Who is left to still play the festival?

[Matt42]

So examination/revision period boredom has driven me insane and i'm taking any chance I can to procrastinate, and as we all know eFestivals is perfect for that.

I was thinking of keeping this post for the forum till after this years festival, mull us over the fallow year... but it's been on my mind quite a lot recently. Mainly my thinking is... are there any act out there anymore (that are still active/likely to become reactive) that we can safely say will never play Glastonbury anymore? The reason why I think this is because when I saw Katy Perry announced, It shook my preconceptions of contemporary popstars, as I believed she was always an act either out of Glastonbury's budget or one they wouldn't consider (or ask) to play.

While a lot of us (me included) have it pretty firmly in our minds that acts such as Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, are serious contendors to break their glastonbury virginity in the future. However I'm struggling to think of anymore high calibur acts that haven't either already played, or made it clear that they never will. The reason I included Drake was because his management seem to clock that involving him in UK culture is very promosing for his PR. As his surprise appearances with BBK, Section Boyz at Village Underground etc have garnered a lot of press... I also imagine the BBK boys will put a good word about glasto to him, if he doesn't know about it already. Therefore I consider him an act that despite being polarising on here, stands a very good chance of making it onto a future Glastonbury lineup.

This years V-Festival lineup makes me think an appearance from Pink in the future could be possible (not headlining), but her inclusion in the UK festival seem definitely seems promosing for anyone who'd be up for that.  I also imagine Sia to probably make an appearance one year too (baffled she wasn't there in 2016).

The number of acts in the 'never done it' list seems to get smaller and smaller every year, leading me to think is there anyone out there (who is active) that we can say will probably never do it? I can't say I reckon Justin Bieber, One Direction / Harry Styles etc are all likely for appearances, but I guess with them booking such a contemporary act with Perry, I wonder if one of those acts approached Glastonbury one year... would they say no? I guess it also opens up the possibility of one of these acts turning up for a lower than usual billing.

I hope all of this makes sense and it's not too typical of a Matt42 post, but can we safely say 'nah they'l never play' to anyone anymore?... unless they are dead?

[Amy Lawn]

Sufjan, Sleater-Kinney, Joanna Newsom

[Matt42]

3 minutes ago, GETOFFAMYLAWN said:

Sufjan, Sleater-Kinney, Joanna Newsom

Sufjan has never played before??

[Amy Lawn]

Just now, Matt42 said:

Sufjan has never played before??

Sufjan didn't do festivals at all before EotR in 2015. That was a massive coup for them, it took 10 years to get him to play. It was big news for being like the only time Sufjan would play a festival, then the following year he went a did a purpose-built festival tour in the US.

[musky]

8 minutes ago, GETOFFAMYLAWN said:

Sufjan, Sleater-Kinney, Joanna Newsom

Why do you think Sleater-Kinney and Joanna Newsom won't play?

Can't see some of the big names from the seventies that are regularly called for playing. Usually for cash reasons, or because they're unlikely to ever play again.

[Amy Lawn]

Just now, musky said:

Why do you think Sleater-Kinney and Joanna Newsom won't play?

Can't see some of the big names from the seventies that are regularly called for playing. Usually for cash reasons, or because they're unlikely to ever play again.

Didn't say they won't, just that they haven't. Although that being said, I can't really see either ever playing. Joanna only tours when she's got an album, and she's a bit too niche for Glastonbury to offer her a slot worth her while. She's at a stage in her career where she doesn't need to take not much money to play half way down a bill for 40 minutes, to a small crowd, when places like EotR let her headline and shut down the entire rest of the site while she's on. Sleater-Kinney are more likely, but they just don't seem to come over to the UK a lot. They did a couple of weeks in 2015 and haven't been back, even though they've been doing the US ever since. If they got offered it and they were in the country anyway, I could see them saying yes, but again they're a bit cult and not massively on Glastonbury's radar.

[stuartbert two hats]

I'm going to ignore the post and reply to the subject, which is much more interesting, since I don't think we can rule anyone out until they die.  So I'm going to pretend you asked for artists who've not played yet without mentioning whether they ever will.

So, who hasn't done it yet?  In terms of big hitters, Elton John is the big one that springs to mind, I can't think of a single act bigger than him who's not already played.

Edited April 12, 2017 by stuartbert two hats

[Amy Lawn]

3 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

So, who hasn't done it yet?  In terms of big hitters, Elton John is the big one that springs to mind, I can't think of a single act bigger than him who's not already played.

Fleetwood Mac innit

[Gnomicide]

Ringo.

[tevaburger]

if you go by the amount of t-shirts you see people wear of them on-site from each year since 2002 i'd say The Strokes are near or at top of the list ... unless i did in fact miss that 'secret set' in 2010

 

[Matt42]

Yeah The Strokes is a good shout

have they played the festival before? I thought they had?

[FloorFiller]

4 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

Yeah The Strokes is a good shout

have they played the festival before? I thought they had?

Nah never have, presumably because they got so big so fast and the meagre Glastonbury pay wasn't enough.

[Rose-Colored Boy]

would be the absolute dream, but I don't see his tour dates ever being more perfect for an appearance than they were this year

[Rose-Colored Boy]

also the super-obv ones like Led Zep and ABBA, magical made-for-the-Pyramid setlists that will inevitably always elude us

Edited April 12, 2017 by Zac Quinn

[musky]

6 minutes ago, GETOFFAMYLAWN said:

Didn't say they won't, just that they haven't. Although that being said, I can't really see either ever playing. Joanna only tours when she's got an album, and she's a bit too niche for Glastonbury to offer her a slot worth her while. She's at a stage in her career where she doesn't need to take not much money to play half way down a bill for 40 minutes, to a small crowd, when places like EotR let her headline and shut down the entire rest of the site while she's on. Sleater-Kinney are more likely, but they just don't seem to come over to the UK a lot. They did a couple of weeks in 2015 and haven't been back, even though they've been doing the US ever since. If they got offered it and they were in the country anyway, I could see them saying yes, but again they're a bit cult and not massively on Glastonbury's radar.

Ah, right you are. Yeah Sleater Kinney have done bugger all in this country for ages. I saw them twice in the late 90s but not since. Tried for tickets at the ICA a few years later but missed out. Actually I've kind of forgotten about them. Time to dig out, err... Dig Me Out.

[stuartbert two hats]

16 minutes ago, GETOFFAMYLAWN said:

Fleetwood Mac innit

Oh yeah.  Forgot about them.

[musky]

4 minutes ago, Zac Quinn said:

also the super-obv ones like Led Zep and ABBA, magical made-for-the-Pyramid setlists that will inevitably always elude us

I don't think LZ will play for anyone ever again. They've only ever done a few gigs that meant something to them personally, and it's not like they need the cash.

[Rose-Colored Boy]

3 minutes ago, musky said:

I don't think LZ will play for anyone ever again. They've only ever done a few gigs that meant something to them personally, and it's not like they need the cash.

no I know, that was kinda my point really, same with ABBA. I like to think the Pyramid would be on the list for 'em if for some reason they ever did do a proper reunion tour, tho

Edited April 12, 2017 by Zac Quinn

[Matt42]

15 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

Nah never have, presumably because they got so big so fast and the meagre Glastonbury pay wasn't enough.

Always had it in my mind that they were band who played glastonbury yonks ago but haven't ever come back

i imagine soon they'l cave and take a Pyramid sub slot one day

[musky]

3 minutes ago, Zac Quinn said:

no I know, that was kinda my point really, same with ABBA. I like to think the Pyramid would be on the list for 'em if for some reason they ever did do a proper reunion tour, tho

I'd love to see LZ at the big G, but it would probably be something of a disappointment. I tend to avoid reunion gigs for that very reason.

[henry bear]

I was at the O2 and it was anything but a disappointment - what bowled me over on the night was how loud and brutal it was. That said, that was 10 years ago, they're all in, or approaching their 70's now. I suspect that whilst Jimmy and JPJ would be happy to do more things as Zeppelin, RP won't.

Other acts that could, but probably won't: Eagles, Floyd, AC/DC, Genesis

 

[eastynh]

Depeche Mode

Take That

Edit - Have Talking Heads ever played?

Edited April 12, 2017 by eastynh

[BluePaul]

I feel I should know the answer to this but - Dylan?

[Amy Lawn]

35 minutes ago, musky said:

Time to dig out, err... Dig Me Out.

20th anniv this week! Now's a good time for listening. It's actually always a good time for Dig Me Out.

[kingbadger]

Queen, whether with Adam Lambert or some other iteration. Shame as they'd be perfect in the Sunday legend slot, well for me anyway. Plenty of huge, cheesy bangers everyone knows.