Being a keen music fan, I love Glastonbury Festival being shown on BBC television. Unfortunately I have never managed to go in person, but it's definitely on my bucket list.I thought I'd write a piece about my highlights this year's festival, as viewed from my armchair. So in no particular order...
Supergrass
The festival began with the welcome return of the indie band Supergrass on the Pyramid Stage. After a long lay off, they are back celebrating 30 years since their album I Should Coco became the fastest selling debut album in the UK. They are a band that combine superb music with a sense of fun, and all of these years later still retained that.
CMAT
The irrepressible force of nature that is CMAT. Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, a woman who has her own personal anachronism, is a joyous, funny and at times, heartbreakingly beautiful singer songwriter from Ireland. Her brand of country rock and pop with brilliantly observed lyrics is just wonderful. And she looks as good as she sounds,with a wonderful taste in outfits. I am a huge fan of her music. She is one of a number of LBGTQ+ musicians who are now very much mainstream and open about being queer. This performance saw her and her incredibly talented band take to the stage in blue pvc dresses and skirts (including the guys) adorned with yellow stars and € symbols, referencing her soon to be released third album Euro Country. She was as engaging and funny as ever, and brought a lot of joy to her performance. Her recent hit 'Take A Sexy Picture Of Me' is both funny and thought provoking and featured some of the dance moves which have gone viral this Summer. CMAT can have you sat on your sofa with tears in your eyes one moment and then be dancing around the living room like a crazy bitch, the next. Definitely my favourite of the moment.
Blossoms
I love Blossoms. Their melodic brand of indie pop is highly listenable and guaranteed to stick an earworm or two into your head. This was a great performance with a mix of songs from their career. I think their latest album Gary is their best yet, so I enjoyed seeing them perform songs from it. At one point they brought out a big box with a surprise present for the audience in it. And out popped the aforementioned CMAT, who features on a track on their latest album. They performed that song, I Like Your Look together.
Franz Ferdinand
The Scottish indie band were on fine form performing mostly old classics, but also a few new songs. Always very good. They also had the first of two guest appearances by a Time Lord. Dr Who appeared in the guise of Peter Capaldi, who guested on vocals on the bands biggest hit, Take Me Out. It was a great performance from a great band.
Jade
I must admit that girl band Little Mix were a guilty pleasure of mine. So I'm delighted to see Jade having so much success as a solo artist. Her debut album is brilliant and her live set on the Woodsies stage didn't disappoint. And it featured our time travelling friend Dr Who again, with Ncuti Gatwa introducing Miss Jade to the stage. Stand out songs are her debut single Angel Of My Life which brilliantly manages to be both euphoric ballad and dance floor banger at the same time, and the follow up single Fantasy which I love for it's lyrics about sexual empowerment and embracing one's kinks. She also took a moment to say TRANSPHOBIA FUCK YOU!! during the song F.U.F.N . It was a wonderful performance and definitely a highlight of the festival.
Beabadoobee
Beabadoobee is a singer/songwriter who played a wonderful set of songs that evoked the sounds of the shoegaze genre along with influences such as Pixies, Throwing Muses, and Belly. I enjoyed it immensely. She's super cute too.
Wunderhorse
An indie band formed in Newquay, Cornwall. Very intense and punk influenced, they delivered an incendiary performance full of power and passion, topped off by their wonderful recent single The Rope. Absolutely brilliant.
John Fogerty
This was joyous. After being in legal dispute with his former record label boss and the company that eventually purchased the rights to his songs from them, John Fogerty recently bought back the rights to his Creedence Clearwater Revival songs. As a result of the legal dispute he had refused to play these songs. So now he has them back. And he wants to play them as often as he can. Wonderful songs like Up Around The Bend, Proud Mary, Bad Moon Rising, Run Through The Jungle and Have You Ever Seen The Rain. He sounded great playing with a band featuring his two sons, and his joy at being able to play these songs again was written all over his face. This was a true legend playing legendary songs and bringing happiness to all who heard them.
Charli XCX
Charli XCX delivered the biggest album of 2024 in the form of the dance album Brat, and it's following remixed version. Inspired by the underground rave scene where Charli first cut her teeth, this album was as much about the message as the music. Brat became more than an album title. It embodied and attitude and a life style. Being independent, hedonistic and confident and not compromising on what one wants. It definitely captured the imagination of so many. This was a unique performance. Just Charli on the stage with a screen that portrayed phrases and video footage. No band on display. This music was probably being played by files on a computer. There was probably miming taking place during some of the songs. But it didn't matter. Charli managed to hold your attention all on her own. It was so different to anything else I've seen at Glasto. No messing about with costume changes or other distractions. Just one performer on stage demanding your attention. And she got it. The audience was one of the biggest of the weekend and they were enthralled by her.
Gary Numan
The electronic music pioneer played at Glastonbury for the first time in his career. Having become a massive star in the late 1970s and early 1980s his career declined to being a cult act by the middle of the 80s. Then after being referenced as an icon by industrial music stars like Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, he changed tack and melded metal influences to his electronic sound to create his own industrial sound and he resurrected his career. With his 2012 album Splinter he was back in the big time. Also his early music being sampled and heard on big hits such as the Sugababes Freak Like Me and Basement Jaxx Where's Your Head At? further raised his profile again. This performance saw him combining his later industrial rock sound with his early electronic sound in fine style. He was wonderful. Songs from his later industrial period sat alongside early classics like Cars, Metal, M.E, Down In The Park and Are Friends Electric. In the early days he stood still at the mic stand with robotic detachment. Now he prowls around the stage and is much more engaging and animated. And two of his daughters came onstage to perform songs and they were wonderful too. It was a superb set from a fantastic musician.
Neil Young And The Chrome Hearts
The headliner on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday was the legendary Neil Young with his latest backing band the Chrome Hearts. I have been lucky enough to see Neil Young live in the flesh on four occasions. But I didn't expect to see this set. Neil Young didn't give permission for the live broadcast of his performance until the eleventh hour. I'm very glad he relented. He was as fantastic as ever, and played a fantastic set. I especially loved the amazing rendition of Rocking In The Free World. At 79 years old, Neil Young still rocks and sounds as good as ever. And long may he continue to do so.
Amyl And The Sniffers
Good old Australian punky rock and roll from this female fronted band. They really are a wonderful band. They performed an energetic set, full of attitude. I loved them.
Greentea Peng
A wonderful set of soul, dub and psychedelic r&b mostly drawn from her brilliant album, 'Tell Dem It's Sunny ' I love her voice and really enjoyed this set.
Black Uhuru
I was really looking forward to seeing Black Uhuru. I love reggae and they have always been my all time fave reggae band since they broke through in the UK in the early 1980s. Sensimilla, Red and Chill Out often get a spin on my turntable. They didn't disappoint. Wonderful dub tinged reggae played by wonderful musicians.
Nova Twins
I love this band. Two gorgeous black girls, who wear the prettiest of outfits, playing a wonderful form of heavy rock that is almost impossible to pigeonhole. Bass driven music with elements of metal, grime,electronic and punk. Amy Love and Georgia South are incredible musicians who have refused to conform to the stereotypes of what young black female artists are supposed to be, and have stuck to their own gameplan, creating something unique and wonderful. This performance on the Woodsies stage was wonderful. Heavy and powerful and hard hitting. To see them in full flow is a wonderful thing. And of course they looked super cute in gorgeous outfits that they designed and made themselves.
Joy Crooks
I love Joy Crooks. Her mixed race background (Irish and Bangladeshi) and upbringing in South London have given her a wonderful melting pot of sounds and influences to dip into, and she has produced a wonderful blend of neo soul that is quite wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed her set.
Rod Stewart
The Sunday teatime (16.00hrs) slot at Glastonbury is reserved for an act considered a legend. And this year that legend was Rod Stewart. Definitely someone deserving of the description. There had been some doubt as to whether he would be able to perform as he was recovering from flu, but he made it. At first it did seem as if his voice had suffered. For the first four songs he sounded flat. However on the fifth song, The First Cut Is The Deepest, suddenly that old magic appeared. That wonderful raspy voice was back. And it just got better. His special guests included Simply Red's Mick Hucknall and his old friend and former band mate Ronnie Wood. Also his friend Lulu. Ronnie and Lulu were brilliant on Hot Legs. Rod truly stepped up and justified himself as a true legend.
Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo is an artist that I knew of, without really paying much attention to. Her music is pop, and seems very orientated to the teen female market. And indeed this seemed to be borne out by the number of young teenager girls in the front rows of the crowd, who clearly hung on every word and sang each of them along with Olivia. What can I say? I was impressed by Olivia Rodrigo. Her songs were great pop with some nice ballads. She reminds a little of Avril Levigne but with less punk and more pop. She looked amazing, had a great voice and she knew how to work the crowd. Her all female backing band were very good too. Her choice of special guest was somewhat surprising, but she said he was her favourite British singer/songwriter. And he's probably my favourite singer/songwriter too. Robert Smith from The Cure. They performed two of The Cure's more poppy hits, It's Friday I'm In Love and the wonderful Just Like Heaven. It was wonderful to see them performing together, although slightly strange, given that The Cure's latest album is about the sense of loss that one feels as they move into the last years of their life, and Olivia is a lifetime away from such things. Much kudos for her taste in music. I really didn't think I was going to enjoy her performance as much as I did. She was wonderful.
The 1975
I can't say I'm a big fan of The 1975, but I do like some of their songs. I think that their front man Matty Healy can be a bit (very?) pretentious at times. Indeed he came across like that during this performance. Trying to come across as an edgy living on the edge rock star, nursing a half drunk pint of Guinness and chain smoking as he staggered about as if slightly drunk. But he was no Shane McGowan or Keith Richards as he didn't once take a swig from it, and seemed dramatically more sober during the second part of the show. He made sweeping statements about being the greatest poet of his generation (He isn't) . Halfway through the set, the band left the stage and the writing on the backdrop flashed the message MATTY IS CHANGING HIS TROUSERS. As I said, pretentious. So why am I writing about this performance in my Glastonbury Highlights post? Well the band sound great. And despite his faults, Matty Healy is a great singer. And The 1975 have some wonderful pop songs. Tuneful, catchy and danceable. Songs like Chocolate, Robbers, The Sound, She's American, Give Yourself A Try and It's Not Living(If It's Not With You) are wonderful. So on balance I enjoyed seeing them, just for the music.
The Prodigy
The noise makers. The uncompromising and incendiary ravers. Playing Glastonbury for the fourth time and headlining the Other Stage in emotional circumstances. As front man Maxim said, they should have played Glastonbury five times. But they had to pull out the 2019 festival when fellow front man Keith Flint tragically died a few months before. The Prodigy make an incredible sound. Rave music infused with punk and hard rock. It was sad seeing them without Keith, who along with Maxim had given the band it's punk edge and visual image. They had the good sense to play a remixed version of Keith's signature tune Firestarter, without vocals but with images of the great man on the screen behind the band. On Breathe, Maxim sang his part and duetted with a recording of Keith. On Omen, Maxim sang both his and Keith's lines. It was a great performance and managed to keep Keith's spirit and not be weighed down by his loss. That is in no small part, down to Maxim stepping up to become the bands sole front man and doing a superb job. The core of the band's music comes from the beating heart of The Prodigy, Liam Howlett on the keyboards and synths and as ever he created the driving technology beats and a maelstrom of glorious noise. It was a fabulous ending to a wonderful festival.
So there we have my personal take on this year's Glastonbury Festival. This festival takes it's traditional every five year break with it's so called Fallow Year in 2026, but I'm sure it will be back better than ever in 2027.
One point I have to mention is the number of acts who shouted out for the end of the genocide in Gaza, and for freedom for Palestine. These actions have been condemned by the UK Government and by much of the right wing press. Well from the amount of Palestinian flags flying in the crowd, and the clearly visible level of support for Palestine from festival goers and artists alike, I think it's becoming clear that our government is in imminent danger of being found to be on the wrong side of history.
I have nothing but praise for those who stand up and shout for the end of a genocide and for the creation of a homeland for an oppressed people.
And I have nothing but contempt for the UK government that is complicit in arming the perpetrators of a genocide and is allowing it to happen.
It is disgusting to see a government trying to prevent freedom of thoughts, speech and protest in this way.
Along with many at the Glastonbury Festival, I stand for
An immediate end to the genocide in Gaza.
The return of all Israeli hostages back to their families.
The creation of the free state of Palestine.
A guarantee of peace and security for Israel.
An end to antisemitism and antizionism.
Peace to prevail in the Middle East.
I hope that by the next Glastonbury Festival, we might be some way forward to achieving that.
Glastonbury 2027. Bring It On!!
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