THREE exclusive headline performances - Iron Maiden on Friday, The Pixies on Saturday, Foo Fighters on Sunday - lead the bill for the Carling Weekend: Leeds Festival at Bramham Park from August 26 to 28.

British metal veterans Iron Maiden will be doing only two festival performances this summer, the second being a Sunday show at the Carling Weekend's sister festival at Reading, and they will not play any further festivals for at least a year after.

The Pixies first headlined Reading 15 years ago and, following their successful re-formation last year, the cult American four-piece will play Leeds and Reading as their only British festival dates, and indeed their only British shows, this year.

Fellow Americans Foo Fighters, led by Nirvana's Dave Grohl have picked Leeds and Reading for their only English festival shows this summer.

If this trio represents the Anglo-American rock gentry, then there are plenty of upstarts to whet the lips, none more so than Brandon Flowers' The Killers, whose debut album Hot Fuss has taken up residency at the top of the charts for much of 2005. They play the Saturday main stage bill in Leeds and Reading on Friday in their only English festival appearances.

There will be exclusive main-stage shows too by the neo-Conservatives' hate figure, Marilyn Manson, and American alternative rock stalwarts Incubus on Friday; Queens Of The Stone Age, The Coral, Elbow on Saturday; and Kings Of Leon on Sunday.

Festival favourite Iggy Pop returns on Friday's bill, this time with his re-formed, ever-inspirational band The Stooges; Razorlight, winners of the Q Award and NME Award for Best New Band last year with their Up All Night album, are booked for Sunday, and so too are Manchester's rock'n'roll survivors, The Charlatans, fully 15 summers on from their debut number one album, Some Friendly. Arizona's Jimmy Eat World play that day too.

The talking point on the NME/Radio One Stage will be the Sunday appearance of the drug-troubled former Libertine Pete Doherty with his new band Babyshambles. Also on Sunday, Suede fans will cherish the chance to see the debut festival appearance of Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler's new project, The Tears, while Canadian psychedelic flavour of the month, Arcade Fire, will look to justify the hype surrounding their album Funeral.

Bloc Party and The Futureheads are fashionable names for Friday; Kasabian and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club for Saturday.

Weekend tickets, with camping and parking, cost £125 plus booking fee on 0870 060 3775 or www.meanfiddler.com, www.leedsfestival.com or www.seetickets.com

Updated: 08:54 Friday, March 25, 2005