more like the organ player at a funeral. Sparks segued neatly into headliners Goldfrapp who were spectacular. It was Friday night and it belonged to Goldfrapp.

Across town, at the famous Barrowland Ballroom, Ride and The Jesus and Mary Chain pushed their wah wah pedals to the metal and their reverb apparently reached space. An early start on Saturday to present the Breakfast Show meant that reverb was still ricocheting through my skull at 7am. I was joined by the fabulous Glaswegian singer songwriter, Emma Pollock. Emma’s a great Glasgow advocate who turned in a beautiful lunchtime set at our daytime venue, the Tramway.

Other acts on the daytime bill over the weekend included: mega creative Anna Meredith; Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite, top novelist Ian Rankin and the always shy and retiring John Lydon - whose warm up came courtesy of a feel-good funk and soul set by superstar DJ, Craig Charles.

One of the weekend’s must see buzz bands were the Lemon Twigs. Boy, did they have some hype to live up to. They played at St Luke’s, a former church, around the corner and across the road from the Barrowlands.

They nailed it and played an especially theatrical version of their hit single, I Wanna Prove To You. They definitely did, in spades. From Timbuktu’s joyous Songhoy Blues and the uber cool Thundercat to the electronic sorcery of Bonobo, Glasgow fizzed to amazing beats of all flavours.

From the window of the BBC studio’s at Pacific Quay on Sunday morning, I watched the sun dance on the Clyde, which helped provide a necessary zest for an afternoon at the Tramway. The Wedding Present cleared hazy heads and Father John Misty (with his accompanying pianist) turned in a beautiful, stunning, half hour festival ‘moment’. As the Tramway crowd dispersed, the Academy and Barrowland’s filled to capacity once more. Honey voiced Julia Jacklin and Chicago’s Whitney were far more than Sunday night support acts - they were hot tickets in their own right. I DJ'd before local heroes Belle and Sebastian.

From the decks on the balcony of the Academy, every song I played was a step closer to what became a fantastic home-town love-in. The DJ charged with firing up the Barrowlands was the mighty James Lavelle. Of course he was awesome but then, you need ‘awesome’ to bring on a band who regularly play to crowds of more than 50,000. Depeche Mode electrified the old ball room. Its famous sprung dance floor was instantly in full effect. Fans sang every song back at Dave Gahan who lapped up the fully charged atmosphere.

He strutted, shimmied and soaked up every sweat drenched moment in a black leather waistcoat with an air of Freddie Mercury’s flamboyance. The British electronic pioneers played an off-the-scale set of 12 songs - a mix of old favourites and future classic’s from their new album Spirit. By 10.30pm the show was over but for a lucky 2000 of us, the memory of seeing one of the UK’s best band’s in such intimate surroundings will last forever.

Pure. Dead. Brilliant.

Chris Hawkins is a presenter on BBC 6 Music.

• Follow @BBC6Music on Twitter.
• Listen to Chris Hawkins' 6Music Festival Highlights show.
• See more pictures and performances from Glasgow on the 6Music Festival website.
• Watch selected performnces from the festival on BBCiPlayer.
• 'Highlights, Part 2' will be broadcast on BBC Two Scotland at 11.05pm on Friday 31 March.
• Highlights from Depeche Mode's headline set will be broadcast on BBC Four at 10pm on Friday 7 April.