Glastonbury was muddy marvellous

Whenever anyone goes on holiday - even if it is to the most culturally exciting place - the first question most people are asked on their return is: "so what was the weather like?"

You may have just seen all the Seven Wonders of the World but to some of your friends and colleagues this will matter far less than the deepness of your tan.

And so it is with Glastonbury.

It may be the world's biggest music festival and it may create a city built on sound for a whole weekend but for many people who go , it is the weather conditions - and most particularly that mud - that people really want to talk to them about afterwards.

And yes I also want to talk here about those weather conditions. And that is because I think the extremes that I saw at the weekend spoke volumes about Glastonbury - but also volumes about Britain as a whole.

And all of it good.

Those playfully extreme conditions meant that on Friday we were virtually sinking into the muddy mire but by Sunday it was a case of how could we avoid getting burnt to a crisp.

The best thing of all from that perspective is that it meant all the stall holders selling their wares at the event benefited - Mr Wellie man was in his element on Friday and much of Saturday but by Sunday Mr Sunglasses and Miss Sun Cream had smiles on their faces too as the conditions changed more dramatically than the music on the ever eclectic stages.

Having only been to Glastonbury twice, I had never experienced the serious mud before and I had privately thought it was all a bit exaggerated. It is not. It felt at times as though you were walking through quicksand and for every one solid(ish) step forward, there were two or three where you risked life, limb and wellie by plunging your foot on to a potentially watery grave.


And yet, despite the fact that this was all hard work, nobody moaned. We may all have been wet, muddy and a bit miserable at times, but the general spirit and almost gallows humour was a joy to behold. In true Glastonbury (and British) style the feeling was we had come here to party - we were all-in-it-together and we might as well just enjoy it.

It was quite inspiring to see.

And that all-in-it-together concept really was true. I was lucky enough to spend some time around the hospitality area but Glastonbury doesn't pander to anyone and I guarantee the mud in and around that area was as thick and as unappetising as anywhere else. I expect you would have to be Bono or Beyonce to have avoided all this - for 200,000 of the rest of us it was a genuine communal experience.

By the time the sun finally did emerge - and its first appearance on Saturday was greeted with roars, most of the bands would have been happy with - it felt as though a collective cloud had literally been lifted off us and from then on it was just fun in the sun.

So, yes it was all a big mud bath and it did rain far too much.

But it was still muddy marvellous.

Handing out my 'Glasto's

Long after the mud stains have disappeared from the clothes, tents and bodies of nearly 200,000 Glastonbury revellers, it is the quality of the music that will give people the best barometer of how good this year's fun in the (sometimes) sun really was.

There is no doubt that those bizarre weather conditions will still be fresh in the mind of the many people back in their homes and offices this week after their trek to Pilton, but at the end of the day it's the music that counts.

So, how good was it?

To answer that, I hereby present the Bath Chronicle 'Glastos' – my awards for the good, the bad and I suppose the muddy of the whole weekend …

Best performance: It has to be the queen of r 'n' b, Beyonce. The beauty of Glastonbury is that you go and see acts you would never dream of buying tickets for but something compelled me to watch Beyonce even though she's a million miles away from my own musical taste.
And I'm so glad I did.
She looked and sounded stunning and her stage show, her superb all-female band and just the general feel and quality of her performance put her in a difference league to everything else over the weekend.
And, despite the fact that she's been showered with awards and played many, many high profile concerts/events, there was a real sincerity about the way she talked about how happy she was to be there. She made you believe in her and her music. It was some show.

Best song: Fix You by Coldplay. This was an incredibly moving and beautifully staged moment at the end of Coldplay's stylish set where they had dared to play new, first-time material alongside the obvious crowd pleasers. Fix You is an amazingly emotional song and Chris Martin rung every note of passion out of it in a towering performance of the song. The delicious Viva La Vida wasn't far behind either. People were still collectively singing that an hour after Coldplay had left the arena which says it all.

The great but maybe not so great as expected award: U2. I'd secretly believed that U2 would absolutely take the festival by storm and my expectations for them were probably, therefore, unrealistically high.
They certainly turned in a strong and powerful set and it was wonderful to hear a classic old track like Out Of Control in among the hits but maybe because the rain was driving down throughout their performance and the mud was rising to the top of the wellies, the audience just didn't react in quite the ecstatic way I was expecting. And I think U2 sensed that.
It was a great show, don't get me wrong, but I had privately thought U2 would simply rip the place apart and no-one would be talking about any other set. It didn't quite work out that way sadly.

Unexpected treat: I would give this to a band called Two Door Cinema Club. They may have one of the silliest names in music but like many people I was totally wowed by their performance early on Friday morning on The Pyramid Stage. They were simply excellent.

Worst kept secret: Every year two special 'secret' guests appear on The Park Stage which is something of a hike from the main Pyramid arena. It is, therefore, rather a gamble about whether it's worth it. This year the 'secret' performance was announced on NME and everywhere else a few hours before and because it was Radiohead, thousands of people (like me) decided to walk through a sea of mud to see them.
I say 'see them' but the truth is the vast majority of us didn't get to do so because so many people wanted to see the, ahem, secret' show. Not only did I not see them but I couldn't hear them either when I eventually got there because the sound was so terrible. Not fun.

Worst rumour: All day on Sunday people were saying that Beyonce would be joined on stage by everyone from Jay-Z and Kanye West to Destiny's Child and President Obama. In the end none of it was true – the only one to appear somewhat pointlessly was Tricky. Distinctly under-whelming.
The 'has he really played that many gigs?' award: BB King. According to the literature, BB – who played a lovely, luxurious Friday afternoon set, has played 15,000 gigs in his career. He may be older than God but I still think that might be something of an exaggeration because even if he had played a concert every single day for the past 40 years, it still wouldn't be enough. Of course if you have seen all 15,000, then I'd be delighted to hear from you….

Nicest tribute: The normally excellent Gaslight Anthem, who were somewhat hampered by a poor sound on Saturday lunchtime, still deserve major credit for coming on stage to the sax solo from the Springsteen song Jungleland. This was the finest recorded moment by Clarence Clemons who sadly lost his life last week. Poignant.

Best Mel Brooks lookalike award: Paul Simon. After a somewhat mixed set – his African-inspired tunes were certainly better than some of his other rather too laid-back solo work – the thing I will remember most about seeing Mr Simon is how much he now looks like the man behind Blazing Saddles. Are they perhaps related?

Best Fight: The beauty of Glastonbury is even with that many people in the crowd, signs of aggression are as rare as unicorns. And yet who needs crowd trouble when you have Plan B? They finished their punchy set with a punchy finale as they staged a mock fight which was a bit livelier than it might have been. Arrest those men, GreenPolice!

Most irritatingly overused name award: Alan. People always lose each other at Glastonbury and you can often hear people shouting for their friends.
Every time someone did this at the weekend it was hijacked by everyone else shouting for Alan, which after initially being very funny, after the 50th time, made you want to smack the first Alan you met.

So, there you have it, my first 'Glastos' to celebrate a great Glasto. It was an event I thoroughly enjoyed not least because, for once, I think all three headliners deserved their elevated slots. After this tickets for the next Glastonbury (2013) will be as eagerly sought after as Alan.
Sam Holliday

Off to Glasto - but no longer as a 'virgin'

This first appeared in the Bath Chronicle on Thursday, June 23 - the day before Glastonbury.

This weekend I am off again to indulge in Somerset's biggest annaul party - the Glastonbury Festival.

I say 'again' because this will be my third annual trek which means I can now, thankfully, shake off the much sneered at 'Glasto virgin' tag while not yet, sadly, being able to join the league of those oh-so-cocky 'Glasto veterans'.

However, ex-virgin as I may be, from the feedback I received from writing about my pre-Glastonbury fears over the past couple of years I know there is likely to be the odd first-timer reading this now.

They will be looking for reassurance that they have made the right decision to risk life, limb and dodgy toilets for the sake of a bit of music played out in a farmyard.

Well, if that is you and you are looking forlornly at your camping gear and constantly checking the dreary weather forecast, then can I just say, 'relax'.

You are about to have a ball.

A muddy ball perhaps - but a ball nevertheless.

However, I still do know where those fears are coming from.

I remember as a camping first-timer - let alone a Glasto one - sharing my anxieties a few days before my first Glastonbury two years ago. I was convinced that I was the wrong age (40something) and, well, the wrong type of person (don't ask) to lie around in a field of mud no matter how much I was tempted by the music.

But, lo and behold, on my first visit I soon realised Glasto's greatest asset - it's total freedom. This means there is simply no such thing as a 'wrong' person for this party. And that is because:

• It is impossible to be too old.


• It is impossible to be too young.


• It is impossible to wear the wrong thing.


• No one cares a fig what you look like, where you are from or what you do.


• No one cares a fig for anything other than having a good time.


• The toilets are excellent.
  

And only one of those is a lie.

Of course, for all of us going down the no doubt jammed roads towards Pilton it is the music which is the greatest magnet of all and the festival has really pulled out the stops this year to get some top-class performers on the bill.

But, and I can't stress this enough, what will make the trip for so many of us is that Glastonbury is about so much more than what comes out of those speakers. Someone once told me you could enjoy Glastonbury without even seeing a band - I would not have believed it before but I do now because this is a multi-faceted event which provides a unique bonding experience for virgins, veterans, et al.

Oh, and if you are a first-timer and you are really worried about those legendary Glastonbury toilets, then bear this in mind. If you don't like one loo then there are no fewer than 3,224 others to try. Fear not.

So, on with the wellies.

And on with the show.

Glastonbury + Michael Eavis = Power + Principle

As we now enter a local election campaign where the various parties will be debating about why their principles should earn them power, it was truly refreshing on Monday night to listen to a non-political man who has ‘the power’ but has never lost sight of the guiding principles that inspired him to want it.

Michael Eavis was the guest speaker at a packed Ustinov event organised by Creative Bath which brought together people from all around the city to pick up nuggets of wisdom from a truly remarkable individual.

Mr Eavis, who still regards himself as a farmer who just happens to run the Glastonbury Festival, was as self effacing and modest as ever – something which I suspect the vast majority of those like him named by Time magazine as among the 100 most influential people in the world do not share.

More than 40 years ago having been inspired by the big concert in Shepton Mallet, the Pilton farmer decided he would set up his own (at that stage) free festival event. It has of course now transformed into possibly the biggest festival in the world and it is one that artists clamber to play out of respect for its core beliefs as well as the prominence it gives them.

Mr Eavis spent far more time on the night talking about the pleasure it gives him to raise some £2 million every year for charity as a result of the festival than about the actual event itself. To him the festival is five glorious days in Somerset but it’s real lasting legacy will be the hundreds of thousands of people who will have been touched from Pilton to Peru by the money raised at the South West’s biggest party.

What was also inspiring to hear was that the 75-year-old absolutely loved what he did. Several times he described running the festival as a ‘buzz’ and he said that he thought he had the best job in the world and one which he had always treated with great respect.

But, of course, respect is a two-way street and it is because some of the most famous performers in the world believe in Mr Eavis’s vision of using music to bring people together to do good in the world that they are prepared to forgo their usual commercial rates.

As an example, he quoted the fact that Sir Paul McCartney played at Glastonbury for around a twentieth of what he could normally command at a big stadium event. People don’t do that unless they believe in you and believe in what you stand for–- and people rightly believe in Michael Eavis.

Above all, as he continually told us, he enjoys every minute.

It is no coincidence that when we went into our archive of photographs of him, every one of them saw him with a big smile.

He loves what he does, he loves the feeling the festival gives to people but most of all he loves the fact that long after the last chord has been played, people are benefiting from a festival that uses its power to prove its principles.

Why I enjoyed my second Glastonbury.....

I had the pleasure of going to a very jolly outdoor birthday party at the weekend.

My party was for someone’s ‘40th’ and the hosts had kindly invited a few people around to their home and were offering the odd glass of cider and a bit of live music to keep us all amused.

But, I have to confess, this was a somewhat bigger party than I usually attend. The ‘few’ guests totalled around 180,000, the amount of beer drank was expected to be over one million pints and as for the live music, well there was an estimated 2,000 acts on.

For this was the Glastonbury Festival’s ‘40th’. And it was the biggest, noisiest and cheeriest party on the planet.

Like all the best outdoor parties it was also helped by the somewhat unexpected appearance of the sun which kept a watchful eye on proceedings throughout and almost dared the storm clouds to be party poopers. They didn’t of course – they knew they were (weather) beaten which meant that the huge £12.99 I had invested in my essential last-minute pair of wellies was totally wasted. And I bet they don’t do ‘Glastonbury no-mud’ refunds.

I have done a review of the musical delights elsewhere but as I said last week in this column the joy of Glastonbury is that it is about so much more than what comes out of those enormous speakers. And for those yet to taste the festival’s bountiful offerings I just want to re-iterate that it is never too late to join this seemingly never-ending party.

You may still be thinking ‘Glastonbury is OK for other people but for not for me’ but trust me you are wrong. The answer to the question ‘who goes to Glastonbury’ is an easy one – everyone does. It is, I think, impossible to feel out of place.

People genuinely don’t seem to care what you look like, what age you are, or what your background is – there is an equality here that I have rarely seen elsewhere. Sure, there are ways of ‘upgrading’ your experience a bit but by and large the corporate side of things is kept to a bare minimum in the search for a kind of Utopian, democratic equality. The ethos is ‘we are in it together’ – come rain, shine or England defeats (I watched that one with 50,000 fellow sufferers). And it is hugely refreshing.

The other thing that struck me again on this my second visit (is there anything worse than a late convert)? is how safe the whole experience feels. Despite the fact that people didn’t exactly, ahem, hold back on their alcoholic intake, I saw no evidence of any trouble, no aggression, no fights, not even any cross words. It is as if once people enter the ‘Royal Borough of Pilton’ the Glastonbury spirit descends on them and encourages self-policing.

Overall I returned tired, hot but far from bothered and I thought again how lucky we were to have all this fun right on our doorstep. So, go on, try it next year.

For if you can find nothing to enjoy at Glastonbury then I am afraid the problem is yours – not the festival’s.

Glastonbury - my 'shocking ' review

The Glastonbury Festival of 2010 turned out to be a rather shocking event.

The first shock was that not only was there not a millimetre of rain (causing misery only to the many waterproof-sellers on site) but the heat was on from start to finish. Indeed, at times it was so hot that I am sure that on Saturday afternoon in particular that if the punters had been offered the choice of a miracle Beatles reunion or a ‘tad more shade’ many would have seriously opted for the latter.

The other big shock of course occurred on Sunday afternoon and had nothing to do with music. It was England’s abysmal capitulation to the Germans in the World Cup, a match watched by more than 50,000 of us concert-goers in a weekend where even in the Pilton fields you couldn’t truly escape the footie. We had already been warmed up (aha) by Dizzee Rascal’s Shout and the Lightning Seeds Three Lions on the previous days and everyone was in good spirits sensing England’s glory. Once again (of course) we were left high and dry but what makes Glastonbury so special is that once the final whistle had blown people just sighed, dressed themselves down and then went to hear the music again. No fights, no riots, no chaos.

England may have disappointed on the fields of South Africa but England was at its best in the fields of Pilton that afternoon.

So the sun and the football may have shocked us all but the one thing that stays the same is that the music at this most incredible of events never lets you down.Once again I was delighted to immerse myself in a sea of wonderful sounds and wonderful moments and this year I made sure I saw many acts that were well out of my comfort zone.

Of course when it comes down to it, it is always the headline acts on the biggest stage that define a festival and it is those sets that are remembered in the months, years and yes decades to come. And on this special occasion, to quote Meatloaf, ‘two out of three ain’t bad’.

First the (very) positive. Stevie Wonder charmed and delighted the audience with his warmth and warming Sunday night performance. This is a man who oozes charisma and has more tunes in his locker than England’s footballers have excuses and his performance will be remembered for its quality and professionalism. Long before he got to his expected Glastonbury Happy Birthday finale he had already ‘won’ the audience totally and the smile on his face mirrored tens of thousands in the audience. We often use the word ‘legend’ too glibly in music but this is a man that definitely deserves that title.

Saturday night’s headliners, Muse, are probably too young to be classed as legends but there is a good argument to say that their performance at Glastonbury could have legendary status. They were simply outstanding from start to finish and the power, passion and purpose they displayed was truly thrilling. Tunes such a Time is Running Out, Plug in Baby, Knights of Cydonia and Uprising were all dazzlingly good and when The Edge appraised for an impromptu version of Where The Streets Have No Name it as like the final glistening cherry on the top of an extraordinarily bountiful cake. It was THE great set of one great weekend.

As for the third headliners, The Gorillaz, well, the truth is despite deserving great credit for playing at short notice following U2’s withdrawal – and also managing to persuade stars of the calibre of Lou Reed to join them on stage – it just never quite clicked. They started promisingly enough but then went on to prove that it IS possible to be too eclectic and too diverse. The wide variety of their material meant it struggled to get any momentum and at times the audience seemed baffled. Yes, it was a brave and honest performance but – and it seems remarkable to say this considering it featured two members of the Clash and Blur’s front man – it was often a tad dull. For Gorillaz, read Gorillazzzzzz. Sorry.

Beyond the headline acts I saw many bands that excited and enthralled me. The National, America’s great Indie hope, produced a stunning set as did Manchester’s finest The Courteneers and my own fave raves The Stranglers but beyond my normal sphere, I absolutely loved Dizzee Rascal’s show, found my toe tapping throughout The Scissor Sisters (was that really Kylie up there?) and couldn’t resist the large slice of Snoop Dogg that was served up.

One thing that did make me smile about both the Rascal and the Dogg was their continued plea to the crowd of ‘make some noise’. Err, isn’t that their job?


So, that is just a bit of a snapshot of how I saw things but the great thing about Glastonbury is with 180,000 people there you will find 180,000 different experiences. And all will be equally valid. It is a festival like no other – an ell-embracing, feel good event where not even the need for Factor 100 sun cream or Matthew Upson can ruin your weekend.

So Glastonbury I salute thee again. And here is to the next 40 years.

Make some noise!

Glastonbury - an 'ex virgin' speaks out!!!

This time last year I tentatively told readers of my Bath Chronicle column/blog about the nerves I felt as I was about to break my Glastonbury Festival ‘virginity’.

Despite being a big music fan all my life, the ‘tempting’ lure of the big-festivals-in-a-field had always passed me by until last year at the tender age of 45, I made my first appearance in that famous Somerset field in Pilton.

The lure of The Boss (that’s Bruce Springsteen for the uninitiated) was what finally convinced me to get off the sofa and get on the road but as I confided to you all 12 months ago, it was not without major trepidation.

For a start when you get to your mid 40s – especially if like me you’ve managed to avoid camping at all costs – you do realise how much you come to rely on the comforts of life. A night away should involve a comfortable hotel bed – not a piece of ground recently vacated by cows.

And then of course there was the greatest fear for me – The Legend Of The Glastonbury Toilets. I know it may not sound very manly of me but I do think that the private, indoor flushing toilet is one of the greatest inventions of all time (up there with the wheel and DVD boxsets) and frankly sharing this most basic of amenities with thousands of other people from all over the globe appealed not a jot.

My son, who will be accompanying me again this year, once cuttingly said of me “when God was inventing man, I don’t think you were quite what he had in mind” and I realised that this was never more true than when it comes to planning a camping trip in a field where the toilet paper wasn’t on tap and didn’t smell of peach.

But as those of you will know who read my subsequent adjective-laden report after my first visit to Glastonbury, I had an absolute ball. The music was truly amazing but I also came away with the impression that you could have the most wonderful experience, even if you never heard a note.

It is just such an unusual, diverse and appealing community experience where the music is the glue that holds everything together but the fellowship, camaraderie, fun and genuine sense of peace and contentment is just as important.So, having not only survived but I think prospered as a result of my first Glastonbury, I’m off there again this year.

Indeed by the time some of you read this I may already be settled into my stunning one-man tent looking forward to another weekend of music, mayhem and (hopefully) mud-free fields.So can I just say to all the other nervous ‘Glastonbury virgins’ out there about to embark on their first foray into festival fun to just relax and get set for a truly amazing time.

Oh and don’t forget the loo paper (or the sun cream!)

My top ten wish list for Glastonbury 2010

This is the top ten bands I was looking forward to seeing at Glastonbury 2010. This preview was featured in the Bath Chronicle and Somerset Standard and Guardian on June 23.

MUSE
A band who produce big, mighty records but still have the reputation for taking those songs onto a new level when performed live. There is great anticipation that their performance could be one of the greatest in Glastonbury’s history. It’s a lot to ask of a still relatively young band – but Muse look capable enough to be able to live up to that mantle.

THE COURTEENERS
A Manchester band who have been labelled (possibly unfairly) as the new Oasis because they have a dominant front person and the ability to churn out fantastic melodies. If their live set is as impressive as their recent album Falcon, they could turn out to be one of the big hits of Glastonbury 2010.

EDITORS
A band who have really come to prominence in recent years and whose last album was an ambitious attempt to mix their Joy Division/indie sound with a blast of 80’s electronic pop. Live they can provide an awesome experience and if they rise to the occasion (as surely they will) they should delight festival goers.

THE LIGHTNING SEEDS
Whether they will be tempted to do their Three Lions On A Shirt anthem with the way England are playing isn’t known, but what is known is that The Lightning Seeds produce some of the best modern pop music around. Every song has a whistle-ability that sticks in the brain and for that reason they should really get the crowd going on their early Saturday slot.


THE NATIONAL
A band who have really stepped up a gear this year as a result of their excellent new album High Violet. A sombre but still life affirming band who really know how to pluck a tune out of the air and turn it into something that you can’t get out of your head. Well worth watching.

THE HOLD STEADY
Although there is disappointment that their fellow American Bruce Springsteen devotees The Gaslight Anthem aren’t playing this year, The Hold Steady with their ability to produce rousing bar room rock should provide a real treat on Sunday. Well recommended.

THE DRUMS
Regarded by many as the next big thing, this Smiths style quartet have a lovely sense of fun and melody and are regarded as being one of America’s brightest young bands. You can catch them on The John Peel stage on Sunday afternoon.

GANG OF FOUR
Also on The John Peel Stage just after The Drums are the quirky post punk band The Gang Of Four. Never given the credit they deserved at the time, their influence has remained strong and they could turn out to be one of the surprise packages of the whole weekend.

THE GORILLAZ
No-one really wanted to replace U2 because for most bands it would seem like an impossible job. But The Gorillaz have the tenacity, the adventurous spirit and the unpredictability to make for a really exciting end to Friday night’s proceedings.

THE STRANGLERS
As my favourite band you would expect me to include these and to be fair they are nine places below where I would normally put them just to keep you on your toes! A truly exciting live band who, surprisingly, despite being based in Somerset, are making their Glastonbury debut. About time too considering their drummer Jet Black is in his 72nd year. Look to them to get the whole crowd singing along to well known songs such as Peaches, Always In Sun and Nice n Sleazy at about 1.45pm on Friday.

My Glastonbury Preview Overview

This was featured in the Bath Chronicle and Somerset Standard and Guardian on June 23

Hundreds of local music fans will be making the short journey to Worthy Farm in Pilton this weekend to join in the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Glastonbury Festival.

The event, which offers the chance for local bands to ply their trade along side some of the biggest names in the world, will be in a real ‘happy birthday’ mood – a fact helped by a line-up which organiser Michael Eavis describes as ‘staggering’.

Although there was understandable disappointment that prestigious headliners U2 had to pull out at short notice due to singer Bono’s need for an urgent operation, there is no doubt that the variety and quality of the line up they leave behind is still amazingly strong.

The big musical battle was always destined to be between U2 as Friday night’s headliners and Saturday night’s top-of-the bill, Muse. With U2’s departure, Muse now have the opportunity to dominate and dazzle the whole festival in a way that Bruce Springsteen did last year.

Muse have a reputation for having an enormous festival sound and they have promised a visual treat to match the grandiose nature of their music. It should be quite an occasion.

Taking U2’s position on Friday night was always going to be difficult – a fact not helped by wild speculation about who would take over the slot. As such when it was announced that The Gorillaz were to do so there was a bit of anti climactic feeling in some quarters but the band have a chance to cement their place in Glastonbury history if they can grab the unexpected opportunity with both hands.

Glastonbury is, and always will be, about variety and so Sunday night’s headliner – the much admired Stevie Wonder – should finish the weekend off in real style. One of music’s genuine good guys, held in esteem by musicians throughout the world, Mr Wonder is expected to delight music lovers of all ages and there is no doubt he will send festival goers home with broad smiles on their faces – although nobody’s smile will be as wide as the great man’s himself.

Elsewhere, the line up is littered with a mixture of real eclectic quality covering virtually every musical genre possible. Dance favourites such as Dizzee Rascal, The Scissor Sisters and The Pet Shop Boys will get people popping in the proverbial aisles (i.e. fields) and for the rock fans there is a chance to catch up on bands of the quality of Editors, Ash, The Flaming Lips, new American heroes The National and even the legendary guitarists that is Slash who should really liven up Sunday afternoon’s proceedings.

Elsewhere legends like Ray Davies and Willie Nelson will be delighting the faithful and will enjoy sharing the limelight with some of music’s brightest young things like Florence and The Machine, La Roux and Marina and The Diamonds. And if you wanted any further proof of the variety of acts on offer in the main arenas both Snoop Dogg and Rolf Harris will be sharing the Pyramid stage spotlight on Friday.

Beyond the main acts and the main headliners, however, there is a wealth of high-quality material to look forward to throughout the whole of the weekend and what should be particularly pleasing for local punters is seeing the bands making their tentative debuts on some of the smaller stages who will then go on to be playing in front of the much bigger arenas next year.

All told, Glastonbury 2010 looks like being a hugely enjoyable and very unpredictable weekend. And it is fitting that the 40th anniversary will probably end with Stevie Wonder singing Happy Birthday To Ya.

My top ten acts from Glastonbury

Here is the top ten bands I saw over the Glastonbury weekend (as printed in theBath Chronicle and Somerset Standard and Guardian of July 2...)


Glastonbury is many things to many people but it is, and always must be, about the music first and foremost. Here, then, is my opinion of the top 10 acts that really got my wellies wobbling . . .

1 Bruce Springsteen. I know this is a bit obvious, but he really was magnificent. For my full review of a peerless set from a peerless performer see elsewhere.
2. The Gaslight Anthem. This is a band everyone should get into – and probably now will. They hail from Springsteen’s New Jersey home and combine his gutsy rock passion with a Clash-style musical approach to make for a brilliant cocktail. They were sensational – even more so when Springsteen unexpectedly turned up on stage for their greatest song, The 59 Sound. Check them out. Now.
3. Hugh Cornwell. A truly stunning show of great solo and Strangler material from Box’s finest. The old fella went down an absolute storm with a far rockier set than the ‘acoustic stage’ position suggested. Top class.
4. Glasvegas. I love this band and they really delivered their dark, feedback-dominated sound in style to the delight of their fans. Truly the next headlining big stadium act. You read it here first.
5. Echo And The Bunnymen. Faced with Blur or The Prodigy on the two main stages as Sunday night headliners, I instead chose to go to the John Peel tent to see indie heroes Echo And The Bunnymen – and I definitely made the right choice. They were brilliant, doing the whole of their Ocean Rain album from start to finish and then a clutch of singles. The Cutter was possibly THE song of the weekend for me. Amazing.
6. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’s. A real discovery for me. I had only heard a couple of their tracks but decided to check them out – and they were pure quality. I don’t listen to nearly enough bands with female-singers but I will make an exception here. A pleasant surprise.
7. The Specials. As good as you could hope for despite front man Terry Hall still looking like the most miserable man in music. I thought Ghost Town would be the song we would all remember but even that was eclipsed by A Message To You Rudi and Do Nothing which were both wonderful.
8. Bloc Party. A punchy, original band who produced a great, uplifting set late on Friday night.
9.F****d Up. My son Oli, recommended these and they were great fun. Part of the semi-screamo enclave but with a sense of humour most of them don’t possess and a superb front man.
10. Friendly Fires. One of the joys of a festival is taking time out to see a band you have vaguely heard about but wouldn’t normally watch. This was such a case – and I am glad I made the effort. Funky, modern pop with attitude.
11 Spinal Tap. I know this is a top 10 but anyone who knows anything about Spinal Tap would know you are ALLOWED to go up to 11 with them. OK, they weren’t that great but I am just pleased to have seen Nigel, David, Derek and a nameless drummer (!) in the flesh as well having the chance to sing along about pink torpedoes.
Sam Holliday

Bruce Springsteen - my review of a show that was born to win

You may want to attempt reading this - but you may need a strong stomach if you don't like New Jersey's finest. This is my review of Glastonbury headliner Bruce Springsteen as printed in tomorrow's Bath Chronicle et al...


When you are a rock star as big as Bruce Springsteen you only ever usually play to the converted. Every time Springsteen normally takes to the stage on one of his many epic tours he can be confident that everyone there has paid large sums of money because they want to watch, listen and sing along with The Boss. They are on his side – they are his people.

But, as it is for everyone else, Glastonbury is oh so different.

As all the tickets were sold before Springsteen was even confirmed on the bill, he must have known he was facing something very rare for him – the musical equivalent of a sporting ‘away match’ where not everyone was necessarily a worshipper at the altar of Bruce.

Could he cope? Could he entertain and delight a crowd who, for the most part, wouldn’t even know any of his material?

Could he heck.

Springsteen was simply magnificent on that balmy Saturday evening and for the 160 minutes he dominated the Pyramid stage, he gave a performance of passion, exuberance, exhilaration and musical majesty. I am certain he will have satisfied all his true fans (and I speak as someone who has been a devotee for 30 years) and, I imagine, he will have converted many more ‘newbies’ in both the park and in TV land with a staggeringly energetic show that belied the singer’s 59 years.

One of the things that really impressed me was that he also produced a totally uncompromising set. He could have easily relied on better known tracks such as Born In The USA and Hungry Heart to help him through but Springsteen ignored them and gave a fully rounded performance which included not only some of his traditional toe-tappers but a few of the more delicate, challenging and less well known moments from his amazing repertoire. A repertoire remember, that spans nearly 40 years and has yielded 120 million album sales worldwide.

As an example of his approach, on his brilliant new studio album Working On A Dream there are many wonderful, poppy singalongs (This Life, Kingdom of Days, Surprise, Surprise) but Bruce ditched them all and instead played an 11-minute version of the more complex and less immediate Outlaw Pete from that same album. It took guts in a way – but Springsteen has always had those.

So, acknowledged classics like Thunder Road, The River and a delightfully elongated Dancing In The Dark sat alongside lesser known beauties such as Waiting On The Sun and The Ghost Of Tom Joad, and there was even a stunning unreleased track, Hard Times, written in the mid-19th century no less which resonated about the economic situation that we live in in a typically Springsteen-esque socially aware way.

With Bruce it is not just about the songs however. It is about the whole performance and once again he showed what an amazing front man he is. Out of the words of some, his powerful exhorting of the crowd to mirror his musical passion might have sounded cheesy, but with Springsteen you sincerely believe he sincerely believes it. The man does not have a cynical bone in his body and the way he struts across the stage with a smile on his face and a burning spirit in his soul, shows that this is a man at the very top of his game.

OK, I’m sure not everybody ‘got it’ and that’s fine. But for those who did, I’m sure they came away knowing, as I did, that we had been in the presence of a truly great and inspirational man who is, was and always will be the embodiment of the very best that rock and roll has to offer.

Put simply, Glastonbury saw why many of us believe that Bruce Springsteen is the greatest living American.

The Boss bossed it.

My first Glastonbury - my fears of the loos, the mud and the hippies

This weekend I am about to end my Glastonbury virginity at the tender age of just a tad over 40 (a tad obviously meaning roughly five years).

The fact I have waited so long to partake in the Glasto mud is not because I’m averse to music or indeed festivals - far from it.

As some people know I’m a complete music nut (and many think the word ‘nut’ is appropriate in that I’ve seen my favourite band The Stranglers more than 80 times) and in my younger days I actually organised rock festivals of my own for a number of years. And yet, for some reason, the charms of Glastonbury and the like have never particularly tempted me – until now.

I have been pondering a visit to Somerset’s most famous farm for a couple of years but it was only when I started hearing the mere hint of a two-word rumour – “Bruce Springsteen” – that I thought I simply could avoid the Glastonbury temptress no more.


I adore Springsteen and the thought of not seeing him practically in the backyard was unbearable. So, Glastonbury here I come.

The problem with going to the festival for the first time at a not-quite-as-youthful-as-I-was-before age is that so many other people have been and have told me all the potential problems.

I have been told of mud rising up to thigh level, six-hour car park queues, tents floating away down a hill and even more scarily, that the place is full of hippies. Frightening.

And then of course there are the toilets (pictured amidst the mud here).


Maybe it’s because I am that little bit older now but the thought of sharing what have been described to me as the ‘toilets from hell’ with 170,000 other people brings on a mild form of paruresis (that is shy bladder syndrome) and parcopresis (which is bashful bowel syndrome). I wouldn’t even be keen on using public toilets at somewhere like the Ritz so this . . .

And then, of course, there is this camping lark. I love the countryside but I’ve always believed it is better outside of the home rather than as part of it. It doesn’t help that I am, without any shadow of a doubt, the worst person in the world at DIY and the words “putting up a tent” give me the same fears as other people have about swimming with sharks.

I will be accompanied at my first Glasto by my 15-year-old son, Ollie, who’s far more practical than me, and when I foolishly told him of my tent fears, he looked at me, shook his head and uttered the wounding phrase: “When God invented man, I don’t think you were quite what he had in mind.” Cutting.

Thankfully, however, God has invented pop-up tents and that is how we will now be spending our forthcoming weekend. (If only he would also invent pop-up flushing toilets, we would all be laughing).

But despite the reservations about the mud, the loos, the queues and the total abandonment of personal hygiene, I am still very excited about opening my Glastonbury account. The musical line-up looks incredible (I'm especially looking forward to Broooooce, Glasvegas, The Gaslight Anhem, The Specials, Echo and The Bunnymen, Hugh Cornwell, Spinal Tap and more) and I’m looking forward to catching up with some great new bands, some great old bands and many others who have yet to reach my radar.

Hopefully, I might even see some of you at the event – I’ll be the one in a dodgy pop-up tent, wearing a faded Stranglers T-shirt and with a toilet roll in one hand and a ‘how to survive your first Glastonbury’ guide in the other.

Bring it on Glastonbury – do your worst!