IT COULD be the best pop festival in Britain — and not just according to those who live north of the border.

Last year, bands who played T In The Park said the atmosphere was better than Glastonbury and, this year, not one of the big-name acts left the stage without gushing about their trip to Perthshire. The Embrace frontman Danny McNamara said it was his favourite show of the summer and an overcome Joss Stone jumped in among the crowd to shake hands with fans.

Tom Chaplin, the Keane singer, came close to tears when the crowd drowned him out during Somewhere Only We Know and even Mike Skinner, The Streets, ended up applauding an audience who had threatened to bottle him off at the start of his set.

It is hard to say what T In The Park has that other festivals do not, although exclusivity (12 years on, it is still Scotland’s only big pop festival), an abundance of alcohol and — last weekend — scorching sunshine, all play a part.

Vastly expanded in recent years — 140,000 passed through the gates over two days — T has retained a feel-good factor without the unpleasant whiff of big business or a parade of celebrities in unsuitable outfits keen to be caught on camera.

For those in search of the sound of old Scotland, there was a ceilidh tent, although it wasn’t quite as quaint as the name suggests. One act, Pipedreams, played rowdy bagpipe-rock, were fronted by a singer who wore a bleached denim skirt and attracted an audience of wildly drunk women.

The new sound of Scotland, meanwhile, was a toss-up between the adorably odd Aberfeldy and electro-rockers El Presidente. The latter just took top prize, thanks largely to frontman Dante Gizzi, whose bright orange suit and glorious vocals that were part Jake Shears, part Robert Plant made him a sure bet for the main stage next year. Saturday’s only disappointments were Dizzee Rascal, who few of the crowd could understand, and The Streets, who began badly (and late), but worked hard to win fans back. The highlights were Keane’s anthemic, keyboard rock, The Coral’s jaunty pop and The Killers’ catchy indie-synth songs.

Surprisingly, in terms of singalong potential — as essential a quality at T as being able to drink a bottle of Buckfast and stay standing — it was The Killers who had the edge.

The dapper Brandon Flowers could well be Britain’s most wanted pop star by the end of festival season.

A guest appearance with an excellent New Order on Crystal, a duet originally planned for Glastonbury but put off until T, should cement the Las Vegas singer’s credibility and was definitely the day’s most memorable moment.