ABOUT 40,000 music lovers descended on Tyneside last night for the climax of the Evolution Festival.

Kate Nash, Duffy and The Streets were among the top names playing the event, the region's biggest music festival, which was held on the banks of the Tyne in Newcastle and Gateshead.

Duffy wowed the crowds, belting out hits including Mercy and Warwick Avenue.

After throwing her shoes into the crowd, she told fans: "They were my favourite shoes and I have to walk home to Wales tonight."

Louise Appleby, 36, from Greenside, west of Gateshead, said: "Duffy was absolutely brilliant. She sounded perfect. I just wish I could have been a bit closer to get those shoes."

Things didn't go so well for promising Cramlington-based Indie band Ramsays, though.

Their set was cut-short during their fourth song.

Sound engineer David Franklin said: "I had to pull it for health and safety reasons. People were getting crushed at the barriers, especially young girls.

"I was enjoying it at the time.

They were a very good band and had the crowd in the palm of their hand. That was the problem."

Evolution required tickets for the first time this year and sold out ten days in advance.