If true, it seems that the current nostalgia trip is going into overdrive. Despite the fact that Weller's best output has been post-Jam, The Jam are one of the more worthy blasts from the past, and so more deserving of the money that a nostalgia tour can bring than some others.
But as someone to whom a Here & Now tour means going to see a band that first came to prominence with Gong rather than supporting acts in their old age that should never have had much of a career in the first place, others are less easy to explain - or suffer. Duran Duran have recently reformed the original line-up, and have even won a Q award for Lifetime Acheivement - when in my eyes their best achievement was by not releasing records for much of my lifetime. And if you say "yeah, but they had some great video's" - sure ... but why not watch good films with a better soundtrack? Those that felt Duran Duran were suitable for this award have obviously been fed a diet of bad 80's pop and have trouble recognising the good.
And with rumours that Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts is to have headliners of Prince, Paul McCartney and Oasis, I wonder if a rename to Glastonbury Festival of Nostalgic Performing Arts might be more appropriate? Although worthy acts, none can be said to have fit the definition (of contemporary of) "up to date".
Yes, I've enjoyed the opportunity to take the piss a bit here, but there is a more serious point. By throwing money at these old acts, there's less opportunity for newer bands to develop and grow. As record companies scream about their falling profits and blame downloaded music (while, strangly, album sales continue to increase, in this country anyway), they are dropping many current popular acts.
It's new music that's always the most exciting, and in today's multi-media society new music only comes to major prominence through airplay and sales. And that airplay to get the sales won't happen with no record deal!