Their reputation as rock’s biggest “caners” precedes them. But police have warned music’s hardest-living stars that they face a “zero-tolerance” drugs policy at the V Festival this weekend.

Amy Winehouse has pulled out of the concerts in Essex and Staffordshire to complete her rehabilitation from drink and drug problems. She collapsed last week after taking a cocktail of heroin, Ecstasy, alcohol and the horse tranquilliser ketamine.

Pete Doherty and his band, Baby-shambles, will be one of the biggest draws for the event’s expected audience of 130,000, although it may be one of his last shows before he is sentenced for possession of Class A drugs.

Winehouse has been replaced by the Happy Mondays, the Manchester band propelled through the 1990s by cocaine, Ecstasy, acid and amphetamines. Shaun Ryder, the band’s frontman, is making a comeback after kicking a 20-year methadone addiction. He will share a bill with the Scottish rockers Primal Scream, whose frontman, Bobby Gillespie, used to be an enthusiastic exponent of psychedelic drugs and other substances.

Pride of place goes to Iggy Pop, 60, and his reformed band, the Stooges. Pop’s heroin addiction fuelled outrageous performances, usually culminating in self-mutilation and indecent exposure. In that company Lily Allen, who returns after cancelling a series of concerts citing a sore throat, appears a poster girl for mundane living.

Normally the V Festival is seen as a triumph for corporate branding over rock’s wilder excesses. But the decision to present a more “edgy” lineup has attracted police attention.

Superintendent Tim Spokes, of Essex Police, in charge of the Chelmsford site, said: “We have sniffer dogs who will patrol the site, including behind the stage and in artist back-stage areas. We hope to operate a crime-free event as far as possible.” There were 87 arrests at last year’s Chelmsford event.

The V bill includes Kasabian, the Leicester rockers, Sinéad O’Connor and Glenn Tilbrook, the veteran Squeeze songwriter celebrating 33 years on the rock treadmill. He sympathises with today’s flaky stars.

He told The Times: “That first flush of fame is like being put in a spin-dryer. It is like everything and nothing you ever wanted. Very few performers are in control of their career.”

The co-writer of the classic hits Cool for Cats and Up the Junction admitted that he had flirted with heroin. “It was a way of levelling out all that pressure,” he said. “It was a ridiculous thing to do. But very few people learn from others’ experiences.” Tilbrook said that Doherty and other rock stars were seduced by the “elegantly wasted” legend of Keith Richards. He said: “There was a romantic myth about heroin. But Doherty is a talented guy who needs to shape out. At the moment he is an idiot.”

The absence of Winehouse will be the biggest disappointment for fans. She checked into the £10,000-a-week Causeway treatment centre in Essex this week. The singer is reported to have undergone a brain scan in London. Her spokeswoman said: “Amy is putting touring commitments on hold to address her health issues.”

Rockers off the rails

Robbie Williams reportedly worked his way through 20 cans of Red Bull, 60 Silk Cuts and 30 espressos the day before rehab

Britney Spears discharged herself 24 hours after going into rehab in Antigua and shaved off all her hair. She was then admitted to a treatment facility in Malibu

The View were given a leg up by Pete Doherty. Kyle Falconer, the Dundee rockers’ vocalist, was convicted of cocaine possession the day after winning NME award

Lily Allen was briefly an Ecstasy dealer in Ibiza as a teenager. An altercation with a photographer has imperilled her visa to the US

Kate Nash thinks drugs are stupid. The latest indie chart-topper says: “We ate a whole tub of Ben & Jerry’s each, so we’re all a bit high on sugar”

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