Glastonbury festival is 'over' according to Harvey Goldsmith

[gooner1990]

In 2009 I accidentally saw Mumford and Sons play a mid afternoon set in The Departure Lounge to about a hundred people. Four years later they were headlining the Pyramid. This year, plenty of people believe that Flo could and/or should have headlined the Pyramid.

Mumford & Sons played in one of my local pubs beer garden in 2008 to about 15 people (the footage is on YouTube somewhere)....strange how things work out eh!

[blackg1000]

He sounds jealous.

[stuartbert two hats]

He has a point for a festival like Isle of Wight.

[GlastoSimon]

He has a point for a festival like Isle of Wight.

The fact that they've forked out for Fleetwood Mac (and presumably Blur) and not sold out with just over two weeks to go must be worrying.

[Northern-Monkey]

Mumford & Sons played in one of my local pubs beer garden in 2008 to about 15 people (the footage is on YouTube somewhere)....strange how things work out eh!

Every band has to start somewhere, just some need to end very shortly after...

[willutalk]

There are a hell of a lot of fesable headliners out there who haven't actually played yet. They're not necessarily Glastonbury material but they'd pull off a heck of a set:

Green Day

Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Pearl Jam

Iron Maiden

Aerosmith

Rammstein

are some examples.

cutting out certain genres of bands is really one way to run out of headliners in my opinion.

Edited June 3, 2015 by willutalk

[Vanderlyle]

Think Glastonbury always had a different attraction. Years ago it was a place for hippies and activists etc.

Now it's a renowned as a the most fun party of the year.

It's probably the only festival that can actually survive the lack of new headliners coming through.

[rivalschools.price]

Download is the one that comes most to mind. It pretty much has Metallica and Iron Maiden on rotate.

But that's obviously popular enough when it's just Download doing it. There just doesn't seem to be the market to support a second event doing much the same, cos when someone tries Download suffers with its audience

i've been doing festies for over 30 years now, and i'm still here.

People complain about Download always having Metallica and

Maiden but the irony is that they always sell more tickets when they play.Even Sonispheres only decent stab at putting on a festival in the last four years had Metallica and Maiden to sell tickets for them.

Both bands are still huge in the metal world.Downoad might have a long term problem with lack of options for headliners, but having these two bands on rotation certainly isn't a problem at the moment.(and I can see both bands lasting for 10 years or so yet)

[ChrisTGA]

Harvey Goldsmith talks shit.

[Northern-Monkey]

There are a hell of a lot of fesable headliners out there who haven't actually played yet. They're not necessarily Glastonbury material but they'd pull off a heck of a set:

Green Day

Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Pearl Jam

Iron Maiden

Aerosmith

Rammstein

are some examples.

cutting out certain genres of bands is really one way to run out of headliners in my opinion.

I would love Rammstein to headline just for the BBC to shit chickens!

And having seen em live well on the way to 10 times I can confirm than not only are they more than capable of doing Glastonbury they would probably put on the best show it has ever seen!

Also I'd love to see the fire line go up the hillside n back during Du Hast and wonder how far the rubber dingy would get up the hill...

Edited June 3, 2015 by Northern-Monkey

[rivalschools.price]

Harvey Goldsmith talks shit.

I saw a programme years ago, can't remember what it was called,where goldsmith tried to give heavy metal band Saxon a new image and get them to reinvent them selves.

They obviously didn't listen and seem to have done ok In the last 20 years or so.

[rivalschools.price]

There are a hell of a lot of fesable headliners out there who haven't actually played yet. They're not necessarily Glastonbury material but they'd pull off a heck of a set:

Green Day

Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Pearl Jam

Iron Maiden

Aerosmith

Rammstein

are some examples.

cutting out certain genres of bands is really one way to run out of headliners in my opinion.

There are also three bands there who haven't headlined Download so they aren't running out of headliners just yet.

[willutalk]

I would love Rammstein to headline just for the BBC to shit chickens!

And having seen em live well on the way to 10 times I can confirm than not only are they more than capable of doing Glastonbury they would probably put on the best show it has ever seen!

Also I'd love to see the fire line go up the hillside n back during Du Hast and wonder how far the rubber dingy would get up the hill...

Yeah who not!? Pyramid Stage and Rammstein are like brothers separated at birth. In the dark on Friday it'd destroy a cold Coldplay slot any day. Yes they wouldn't be cheap but they'd be a pretty refreshing act to mix things up.

They really are a contemporary performing art!

Also has anyone actually considered Slipknot as a potential headliner? no joke. A really ferocious live act.

Edited June 3, 2015 by willutalk

[Matt42]

Slipknot will never headline Glastonbury

I said the same about metallica, so let's see...

[Northern-Monkey]

Yeah who not!? Pyramid Stage and Rammstein are like brothers separated at birth. In the dark on Friday it'd destroy a cold Coldplay slot any day. Yes they wouldn't be cheap but they'd be a pretty refreshing act to mix things up.

They really are a contemporary performing art!

Also has anyone actually considered Slipknot as a potential headliner? no joke. A really ferocious live act.

Seen Slipknot 3 times, 1st time amazing, 2nd time okay, 3rd time Meh, what else is on. Bit too one trick for me, same with Maiden and these days AC/DC (tho I am off down to Wembley week after Galsto...).

[Northern-Monkey]

There are also three bands there who haven't headlined Download so they aren't running out of headliners just yet.

Am of the view that Download will fold in the next few years unless it ups its game, last year was a joke n this isn't much better.

It needs a real kick up its arse, after last years piss poor crowd turnout the organisers asked the fans who they wanted for 2015 and.....

totally ignored what everyone asked for! Foo's and AC/DC were top of the list.

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

There are a hell of a lot of fesable headliners out there who haven't actually played yet. They're not necessarily Glastonbury material but they'd pull off a heck of a set:

Green Day

Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Pearl Jam

Iron Maiden

Aerosmith

Rammstein

are some examples.

cutting out certain genres of bands is really one way to run out of headliners in my opinion.

I understand what you're saying Will, and my initial reaction was "no chance" to most of those, but that's a narrow-minded view wearing my Glasto goggles. Out of that list, I suppose the one act that could immediately headline and not feel terribly "un-Glasto" is Pearl Jam, but the theme running through this thread is one of longevity. Maybe the festival needs to be even braver than the Jay-Z, Metallica and Kanye West bookings and give the likes of Slipknot and Rammstein a shot? I would imagine that the majority of complaints would come from those who've never seen a live show from either band. For those that haven't, they are as spectacular as anything you've seen headline the Pyramid in the last ten years. I'm not restricting a "braver" booking to metal, we haven't had an electronic/dance act headline for some years now either. Diversifying might just be the thing that prolongs the festivals legacy and maintains it's status as a true festival of contemporary performing arts?

I appreciate that this wouldn't sit well with many people, whether they be veterans or newcomers but what is evident is that the demographic is ever evolving, and I'm judging that by the threads on this very website where people have shared their opinions and memories of the changing face of the festival over the past forty years. Maybe we'll start to see the next wave of evolution as soon as 2016 or after the fallow year in 2017?

Edited June 4, 2015 by SPTFRE

[Rose-Colored Boy]

we haven't had an electronic/dance act headline for some years now either.

Unless things go horribly wrong Disclosure should do it in the not too distant future, hopefully not Calvin Harris tho.

I think if they were looking to be 'brave' they'd be more likely to turn to the likes of Paolo Nutini and Justin Timberlake from Matt's list on the previous page before asking the likes of Slipknot and Rammestein, I'm sorry/thankful to say.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Zac Quinn

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

Bands like slipknot and rammstein put on a hell of a show and are used to headlining big festivals, it'd be simply awesome.......the 'oh we can't book them their a metal band argument is pretty weak now after Metallica did well'

Agreed, but I can understand people's apprehension when it comes to metal. In my opinion it's actually a very misunderstood genre. For me, Metallica is 'metal 101', and was always going to work. There's a huge element of risk involved in booking Slipknot, Rammstein et al but if people are willing to open their minds and put aside pre-conceived perceptions of acts like this and the "noise" I think the majority would be pleasantly surprised.

Again, this point isn't exclusive to metal, that argument has been done to death on here over the years. Acts from some of the other genres like electronic, folk, hip-hop, reggae, maybe even classical need to be considered as a viable alternative to the rock/pop the festival has become accustomed to.

[Spindles]

im seeing 1 out of 3 headliners this year that being the foos.....in 2014 i saw one that being metallica...in 2013 I didnt see any...and I still saw lots of awesome music all 3 years I loved experiencing live........this is not a festival in which there is one/two stages and such a focus as is the case with some others

Not often I'd agree with what you have to say for yourself, but this is exactly what Harvey Goldsmith doesn't get but anyone who has been more than once really does.

I would like to put a bet on that Glastonbury is still going well after Harvey Goldsmith is dead and buried.

This.

Although when the hell was he last relevant? The 90s?

[Spindles]

Slipknot will never headline Glastonbury

I said the same about metallica, so let's see...

Mind stating definitively that neither Pearl Jam nor Prince will headline next year for me?

[rivalschools.price]

Am of the view that Download will fold in the next few years unless it ups its game, last year was a joke n this isn't much better.

It needs a real kick up its arse, after last years piss poor crowd turnout the organisers asked the fans who they wanted for 2015 and.....

totally ignored what everyone asked for! Foo's and AC/DC were top of the list.

On a personal note, I hope it carries on as it caters to my tastes better than Glastonbury, I could easily watch 10 or 12 bands a day in Download but I struggle to find the same numbers in Glastonbury.i have next to nothing I want to see on the Sunday for Glastonbury(not that this is a problem, I'm quite happy to wander around)

I can't see it folding but I can see it becoming a smaller festival as time goes on.

Saying that, I went there in 1988 and everyone was telling me then that they couldn't see it lasting much longer.

[incident]

Saying that, I went there in 1988 and everyone was telling me then that they couldn't see it lasting much longer.

To be fair, it didn't.

While Download sometimes tries to claim the legacy, it's a different Festival to Monsters of Rock, and came about years after Monsters of Rock went under after repeated cancellations.

[rivalschools.price]

To be fair, it didn't.While Download sometimes tries to claim the legacy, it's a different Festival to Monsters of Rock, and came about years after Monsters of Rock went under after repeated cancellations.

Monster of rock/Download/whatever, it still Donnington to the old bastards like me, ha ha

[fatyeti24]

There are a hell of a lot of fesable headliners out there who haven't actually played yet. They're not necessarily Glastonbury material but they'd pull off a heck of a set:

Green Day

Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Pearl Jam

Iron Maiden

Aerosmith

Rammstein

are some examples.

cutting out certain genres of bands is really one way to run out of headliners in my opinion.

thing with this list is, all these bands are old bastards. they were old bastards 20 years ago when i used to listen to that kind of music.

i've nothing against metal, or any other style, as far as Pyramid headiners go, but where are the bands from your generation that could headline?

listing those names is just a continuation of the (apparent) problem - that being that few new big headliners are coming through the ranks. relying on the old guard is only a short term answer.