Cameo roles, stars, burger bars, a mini-manicure and massage parlour

Backstage:It was a mixture of hard work, attention to detail and a strict adherence to the timetable behind the scenes at the Oxegen festival.

We had the best of two views - the car was parked at the artists' check-in area, right behind the main Heineken bar and just down a dirt track from the rear entrance to the main stage.

From early afternoon to late at night, workers, artists, security people and many other gofers grafted to make sure that the event ran as smoothly as possible.

As Snow Patrol waved bye-bye to the extremely muddy crowd, the refrains of Chasing Cars, the show's laser beams and the illuminated Ferris wheel in the background blended together to form some kind of magic Oxegen moment, equal parts spectacular and poignant.

From this vantage point we could see very civil security guards occasionally escorting drunken men and women out through the gates.

We could see gardaí walk over to an inebriated lad, who was attempting to open the doors of a jeep; no heavy hands here, just firm advice and a finger pointed to the exit.

The bands at this stage were relaxing in their Portakabins, waiting to make an appearance in front of many thousands of people.

Over in the media/VIP area, there were more stars to be seen than in the skies.

The guest list was impressive; Michael Stipe and Helena Christensen parked themselves at a table outside the gourmet burger stand, the REM frontman genteel and kind enough to have more than a few photographs taken of him.

Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody, coming in immediately after his band's performance at the London leg of the Live Earth event, made a lightning appearance before heading onto the main stage.

Many bands were being interviewed by the on-site radio stations (notably 2FM, Phantom FM and Spin FM), which meant there was no shortage of rock stars parading up and down.

The thin guys from UK band The Horrors stalked the area for a while, and then American band Interpol strolled by.

Other guest list celebs included quite a smattering of actors - Stephen Rea, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Josh Hartnett and married couple Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins.

In the artists' compound yesterday, meanwhile, the likes of Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, members from goth-punk band My Chemical Romance and Sinead O'Connor were lounging around and making a lot of phone calls.

Whether any of them took advantage of the therapy treatment menu (courtesy of Nue Blue Eriu, and featuring such delights as instant eye lift reviving mask, bespoke massages and mini-manicures) is a matter of debate.

But we can confirm that Rufus Wainwright's fingernails looked pretty damned refined.