This, sports fans, is what a coronation looks like. A year ago, Florence Welch and her band were on the smallest stage here and no one but The Irish Timeswas beating a drum on her behalf - then again, there were few there to see her.

Indeed, her rise has been so sudden that, just a few short weeks ago, Oxegen bookers inexplicably stuck her in the smallest tent in Punchestown outside of the campsite.

No such mistakes were made today. The crowds were jam-packed into the Electric Arena long before Welch started with

Lungs

, the title track from the album of the season. You wondered if all other stages were suddenly a little empty, such was the crush here.

Welch’s pop may be off-kilter and kooky but that’s how we want our music grilled right now. With every passing

Dog Days Are Over

or

Drumming Song

or

My Boy Builds Coffins

or

Kiss With A Fist

, Welch looks more and more like EP09’s most regal queenpin.

JC