The things I do for you, dear reader. Last Saturday night I was standing in an increasingly muddy field in Preston as Geordie superstar Sting performed in front of somewhere in the region of 30,000 people (it seemed a lot more). This in spite of the fact that I’ve never much cared for the music of Geordie superstar Sting, either as a member of The Police or as a solo act.

Nor, for that matter, have I ever been particularly keen on standing in fields surrounded by music fans taking chances with the food on offer (my nephew spent the night throwing up after a dubious burger) or peeing into urinals shaped like anti-tank devices.

Still, at some point in the proceedings, possibly as Sting encouraged the audience to sing “Ey-yo” for the 1500th time (that’s maybe a slight exaggeration), and probably after I stopped speculating how they would empty said urinals on Monday morning, I did get to thinking about how brilliant a vehicle for brand promotion is the annual Radio 2 in the Park weekend festival.

The fact that an estimated 60,000 plus people descended on Moor Park near the Deepdale Stadium in Preston last weekend probably says more about audience loyalty than the fact that a lot of people quite like Sting (though these two things are not necessarily mutually exclusive).

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The fact is Radio 2 is still the country’s most popular radio station. You might not get that impression every time the Daily Mail gleefully reports that the latest listening figures have taken a dip, but it’s true.

And to watch a crowd of Radio 2 listeners pogoing furiously to Gala’s nineties Eurodance banger Freed From Desire urged on by Jo Whiley at the DJ stage was testament to that popularity.

But to experience Radio 2 in the Park in the park itself was also to see how adroit the station is at promoting itself on the radio and in person.

Throughout the weekend there was as much cheerleading from the stage for the station’s DJs as there was for the musical acts who took to the stage (even though the latter were doing most of the heavy lifting).

And so before Sting appeared whispering Bob Harris and Dermot O’Leary came out to pay tribute to the late Steve Wright. And before that Garry Davis even took to the main stage to play a special Sounds of the 80s DJ set. The fact that he pressed the wrong button and started playing Erasure’s A Little Respect twice in a row didn’t spoil the mood. Well, it is a great song.

Earlier in the day Rylan even joined Pixie Lott onstage to duet on Cry Me Out. In short, there was never much chance to forget who was putting this weekend on Despite my Sting-and-outdoors concert allergies I have to say I rather enjoyed myself.

The festival was very Radio 2The festival was very Radio 2 (Image: free)

I got to hear Travis singing Aztec Camera’s Somewhere in My Heart, Shaznay Lewis singing George Michael’s Freedom, Kim Wilde overcoming sound problems to nail Kids in America. And absolutely everyone in the park singing along to Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars. That said, Sugababes turned out to be the real highlight of the Saturday. (There was also a lot of love for Craig David.)

Driving around on Sunday morning and afternoon, experiencing the second day of the festival via the radio, there was - perhaps inevitably - even more of an emphasis on the Radio 2ness of the event, all filtered through the DJs onsite. That said, it was pretty clear that everyone from Scott Mills to Michael Ball were all indulging in a form of wish-fulfilment in trying to pretend the incessant rain wasn’t having an effect. Messages on social media suggested otherwise.

That said, there were still a huge number of people present for headliners Pet Shop Boys on Sunday night. If the departure of Ken Bruce to Greatest Hits Radio didn’t derail Radio 2 then what chance did the weather have?

Over on Radio 4 Loose Ends came from Glasgow on Saturday (repeated on Thursday). At one point Ian Rankin was being asked about the future of Scotland’s favourite policeman John Rebus and his own writing future.

“There’s a retirement date for police officers, but not for writers,” Loose Ends presenter Clive Anderson reminded Rankin. “Are you going to keep going forever or have you got an ambition to stop and say, ‘I’ve written enough now?’”

The answer might be bad news for Rebus fans.

“If my wife has anything to do with it I’m going to slow down drastically,” Rankin admitted. “While we’ve got the use of our legs and knees and we have still got our brains she says let’s go and do some travelling. And she keeps, behind my back, booking more and more holidays, giving me less and less time to write.”

That said, there’s a new Rebus book out in October.

Listen Out For: A Night at the Musicals, Radio Scotland, Sunday, 7.30am

Billy Differ concludes his look at the Scottish jukebox musical Sunshine on Leith. Part one is available on BBC Sounds now. I can’t watch the film version because Jane Horrocks looks so much like my late wife in it.