Battle of the backstage egos

Ever keen to watch her figure, she did not, however, sample any of the food put out for the celebrities, which included lobster, caviar, doughnuts and Ben & Jerry's ice-cream.

The Beckhams, who were there with their manager SIMON FULLER, were the only stars to be surrounded by bodyguards while they were inside the food tent - they had two as well as two lackeys - but their entourage was relatively small compared with that of SNOOP DOGG. He had no fewer than 15 muscly minders.

SIR ELTON JOHN, who flew to perform in Dublin after completing his set, had a mere five bodyguards with him, but they took their duties seriously enough to be standing outside as he used the super-plush mahogany portable toilets.

A surly ROBBIE WILLIAMS used his two minders to keep away autograph hunters. Everyone was agreed that the singer, charm personified on stage, was the biggest grouch behind the scenes. He paced up and down outside his dressing room to make sure all eyes were on him but snarled as anyone came near him.

He turned on the charm, however, while being interviewed by the BBC's FEARNE COTTON. She blushed as he told her: 'My name's Robbie Williams. I'm single. I hear you're newly single. Why don't we get it on?'

She replied: 'Can we save this for when the cameras are off?' But he continued: 'Make Poverty History and Get Robbie Laid - they're the two messages we've got today.'

Although comic PETER KAY is not known to be a big drinker, barmen credited their cocktails for his stumbling and rather slurred version of (Is This The Way To) Amarillo which he sang three times before introducing The Who.

BRAD PITT, on stage for all of two minutes, was furious that he did not have his own dressing room and RICHARD CURTIS, the director who heads the Make Poverty History campaign, had to vacate his for the actor.

The room was just one down from that of COLDPLAY and Pitt happily caught up with his former fiancee GWYNETH PALTROW, who is now married to the band's frontman CHRIS MARTIN. He appeared particularly entranced by the couple's baby APPLE, leading to further speculation that he is hoping to start a family with ANGELINA JOLIE, who was at the Cornwall Live8 concert with her adopted son MADDOX.

BOB GELDOF was also accompanied by his three daughters FIFI, 21, PEACHES, 16, and PIXIE, 14, who spent the afternoon chatting to their father's famous friends. Sources say Peaches was close to tears when looking at a book of pictures from the first Live Aid when she came across one of her father and mother PAULA YATES.

Despite running the event, Geldof managed to offend at least one person. Fellow organiser MIDGE URE was said to be furious that Bob had refused to allow him to perform - but then appeared himself singing the Boomtown Rats song I Don't Like Mondays.

Ure was heard muttering furiously: 'Oh God, what a tart he is,' when he saw Geldof singing on the video screens in the VIP room. Those who were at the original Live Aid remembered how Geldof had moved his performance around in the first show meaning that he, and not Ure, would perform in front of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

This time around, the closest the show came to a royal guest was LAURA PARKER BOWLES, daughter of the Duchess of Cornwall. She appeared to be making the most of her VIP status in the Hard Rock Cafe hospitality tent. Most obscure request of the day came from Madonna, who said she would drink only Kabbalah water - which she credits with getting rid of her husband GUY RITCHIE'S verrucas. She still clearly has her finger on the pulse however, and grabbed comic RICKY GERVAIS to beg for a role in his new show.

Minutes after her powerful performance, she was practically dragged out of the backstage area by her husband who had a more than firm hold on her hand. But she made sure the other hand was free to pick up her A-list goodie bag, said to be worth £7,000, including jewellery and computer equipment.

B-listers such as THE KILLERS and KEANE got a cheaper £1,000 gift bag including a 3G Nokia phone and i-Pod, while dancers got a free Live8 T- shirt. MARIAH CAREY lived up to her reputation as a demanding diva by insisting on candles for her changing room. But despite being booed by much of the audience after her cloying performance, in which she plugged her new single, she astounded everyone by staying on for the grand finale.

Despite the wealth of celebrities present, the big topic backstage was the PINK FLOYD reunion.

NICK MASON revealed how the band 'eyeballed each other' as they prepared for their first gig in 24 years 'in a slightly alarming way' but compared the reunion to 'riding a bike'. DAVE GILMOUR, meanwhile, said it was 'a bit like sleeping with your ex-wife'. Both ruled out any further reunions.

There were plenty of faces backstage who did not appear to have a reason to be there, including JERRY HALL, It girl PARIS HILTON and actress SCARLETT JOHANSSON, who justified the gossip that she is seeing Pearl Harbor star JOSH HARTNETT as the pair spent most of the day kissing.

Not to mention KIMBERLEY STEWART, daughter of Rod, JEMIMA KHAN and FAYE DUNAWAY.

And there were even more who tried but failed to get in, including Celebrity Love Island 'star' PAUL DANAN and comic JIMMY CARR.

Back with the McCartneys, Sir Paul threw an unofficial aftershow party in the marquee adjoining his dressing room, where guests included GEORGE MICHAEL, Bob Geldof and TRAVIS.

Other celebs made their way to the Met Bar, right next to the park. Among the party animals were CAT DEELEY, PATRICK KIELTY, SARA COX and BORIS BECKER.

But the official party at the bar Elysium - which cost £100 a ticket - proved a damp squib. Only celebrities to show up were JUDE LAW and SIENNA MILLER, who had not even been to Live8.