Daily Echo:

Daily Echo:

Daily Echo:

Daily Echo:

MORE than 40,000 music lovers partied on Southampton Common this weekend to star artists including Sean Paul, Pete Tong and Sean McGowan.

Saturday brought blazing sunshine and Sunday brought rain but the crowds turned out in huge numbers for the yearly event.

Revellers donned a huge variety of colourful outfits and hastily threw on ponchos when the rain came.

Common People curator Rob da Bank has paid tribute to the resilience of those who refused to be scared away by the Manchester terror attack.

He told the Daily Echo: “Our focus even more than ever has been on making sure everyone has a great time in a safe way, following the advice of the police and security. 

“The crazy thing is that out of tens of thousands of people, we had one refund request. That’s a tribute to the British public really. People haven’t been scared, they have still kept coming.”

WATCH: The video below features section of performances by Faithless, Pete Tong, Groove Armada and Sean Paul

King of the dancehall Sean Paul brought the curtain down on a spectacular two day festival last night without the usual firework finale.

Highlights included DJing legend Pete Tong playing Ibiza anthems backed by a 65 piece orchestra in his first festival appearance and a storming set from Brit winner Tom Odell which included a mass singalong to his hit Another Love.

A host of hotly tipped local acts, including Sean McGowan, The Novatones and Signals, had their chance on the main stage. 

The victims of the atrocities were in the forefront of artists minds as they took to the stage.

Singer songwriter Amy Macdonald said: “I think nutters like that want to affect everyone’s way of life, so you have to carry on and do your thing. It’s great people are coming to things like this, not letting it change them and the way they live their lives.”

Armed police were patrolling entrances to the event, but revellers remained defiant. 

Rick Hunt, 46, from Bursledon was among the crowd. He said: “We did chat about whether anyone would stay home because of Manchester. I never thought twice about not going though. I know it’s a cliche but you can’t give in to terrorism.”

Sarah Martin, 35, from Upper Shirley, was partying with friends: “You can’t be scared, can you? You’ve got to get on with your life and have a good time.”

Angie Dawson, 37, from Hedge End, added: “If you don’t do anything like this, you’ll never do anything.

"You can’t let these people get to you, you’ve got to go out and live your life.”

Photos by Daily Echo photographer Chris Moorhouse.