If you are spending this weekend nursing that Glastonbury-shaped hole in your life; we feel you.
The day will return when we can wake up in a 30 degree tent, queue for portaloos and chat bollocks in Shangri-La to strangers who have made the pilgrimage to music’s great Mecca. We have collated a list of some of our favourite Glastonbury moments in recent years, so that we may join together and celebrate the Glastonburys of yesteryear – our very own Pastonbury, if you don’t mind.
Disclaimer: This by no means an exhaustive list, Glastonbury’s beauty is found in the tiniest of tents at 5am; where smackhead punk revivalists share the stage with Hare Krishnas and unsigned Grime artists. This list, however, features some of the most important and memorable sets that we could think of in an afternoon.
Gorillaz // 2010
Disaster struck when U2 cancelled their headline performance in 2010. Damon & the gang came to the rescue, however, with none other than Snoop Dogg as backup. Can you believe U2 were ever chosen ahead of them in the first place?
Florence & The Machine // 2015
Another triumphant substitute appearance, this time with Florence stepping up the bill to replace Foo Fighters. In a climate where females are underrepresented on festival bills, Flo proved a point and changed the game beyond belief.
Jay-Z // 2008
Glastonbury’s decision to book its first ever Hip-hop headliner was shunned by Noel Gallagher. Jay-Z’s response? To arrive on stage covering Noel’s biggest tune, before launching into his own mega-hit ’99 Problems’.. it doesn’t get much more rock’n’roll than that. Filming courtesy of a potato.
Fontaines D.C. // 2019
Glastonbury has an unrivalled ability to make overnight sensations of fresh talent. After 4 sets at 2019’s festival, Fontaines are already written into Worthy Farms history.
HAIM // 2014
The Californian sisters have a longstanding love affair with the festival and their performance in 2014 brought the sunny West coast to Somerset; elevating them to the next level of stardom in the process.
Foals // 2010
The John Peel stage has seen some legendary performances from artists who have gone on to world domination. Rumours of a Foals headline set loom year after year, and it isn’t hard to see why.
Christine and The Queens // 2016
Christine (or Chris) has come to represent something so much more than music. And, in 2016 – on the week that the UK voted to leave the EU – she was a voice of unity and defiance. Long live Christine.
Stormzy // 2019
The artist of the year… performing the genre that defined the decade… at Glastonbury… wearing a vest designed by frikkin Banksy.
Adele // 2016
The UK’s sweetheart received an unbelievable reception as she brought her endless repertoire of ballads, and a cuppa, to the Pyramid Stage in 2016.
Bloc Party // 2009
When diving through the list of previous Glastonbury performances, very few encapsulate a band at the top of the game quite like Bloc Party’s 2009 headline spot at the Other Stage.
Arctic Monkeys // 2007
This set has gone down in folklore, as the Arctic Monkeys became the youngest Glastonbury headliners ever. Joined on stage by Dizzee Rascal for 4 minutes of pure 2000’s joy.
David Bowie // 2000
David Bowie. Headlining Glastonbury. C’mon.
