Pencilled-in headliners that have pulled out

[pedmills]

Every year there seems to be rumours of headliners being pencilled-in but dropping out. But I've forgotten them all. Can someone remind me of them?

Mumford & Sons were clearly a replacement for somebody...was it Fleetwood Mac?

I swear people were saying back in 2011 that Beyonce was bumped up - who dropped out?

Will we ever know who the infamous fourth headliner of 2009 was?

And have there been any other major drop outs in the past? (excluding the announced ones like U2, Kylie, Stone Roses etc.)

[Vieuphoria]

Wasn't the forth in '09 just Kasabian?

[Thearg]

I don't think Mumford & Sons were bumped for Fleetwood mac,it was gonna be the Stones or Fleetwood mac.

[Zoo Music Girl]

I see people talking about a fourth headliner a lot. What does that mean though? Aren't they really just a sub?

[neilloggie]

I see people talking about a fourth headliner a lot. What does that mean though? Aren't they really just a sub?

[alframsey]

Mumford weren't a replacement, they were just there due to costs imo. Average band who delivered an average set for average price.

[Matt42]

Every year there seems to be rumours of headliners being pencilled-in but dropping out. But I've forgotten them all. Can someone remind me of them?

Mumford & Sons were clearly a replacement for somebody...was it Fleetwood Mac?

I swear people were saying back in 2011 that Beyonce was bumped up - who dropped out?

Will we ever know who the infamous fourth headliner of 2009 was?

And have there been any other major drop outs in the past? (excluding the announced ones like U2, Kylie, Stone Roses etc.)

[Zoo Music Girl]

There seems to be a few tours nowadays with both acts billed as Co-Headlining,but surely the one that comes on last Headlines and the other just subs.

[Morse Code]

That's what I thought. There was one big tour recently where this happened and they swapped slots, wasn't there? Who was it?

A lot of people here talk about the rumoured 4th headliner of one year (2009?). What's that about?

[Zoo Music Girl]

I think the one I'm thinking of was pop-orientated. Perhaps Dizzee and Lily Allen?

But as there's no chance of swapping slots at Glasto (oo-er missus) then how would it work?

[eFestivals]

Wasn't the forth in '09 just Kasabian?

nope. they were booked (quite late, as it happens) to take the slot that the infamous "4th headliner" was originally going to have.

[eFestivals]

I see people talking about a fourth headliner a lot. What does that mean though? Aren't they really just a sub?

Nope. A band of genuine headliner status was pencilled in to play a few years back, and they would have been presented as a headliner of status equal to the other 3 headliners if it had happened.

(it didn't happen because of factors around that 4th band).

[eFestivals]

I think the one I'm thinking of was pop-orientated. Perhaps Dizzee and Lily Allen?

But as there's no chance of swapping slots at Glasto (oo-er missus) then how would it work?

One headlining band would have had to play before the other headlining band on that one night. There's no other way of doing it, unsurprisingly.

But it wouldn't have been "co-headlining". What was planned was not two weakish bands put on the same night to strengthen up the weakness of each band as headliner. It would have been two indisputably headliner bands playing one after the other.

[tommyds]

One year at V they had Franz Ferdinand & Scissor Sisters co-headlinng (I think it was a last minute thing because Kylie had to pull out)

They each played a set and then everyone came out at once to do some collaborations/covers

I saw Ben Folds/Divine Comedy co-headline tour and they did something similar.

[Zoo Music Girl]

One headlining band would have had to play before the other headlining band on that one night. There's no other way of doing it, unsurprisingly.

But it wouldn't have been "co-headlining". What was planned was not two weakish bands put on the same night to strengthen up the weakness of each band as headliner. It would have been two indisputably headliner bands playing one after the other.

[eFestivals]

Okay thanks for clarifying. Seems a bit weird to me!

It's not really that weird.

Glasto had their three headliners lined up. Then along came another genuine headliner status act who said they might be able to play too, and Glastonbury accommodated them within the line-up by pencilling them in to play before the headliner on one of the nights.

Because of that act's status, Glastonbury made public statements about how they might have a 4th headliner that year.

It didn't happen in the end because of things around that 4th band, but I guarantee that everyone would have taken it as being 4 acts of genuine headliner status, and so Glastonbury having spoken of a '4th headliner' would have been accepted as accurate.

[johntrfc]

It's not really that weird.

Glasto had their three headliners lined up. Then along came another genuine headliner status act who said they might be able to play too, and Glastonbury accommodated them within the line-up by pencilling them in to play before the headliner on one of the nights.

Because of that act's status, Glastonbury made public statements about how they might have a 4th headliner that year.

It didn't happen in the end because of things around that 4th band, but I guarantee that everyone would have taken it as being 4 acts of genuine headliner status, and so Glastonbury having spoken of a '4th headliner' would have been accepted as accurate.

[Bort]

Depeche Mode?

http://www.clashmusic.com/news/depeche-mode-turn-down-glastonbury

[formed a band]

Yeah ! Pics or it didn't happen! Yolo! Etczzzz

[eFestivals]

Depeche Mode?

http://www.clashmusic.com/news/depeche-mode-turn-down-glastonbury

made up story!

They turned it down because of a date in Paris on the same weekend (note that there's very few dates without a day off between dates).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_of_the_Universe_%28tour%29#Tour_dates

If you google some more, you'll also find reports about how they turned it down because they couldn't fit it in their schedule.

[iwalker]

Not headliners but I remember Smokey Robinson appearing in the fine guide as playing and Andy Williams was announced one year (both presumably for the Sunday legend's slot).

[iwalker]

New Order and Roger Waters have both played full length sets (or very near at least) while subbing to Coldplay and Rod Stewart respectively.

[pedmills]

Mumford and sons were supposed to sub the stones, and fleetwood mac were supposed to headline the sunday, beyonce was apparently meant to sub prince, and Neil said in a chatroom (he could be joking) fourth was Girls Aloud.

[arcade fireman]

Can anyone confirm these?

[Guest]

Not headliners but I remember Smokey Robinson appearing in the fine guide as playing and Andy Williams was announced one year (both presumably for the Sunday legend's slot).