2019 Headliners

[Gucci Piggy]

4 minutes ago, Mattymooz said:

I mean I still dont see Stormzy headlining Glasto as his first major festival. Maybe subbing it but tbh I think theyd be better off just having him headline the other.

Agreed on not having both Mac and Macca, probably chucks Madge out too.

He subbed Other last year and is probably the biggest success story in British music right now. Fuck that. Glastonbury needs to start booking interesting headliners again alongside the mega acts they get.

[EamerRed]

Stormzy headlining the Pyramid? Not a chance imo.

[Gucci Piggy]

Just now, EamerRed said:

Stormzy headlining the Pyramid? Not a chance imo.

I mean he's probably Pyramid sub level already. He's just beaten Ed Sheeran to male solo artist and album of the year at the BRITs which is basically just a popularity contest. And we're talking about him headlining after releasing a second album which would undoubtedly make him even bigger. I can't really see him doing anything but headlining. If he doesn't do it here I imagine he'll do it at R&L.

[Guest]

Stormzy will undoubtedly be big enough to headline Glastonbury with another album under his belt. Whether or not that album is out in good time before June 2019 is a different matter.

[SighMo]

Anyone think Bon Iver may get a decent slot? Personally I'd like to see him headline the JP on Sunday night while the masses watch Kylie at the Pyramid. Think he'd go down well in there, better than a sub slot on the bigger stages where talkers would probably ruin it.

[kingcrawler]

I think Bon Iver's far too big to play JP. I reckon they'd sub the Pyramid but headlining the Other stage would be ideal.

Edited July 5, 2018 by kingcrawler

[SighMo]

You're probably right about the JP but it'd be a great venue in there. Just don't think it'd work if there were too many stood around waiting for another act.

[Hugh Jass]

1 hour ago, thewayiam said:

 

I don't see Stormzy being there but the interview has made me rethink Macca a bit. Let's have Arctics, FM and Macca. You have two acts there Liam would sub too....that would be as strong as it gets to be honest.

Gammonbury

[thewayiam]

58 minutes ago, Mattymooz said:

I mean I still dont see Stormzy headlining Glasto as his first major festival. Maybe subbing it but tbh I think theyd be better off just having him headline the other.

Agreed on not having both Mac and Macca, probably chucks Madge out too.

Oh I don't think it would be a good idea personally for both but can't deny it's strong.

FM all depends on whether they are here at that time next year or 20.

I don't really care for Macca, I've seen him so I'd rather have FM, Madonna and another option I'm not interested in. 

Stormzy I don't see topping it next year, I can see 2021 as he won't be doing it on the big one.

[Mattymooz]

2 hours ago, SomeoneListeningIn said:

Why can't you see it?

Because is he really that big? He still only played Academys on his last tour and Grime as a whole seems to be a lot less trendy as it was when his album came out (suggesting that he probably wouldnt go down as well. I mean heck, just look at some of the slots Skepta got this year). None of the singles really seemed to do that well (Big For Your Boots did alright and I remember the MNEK collab being played a bit, but nothing to the extent of Thats Not Me/Feed Em To The Lions/Shutdown/Too Many Men etc.) It certainly hasn't had much staying power (at least in my circle of friends).

On top of that he'll only have at most 2 albums out (I haven't researched this at all but I imagine that is one of the smallest back catalogues of any glasto headliner ever? Muse is the smallest I can find briefly who headlined off the back of 3 albums) and the biggest festival he's done AFAIK is Wireless this year. Admittedly, grime (and rap in general) isn't really my genre, so I could be somehow completely oblivious to how huge he is, but I would imagine that if I don't know much about him (considering I imagine I have an above average knowledge about music stuff in general) then I doubt most punters will be interested either.

3 hours ago, Gucci Piggy said:

He subbed Other last year and is probably the biggest success story in British music right now. Fuck that. Glastonbury needs to start booking interesting headliners again alongside the mega acts they get.

Well I didn't know he played last year, and imo that makes him even less likely. Coming back literally the next glasto to headline outright? Just seems odd. Plus biggest success story in British Music? Generally curious but how is this being measured? If we are going off of debut sales then that award has to go to king of soccer moms rag n bone man, or maybe to dua. Heck didn't even LG outsell him last year and you guys were all saying he'd never get a decent slot?

I'd put 1975 above him in that race for headliner (he could potentially sub as per my previous comment). Maybe I'm just completely oblivious to something (feel free to link me whatever as I keep seeing Stormzy suggested and I just don't understand).

[Mattymooz]

Hadn't seen the new page so only just responding to these comments.

3 hours ago, Gucci Piggy said:

I mean he's probably Pyramid sub level already. He's just beaten Ed Sheeran to male solo artist and album of the year at the BRITs which is basically just a popularity contest. And we're talking about him headlining after releasing a second album which would undoubtedly make him even bigger. I can't really see him doing anything but headlining. If he doesn't do it here I imagine he'll do it at R&L.

Do we use Brit Awards to select the new headliners now? Rag N Bone Man won best single does that make him likely to headline? And again comparing the reception of Skepta's new stuff to his older stuff it's crazy how much he has dropped off, and at the time Konichiwa dropped he was probably the frontrunner of the genre.

[Mash011]

Kendrick / Arctics / Macca is a great trio tbh. I've got at least some interest in seeing all of those, although I guess I'd end up giving Macca a miss cos 3 pyramid nights is a bad time. 

As for Stormzy, I'm gonna put him down to do it in 2021 if he stays popular. Needs a little time before I can see glasto going for it.

[Ovechkin]

8 minutes ago, Mash011 said:

Kendrick / Arctics / Macca is a great trio tbh. I've got at least some interest in seeing all of those, although I guess I'd end up giving Macca a miss cos 3 pyramid nights is a bad time. 

As for Stormzy, I'm gonna put him down to do it in 2021 if he stays popular. Needs a little time before I can see glasto going for it.

Would be thrilled with that set of headliners! 

[priest17]

Madonna, Kendrick, Fleetwood Macca. Everybody wins.

[Hugh Jass]

6 hours ago, Mattymooz said:

 

On top of that he'll only have at most 2 albums out (I haven't researched this at all but I imagine that is one of the smallest back catalogues of any glasto headliner ever? Muse is the smallest I can find briefly who headlined off the back of 3 albums) and the biggest festival he's done AFAIK is Wireless this year.

Arctic Monkeys and Coldplay both headlined on two albums (not even sure Rush of Blood was even out when Coldplay did it in 02). Not sure how many Mumfords had either, felt like one never ending album.

Edited July 6, 2018 by Hugh Jass

[The Martini Police]

1 hour ago, Hugh Jass said:

Arctic Monkeys and Coldplay both headlined on two albums (not even sure Rush of Blood was even out when Coldplay did it in 02). Not sure how many Mumfords had either, felt like one never ending album.

Mumford also did it on 2. But surely all 3 of those acts (even Mumford) had multiple times more recognisable songs (to the vast majority) than Stormzy does (and I can't imagine a second album changing that dramatically). Whether or not that is crucial is debatable but a lot of criticism of poor headliners in the past and fears over future ones has revolved around the crowd not knowing the songs (including Mumford who were very popular at that particular time). Sure, he'd be an interesting booking but I can't see how he's big enough in the ways that really matter in this context.

[Hugh Jass]

6 minutes ago, The Martini Police said:

Mumford also did it on 2. But surely all 3 of those acts (even Mumford) had multiple times more recognisable songs (to the vast majority) than Stormzy does (and I can't imagine a second album changing that dramatically). Whether or not that is crucial is debatable but a lot of criticism of poor headliners in the past and fears over future ones has revolved around the crowd not knowing the songs (including Mumford who were very popular at that particular time). Sure, he'd be an interesting booking but I can't see how he's big enough in the ways that really matter in this context.

He'd fail the Office Test for sure.

[CaledonianGonzo]

5 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

 the Office Test

[EamerRed]

11 hours ago, Gucci Piggy said:

I mean he's probably Pyramid sub level already. He's just beaten Ed Sheeran to male solo artist and album of the year at the BRITs which is basically just a popularity contest. And we're talking about him headlining after releasing a second album which would undoubtedly make him even bigger. I can't really see him doing anything but headlining. If he doesn't do it here I imagine he'll do it at R&L.

R&L I can see but the audience there is very different. I've done Reading and it's by far a much younger festival. Brit Awards are not a standard metric either, look back at some of the previous winners of that award and compare them. A few of them would not be Glasto headliner size, and many of them have done stadium shows, has Stormzy even done that?

You're talking about someone who last year played Creamfields, V Festival, Benicassim, Boardmasters, Parklife, etc and didn't headline any of them, and suddenly he's Pyramid headliner material?

11 hours ago, SomeoneListeningIn said:

Stormzy will undoubtedly be big enough to headline Glastonbury with another album under his belt. Whether or not that album is out in good time before June 2019 is a different matter.

I'm not saying never but right now? I can't see it at all.

Stormzy has reached cult status among the younger music fans, he was a fad who's managed to genuinely make it, and I mean that as a compliment. Right now, he's not Glastonbury headliner size in any way imo. In the future, who knows? Absolutely possible, but I can't see it for 2019.

Edited July 6, 2018 by EamerRed

[EamerRed]

22 minutes ago, The Martini Police said:

Mumford also did it on 2. But surely all 3 of those acts (even Mumford) had multiple times more recognisable songs (to the vast majority) than Stormzy does (and I can't imagine a second album changing that dramatically). Whether or not that is crucial is debatable but a lot of criticism of poor headliners in the past and fears over future ones has revolved around the crowd not knowing the songs (including Mumford who were very popular at that particular time). Sure, he'd be an interesting booking but I can't see how he's big enough in the ways that really matter in this context.

Completely agree with this. Imagine a 2 hour set, of course there is plenty of time and music can change quickly but right now it would be a very large proportion of the crowd knowing only a fraction of his songs.

[Gucci Piggy]

8 hours ago, Mattymooz said:

Because is he really that big? He still only played Academys on his last tour and Grime as a whole seems to be a lot less trendy as it was when his album came out (suggesting that he probably wouldnt go down as well. I mean heck, just look at some of the slots Skepta got this year). None of the singles really seemed to do that well (Big For Your Boots did alright and I remember the MNEK collab being played a bit, but nothing to the extent of Thats Not Me/Feed Em To The Lions/Shutdown/Too Many Men etc.) It certainly hasn't had much staying power (at least in my circle of friends).

On top of that he'll only have at most 2 albums out (I haven't researched this at all but I imagine that is one of the smallest back catalogues of any glasto headliner ever? Muse is the smallest I can find briefly who headlined off the back of 3 albums) and the biggest festival he's done AFAIK is Wireless this year. Admittedly, grime (and rap in general) isn't really my genre, so I could be somehow completely oblivious to how huge he is, but I would imagine that if I don't know much about him (considering I imagine I have an above average knowledge about music stuff in general) then I doubt most punters will be interested either.

Well I didn't know he played last year, and imo that makes him even less likely. Coming back literally the next glasto to headline outright? Just seems odd. Plus biggest success story in British Music? Generally curious but how is this being measured? If we are going off of debut sales then that award has to go to king of soccer moms rag n bone man, or maybe to dua. Heck didn't even LG outsell him last year and you guys were all saying he'd never get a decent slot?

I'd put 1975 above him in that race for headliner (he could potentially sub as per my previous comment). Maybe I'm just completely oblivious to something (feel free to link me whatever as I keep seeing Stormzy suggested and I just don't understand).

I'm pretty sure Stormzy could play an arena now if he wanted to. He's barely even a grime artist anymore, he's just an all out pop star. His next album will probs have collabs with Ed Sheeran and stuff on it. He's also been embraced by a much wider audience than the likes of Skepta. He may not have had as many songs that you hear on nights out or whatever as Skepta has, but he himself is a much more recognisable name/figure, and as I said he's basically a huge pop star now. Everyone knows Stormzy.

As others have said, several acts have headlined with 2 albums (Coldplay even headlined with one album, but their second was about to be released).

Mumford and Sons subbed the Other Stage in 2011 and then headlined in 2013 after the fallow year in 2012. Because the festivals are two years apart you'll get much more returning acts because a lot will be onto their next album tour by then.

Yeah, I think he's certainly a much bigger success story than Rag'n'Bone Man. Rag'n'Bone Man has a couple of singles that every man and his dog will recognise on the radio - so did Hozier, James Bay and George Ezra with their debut albums. Stormzy is more than that, he's actually celebrated by music fans and will have a shitload of people anticipating his next release. No one is looking forward to Rag'n'Bone Man's new album, they'll just hear a new single on the radio in a year or two and think "huh that's the guy who sang Human". And Liam Gallagher only had that success because he was the frontman of the biggest band of the last few decades. Pointless comparison. He was already a bigger name than almost anyone in music.

There's more to this than sales. Kings of Leon have sold twice as many records as Radiohead; are they a bigger success story than them?

7 hours ago, Mattymooz said:

Hadn't seen the new page so only just responding to these comments.

Do we use Brit Awards to select the new headliners now? Rag N Bone Man won best single does that make him likely to headline? And again comparing the reception of Skepta's new stuff to his older stuff it's crazy how much he has dropped off, and at the time Konichiwa dropped he was probably the frontrunner of the genre.

No, we don't use BRIT Awards to select new headliners now. But people are arguing that he isn't popular enough, when he's just beaten Ed Sheeran to two BRIT Awards including album of the year (which I think is the main award of the night). If he wasn't popular enough then that wouldn't be happening.

And again, Stormzy is basically no longer a grime artist. If he stuck to grime and released a new album like Konichiwa he wouldn't be able to headline Glastonbury, but all signs point towards it being much more of a pop album than that.

[Mash011]

1 minute ago, Gucci Piggy said:

I'm pretty sure Stormzy could play an arena now if he wanted to. He's barely even a grime artist anymore, he's just an all out pop star. His next album will probs have collabs with Ed Sheeran and stuff on it. He's also been embraced by a much wider audience than the likes of Skepta. He may not have had as many songs that you hear on nights out or whatever as Skepta has, but he himself is a much more recognisable name/figure, and as I said he's basically a huge pop star now. Everyone knows Stormzy.

As others have said, several acts have headlined with 2 albums (Coldplay even headlined with one album, but their second was about to be released).

Mumford and Sons subbed the Other Stage in 2011 and then headlined in 2013 after the fallow year in 2012. Because the festivals are two years apart you'll get much more returning acts because a lot will be onto their next album tour by then.

Yeah, I think he's certainly a much bigger success story than Rag'n'Bone Man. Rag'n'Bone Man has a couple of singles that every man and his dog will recognise on the radio - so did Hozier, James Bay and George Ezra with their debut albums. Stormzy is more than that, he's actually celebrated by music fans and will have a shitload of people anticipating his next release. No one is looking forward to Rag'n'Bone Man's new album, they'll just hear a new single on the radio in a year or two and think "huh that's the guy who sang Human". And Liam Gallagher only had that success because he was the frontman of the biggest band of the last few decades. Pointless comparison. He was already a bigger name than almost anyone in music.

There's more to this than sales. Kings of Leon have sold twice as many records as Radiohead; are they a bigger success story than them?

No, we don't use BRIT Awards to select new headliners now. But people are arguing that he isn't popular enough, when he's just beaten Ed Sheeran to two BRIT Awards including album of the year (which I think is the main award of the night). If he wasn't popular enough then that wouldn't be happening.

And again, Stormzy is basically no longer a grime artist. If he stuck to grime and released a new album like Konichiwa he wouldn't be able to headline Glastonbury, but all signs point towards it being much more of a pop album than that.

do you expect me to read all this mate

[Gucci Piggy]

3 minutes ago, EamerRed said:

R&L I can see but the audience there is very different. I've done Reading and it's by far a much younger festival. Brit Awards are not a standard metric either, look back at some of the previous winners of that award and compare them. A few of them would not be Glasto headliner size, and many of them have done stadium shows, has Stormzy even done that?

You're talking about someone who last year played Creamfields, V Festival, Benicassim, Boardmasters, Parklife, etc and didn't headline any of them, and suddenly he's Pyramid headliner material?

I'm not saying never but right now? I can't see it at all.

Stormzy has reached cult status among the younger music fans, he was a fad who's managed to genuinely make it, and I mean that as a compliment. Right now, he's not Glastonbury headliner size in any way imo. In the future, who knows? Absolutely possible, but I can't see it for 2019.

Yeah because he was touring his first album. We're talking about where he'll be after another album. Two years before Mumford and Sons headlined Glasto they were doing slots like that. Two years before Arctic Monkeys headlined Glasto they were doing slots like that. I know Stormzy isn't a Glasto headliner currently, but I'm predicting that with a second album he could be.

[Gucci Piggy]

Just now, Mash011 said:

do you expect me to read all this mate

Better than the play script you're reading instead imo.

[Winslow Leach]

There's a reason that Stormzy's face is plastered all over billboards across London at the moment, and The 1975's aren't.