Levellers 2020

[Matt42]

I imagine they are going to be there. Where would they play?

 

Surely a cheese and grain date means they are nailed for Glasto?

Edited November 6, 2019 by Matt42

[Quark]

If they show my guess would be either Glade or Avalon.  Possibly Leftfield. 

[Matt42]

1 minute ago, Quark said:

If they show my guess would be either Glade or Avalon.  Possibly Leftfield. 

Aren’t they quite big? Don’t they headline small festivals? Or am I confusing them with another band.

[zeppelin]

4 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

Aren’t they quite big? Don’t they headline small festivals? Or am I confusing them with another band.

Seem to remember them headlining (?) Glade within the last decade. 

I wouldn't be surprised by an afternoon Pyramid/Other Stage for the 50th. But I'm probably thinking they'd pull a bigger crowd than they would. 

[Quark]

9 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

Aren’t they quite big? Don’t they headline small festivals? Or am I confusing them with another band.

They do some smaller festivals, and they do have a pretty dedicated fanbase, but they're nowhere near the mainstream these days.

Glade in 2010 was well attended but certainly nothing to suggest they could have done with a bigger stage.  They're not really Park material, and I wouldn't really put them in JPT either (although it would be a great atmosphere in there).  Musical style fits with Avalon, and the politics definitely sits with Leftfield.

I guess they could end up on the Pyramid in an earlyish slot, return to the stage for 2020 after the 94 headline set and all that. 

I don't peg them down as being precious about only headlining, but I do think they're big enough (in the sense of history and longevity and all that) to warrant a sub / headline slot somewhere.

If they show, 99% certain I'll be there.  One of the very few acts that jumps straight to the top of the list for me, regardless of how often I've seen them.  Would have to be up against something special to pull me elsewhere.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Quark

[FuzzyDunlop]

The first memory I have of ever watching Glastonbury & loving it, was watching the Levellers on TV. 

[Crazyfool01]

im there .... oops hopefully 

[Ayrshire Chris]

They headlined cropredy a few years ago.  Was a different set from the usual.  We went all the way to see them and were  slightly disappointed Hopefully they are back to their old style  

[Quark]

7 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

They headlined cropredy a few years ago.  Was a different set from the usual.  We went all the way to see them and were  slightly disappointed Hopefully they are back to their old style  

Yeah, that was when they did the orchestral rework album I think.  Nice enough as an acoustic type set, but not your standard Levs approach.  Pretty sure that was just as part of that album cycle, should be safe now

[danbailey80]

I can see them in an early, 'The Waterboys' type slot on the Pyramid. 

Surely with the CD and DVD of their performance and playing the whole set at Beautiful Days this year they will play. 

 

[Ayrshire Chris]

2 hours ago, Quark said:

Yeah, that was when they did the orchestral rework album I think.  Nice enough as an acoustic type set, but not your standard Levs approach.  Pretty sure that was just as part of that album cycle, should be safe now

Only chose to go to cropredy as the levellers were playing and it was glasto fallow year. The whole field was a sea of camp chairs  (camp in the literal sense, not the ooh you are awful sense), occupied by folk in full waterproof capes. Nothing like what the levellers gigs I recollect at Glastonbury. Fair port were decent but I was worried that three days prolonged exposure to folk and country music would cause me to grow udders.

The levellers deserve one of the bigger stages, hopefully they get booked. 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Ayrshire Chris

[Crazyfool01]

Anyone else thinking of the cheese and grain ? .... trying to sort that with friends now ... might even get Michael or Emily there ... its not very far away  

[whitehorses]

A rammed Avalon would be perfect! That’s where they belong, for sure. 

[Ayrshire Chris]

37 minutes ago, caballosblancos said:

A rammed Avalon would be perfect! That’s where they belong, for sure. 

Reckon they would fill the field as well as the Avalon tent. JP perhaps? 

[whitehorses]

37 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Reckon they would fill the field as well as the Avalon tent. JP perhaps? 

That would depend when they were on I guess. If they were on in The ‘Busted’ slot yeah they’d fill the field and more. If on at headline time no way, would just be pure hardcores from the 90s, surely.

I think JP isn’t an awful shout but it doesn’t feel as good a fit as Avalon...

 

 

[Ayrshire Chris]

3 minutes ago, caballosblancos said:

That would depend when they were on I guess. If they were on in The ‘Busted’ slot yeah they’d fill the field and more. If on at headline time no way, would just be pure hardcores from the 90s, surely.

I think JP isn’t an awful shout but it doesn’t feel as good a fit as Avalon...

 

 

Agreed Avalon is the better fit, only thought JP for the increased capacity and the fact that it gets TV coverage 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Ayrshire Chris

[Ommadawn]

1 hour ago, crazyfool1 said:

Anyone else thinking of the cheese and grain ? .... trying to sort that with friends now ... might even get Michael or Emily there ... its not very far away  

I watched them there years ago. My ears were ringing afterwards

[incident]

41 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Reckon they would fill the field as well as the Avalon tent. JP perhaps? 

In the past 15 years, they've headlined the Avalon Stage (2004), The Leftfield (2008, on the Thursday night), and The Glade (2010) - each of which being no larger than the current Avalon Stage tent.

They got good crowds for the slots they were in, but not so much that it was unsafe at any of those. Avalon would sound about right in 2019, maybe Acoustic at a stretch, can't see a JP headline set working or even being considered.

[whitehorses]

@incidentthanks, interesting! Any chance a Thursday nighter again!?!? 

[Ayrshire Chris]

20 minutes ago, incident said:

In the past 15 years, they've headlined the Avalon Stage (2004), The Leftfield (2008, on the Thursday night), and The Glade (2010) - each of which being no larger than the current Avalon Stage tent.

They got good crowds for the slots they were in, but not so much that it was unsafe at any of those. Avalon would sound about right in 2019, maybe Acoustic at a stretch, can't see a JP headline set working or even being considered.

Maybe it’s just old me wanting to recreate the madness and crowd size of 94! If it was the Avalon then I would be right in there early! 

[ChemicalBrother]

I don’t think those tour dates & Cheese & Grain appearance are necessarily an indication they’ll be on the farm next year - they played the Cheese & Grain this year & were touring in June, but didn’t make an appearance.

That such an active band, with so much Glastonbury history,  haven’t been invited back since 2010 also worries me that all isn’t well between the 2 parties - but if it were to happen any time in the future, then surely it’s for the 50th.

Saturday Headliners in the Acoustic would be perfect for me. 

 

[Fourks]

Why do you want them to play Glastonbury, surely it has become everything the Levellers don't like. Far to commercial, personally I would be gutted if they played there.

 

[Quark]

30 minutes ago, Fourks said:

Why do you want them to play Glastonbury, surely it has become everything the Levellers don't like. Far to commercial, personally I would be gutted if they played there.

I want them to play Glastonbury because they're my favourite band of all time.  Pretty simple really.

And while the festival has certainly shifted away from the open traveller attended festivals that the band started out with, I certainly wouldn't say it's everything they don't like.  Yes it's bigger, yes there's a fence, yes it's on telly and people love to post instagram doodads (so I've been told), and it's certainly more sanitised. But it's still rooted in left-wing politics, social inclusion, charity, ecology, there's no corporate sponsorship or branding or significant advertising, independent food traders, the greenfields areas and all that good stuff.

Don't know if you've been to Beautiful Days?  Apart from the size there's not a huge amount (from my experience, others may disagree) to separate it from parts of Glastonbury. A lot of the same food traders, similar beers, very similar bands, even one of the same stages!

If it was like Reading/Leeds or Download or something like that you might be on to something, but in this case I'd disagree.

[kalifire]

I’d be there, unless they clash with Kendrick or Taylor. Only seem them once before (at Hyde Park for a few tunes during the 2012 Olympics) but Levelling The Land is a formative album for me. 

[Quark]

Looking forward to the efests contingent sharing a beer if this happens.  I can 100% guarantee that none of my mates from either group I'm in with will want to be there so I'll be looking for new gig friends!