Tags: Glastonbury, festival, Elton John, Arctic Monkeys, Oasis
By Ryan Batty:
Glastonbury is perhaps the most famous music festival in Britain, if not, the world. For a few days every year, the eyes of the world descend on Worthy Farm as the biggest artists play for over an hour to hundreds of thousands, while some play for twenty minutes in front of a few dozen.
Even performing on the smallest stages at Glastonbury is a dream fulfilled for any band, artist or DJ – with the hallowed few that ‘complete music’ by performing on the Pyramid Stage in a headline slot being remembered forever.
But for every Radiohead 1997, there’s a Moby 2003. For all the Glastonbury headline sets we’ve seen, who stands out as the best, the worst – and the downright ugly?
The good
Elton John, 2023
The 2023 farewell set was actually Sir Elton John’s first performance at Glastonbury – but what a way to debut and subsequently go out. Arguably the biggest set in Glastonbury history delivered – as the former Watford owner reeled in over 120,000 people at Worthy Farm, with over 7 million viewers on the BBC coverage – the most in Glastonbury history.
The Rocket Man himself was joined by up and coming musicians such as Jacob Lusk, Stephen Sanchez, Rina Sawayama and established megastar, The Killers’ Brandon Flowers.
Potentially one of the best sets in Glastonbury history, and the perfect way for the sun to go down on the glittering career of Sir Elton John.
Radiohead 1997
We mentioned it earlier, but Radiohead in 1997 completely changed the game and helped Glastonbury become what it is today. It takes a special kind of band to completely end a genre of music, but the incredible OK Computer ended Britpop and ushered in a new wave of indie music. Radiohead’s setlist included much of their 1997 hit record, as well as a collection of tracks from The Bends and Creep from their 1993 debut Pablo Honey.
The setlist is still talked about today – their 2017 headline set was also fantastic but 1997 really was a revolutionary set in one of the best all-time years for a band.
Arctic Monkeys, 2013
It may be hard to believe nowadays, with every song brought to a crawling pace – so much so, you’d be inclined to think your record player was on the wrong RPM – but the Arctic Monkeys once were the biggest rock band in the world. Hot on the heels of their 2013 record-breaker AM, the Sheffield band made their second outing as Glastonbury headliners for this incredible set.
With strings arranged by Elbow’s Guy Garvey, and a cameo from Miles Kane, the Arctic Monkeys performed a variety of tunes from their extensive back catalogue.
The classics came out, like I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor, and Cornerstone – but then you heard some sparsely-played tracks. For example, A Certain Romance has only been played 11 times since 2007.
If you were lucky enough to be there in 2013, then you’re part of an exclusive club.
The bad
Arctic Monkeys, 2023
Controversy time? Perhaps.
But the Arctic Monkeys headline set at last year’s Glastonbury left a lot to be desired, especially with Alex Turner recovering from a case of acute laryngitis that had forced the band to cancel a gig in Dublin earlier that week.
The Monkeys were on their game in 2023, but the rating of this set really comes down to how you judge Turner’s Bowie impression. For me, it’s a sad come-down from a band that were on top of the world in their previous headline slots in 2007 and 2013.
Playing a selection of hits from their 2023 record The Car, which received mixed reviews from critics, the Monkeys left fans of their new sound satisfied but many of their old-school fans longing for a past that seems to have moved on.
Lenny Kravitz, 1993
Now, this can hardly be Lenny Kravitz’ fault – when everybody expects the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, only to find out they’d pulled out last minute, it can hardly be seen as a positive. And this article is written by a card-carrying member of the anti-Red Hot Chilli Peppers club.
Kravitz didn’t really have the songs to headline the iconic festivals, and with Suede, Spiritualised and Stereo MCs performing elsewhere at the festival, it’s never been much surprise to see Lenny Kravitz’s name at the top of these lists.
The write-ups from 1993’s festival barely mentioned Kravitz at all, preferring to focus on the 60s feel of the event – the Velvet Underground and The Kinks were there and seemed to overshadow Kravitz.
Mumford and Sons, 2013
After Arctic Monkeys and the Rolling Stones, this seemed like a really strange choice of a headliner for the iconic Pyramid Stage. The band had only one UK top twenty hit – I Will Wait – and said themselves while performing that they had done “nothing special” to earn their place on the stage.
A Sunday headliner has a mammoth task – sending the crowd home happy and leaving them wanting to come back for more. The great ‘closing’ sets at Glastonbury in years gone by include the aforementioned Elton John set, The Cure in 2019 and The Who in 2015 – but Mumford and Sons fell flat after great sets from Arctic Monkeys and the Stones.
Mumford and Sons have struggled to reach that same level of success since their 2013 headline slot – it would be a surprise to see them welcomed back for a reprise.
The ugly
The White Stripes, 2005
The White Stripes have their share of tunes, and did a lot for the flagging guitar music scene of the mid-noughties, but this setlist from 2005 fell incredibly flat in comparison to The Killers that came before them.
Famously one of the wettest Glastonbury festivals on record, 2005 may have been salvaged if it had boasted an incredible headliner – but The White Stripes was a set of people waiting, and waiting… and waiting, for Seven Nation Army. When the foot stomping anthem came, the drenched punters could only muster a limp cheer, probably more excited about fetching a towel from their tent.
Oasis, 2004
Go back and read over Oasis’ 2004 setlist from Worthy Farm – and it’s a ‘who’s who’ of belting tunes and guitar riffs from the back catalogue of the Gallagher brothers. But in practice, the band looked bored and like they would rather have been anywhere else.
The songs that had, in 1995, delivered – fell flat and it quickly became one of the most hated sets for Oasis fans – with one fan on the Live4ever forum suggesting that the setlist was ‘uneventful, lifeless and dull’.
Moby, 2003
For the festival to be headlined by an ambient dance recording artist was an interesting turn from the festival, and after Glastonbury had been co-headlined by REM and Radiohead, Moby at the top of the Sunday bill was another set that unfortunately fell flat on its audience.
The 2003 festival looked to be one of good weather, but Sunday was a complete washout – leaving many to use the Moby set to ‘beat the traffic’.
Featured image:
WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo – The 2013 Glastonbury Festival – Day 1 – Performances Featuring: Alex Turner, Arctic Monkeys Where: Glastonbury, United Kingdom When: 28 Jun 2013