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Balado, Kinross Jarvis Cocker once famously made headlines by wiggling his bum in front of Michael Jackson at the Brit awards, and on Sunday night he courted tabloid infamy again by pretending to wipe his posterior with the last edition of News of the World at T in the Park. “That’s all this is good for,” he sneered during Pulp’s triumphant set. So trusted is its promise of a party of epic proportions, the UK’s second biggest music festival has become a rite of passage for young Scots and a ritual for older ones that sells out long before the lineup is announced. A threatened deluge for the most part held off – at least until the final day – and sunshine occasionally split the clouds. This was a vintage year for T in the Park. The lineup boasted such an embarrassment of headliners that Beyoncé had to play second fiddle to Coldplay on Saturday night. Queen B – at her second and final UK festival appearance this summer – offered a more compact, hour-long version of her glorious Glastonbury set, and arguably bettered it. From the high-impact opener of Crazy in Love to a breathless Destiny’s Child medley, she was a class apart. Her undeniable star quality rubbed off on a sea of girls perched on friends’ shoulders during Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), their left hands twisting in the air as the sun eased over the hills behind them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were lulls in a bill diluted by the necessity to try and offer something for everyone. Friendly Fires’ full-throttle indie raving felt like natural festival fare; less so lightweight turns from popsters Ke$ha and the Saturdays. As ever there were a smattering of heritage acts who brought some reliable fun. The party-starting mood of Tom Jones on Friday was captured by the simultaneously hilarious and mortifying sight of a chubby bloke doing a striptease in the mud to You Can Leave Your Hat On. Debbie Harry did an admirable job of stoking the atmosphere as the heavens opened during Blondie’s Sunday afternoon greatest-hits set. After Pulp’s memorable return to the stage in Scotland, it was left to Foo Fighters at the last to battle the worsening elements, and win, before the festival rounded off with a fireworks and lone-bagpiper finale. Rating: 4/5 T in the Park Pop and rock Pulp Jarvis Cocker Beyoncé Tom Jones Blondie Foo Fighters News of the World guardian.co.uk