Glastonbury: from here to eternity (part 2)

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A lot of equipment like tents and wellys gets left behind at Glastonbury, is there anyway you could recycle all this?

The tents are all a bit gunky actually. We do wash a lot and we do give them away to Bristol charities and that sort of thing but it’s a very time consuming job. They’re all a bit smelly and horrible. Even the welly boots should get recycled. It is very difficult to clean everything. That’s one area where we really fall short of what we should be doing. I hate to see those wellys being just ditched. I just can’t believe that. That’s not right is it? We really need to find a way of recycling those welly boots. It really worries me when you see a 5 ton truck full of wellys being tipped. It wouldn’t cost as much as buying a pair, although I think you can get a new pair for about 3 quid. I think we’ve got to find a way of doing that. I think

Michael Eavis - not your Glastonbury guide

we’re failing, certainly on the welly issue anyway.

Are there any plans for you to open the site publicly to let people look around it while the festival is not on?

Not really, no. I don’t fancy it. Can you see me with a guides uniform on? With a nice peaked cap?

What’s your relationship like with the Pilton villagers?

I get on with them really well. We’re doing loads of stuff at the moment. We’re just finishing off the village hall, it’s all coming together now. Bethan Mason says she will come and play the harp for us for the opening of the hall, and hopefully Gordon Brown is going to open the new houses for us.

Life in the village – this is our most productive year in Pilton really, with the village hall, the tithe barn finished, and the new house development – we now have 18 houses available to let that will never ever be sold so they are available for working people so the village maintains its original character and is not filled up with newcomers. And the children are great too. I go cycling every evening and race the kids on the housing complex.

How come there was no Pilton Party this year?

We take the year off as the whole so it will be more appreciated next year. In fact the festival is appreciated more because of the year off, that’s not the reason we do it but it happens like that. The same thing will happen for the Pilton Party so it will be more appreciated next year.

I think the village is happier with the party now. They get all the profit from it, and it is quite considerable. So the money that goes out in total is about £30,000 I think. They have their own committee for dishing that money out, and it’s independent of me. I’m supposed to be on the committee but I’ve never actually been to any of the meetings. They decide how that money is spent. I think the money will be missed this year.

They are going back to the village fete that they used to do before the Pilton Party. It is good to go back to that occasionally. We have 4000 tickets for the Pilton Party and it sells out in a flash. We’ve had so many good bands; Coldplay have done it twice. We’ve had the complete Stone Roses do it too. I didn’t think they were going to turn up but they did, every single one of them. It was the full Stone Roses before they split up, and was one of the last gigs they did. I hope we didn’t finish them off. It was one of the best Pilton Party gigs we’ve ever done. I’m trying to persuade them to get back together again but I don’t think there’s a hope in hells chance of doing that.

Would you have them as a potential Glastonbury headliner then?

I do try. I speak to them occasionally and have tried. If we could get them complete! Every time they phone me up I mention it. Ian Brown phones up once a year and I sort of bend his ear over it. Ian Brown’s great on his own I know that, but he’s better with the full team. But Mani’s with Primals most of the time, they’re great too, I really love them.

What did you make of their performance last year then?

It was quite funny actually. I was in the cinema field you see watching a film. I could hear them and then I moved away to see a film that I’d moved heaven and earth to get on in the cinema field, so I missed the last bit of Primals. I was in the cinema field ready for this film, because I had to say a few words before it came on. It was a film about Nelson, as it was 200 years since his death. Because I was involved with this film I missed the tail end of Primal Scream. So I heard him say ‘What do you want? What do you want now?’ asking for ideas for the encore and there were loads of people yelling ‘Basement Jaxx’, it was so funny, although I can understand how Bobby (Gilespie) felt. I was supposed to be serious about this film but I couldn’t stop laughing. It was probably funnier than anything in the comedy tent. Bobby was cussing and cussing “You don’t know your arse from your head”. There’s me laughing and then I get a phone call from security saying ‘Do you want Primal Scream removed from the site?” and I said “No, don’t haul them off the site for heavens sake”. Then I get another call for someone saying we have to haul them off because they’re real trouble and I said “No, don’t you dare.” So they stayed the night. I saw Bobby the other day at an awards ceremony and I actually thanked him for all the years of good and faithful service he put into Glastonbury and he kinda mumbled about the Basement Jaxx business and I told him it was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. I’d definitely ask them back.

Do you go to any other festivals?

Not really. I don’t really fancy wandering around the V’s or anything. I’m not slagging them off; it’s just not really my style really. I don’t go to other festivals; I’m so busy with this festival. You wouldn’t believe the amount of work that goes into it. It’s every day; there are meetings all the time. It’s full on. I don’t really have time. I haven’t had a holiday since my honeymoon about 5 years ago. So we’re going to Canada on the 21st of September for 2 weeks to see some old friends of mine over there. But no I don’t go to other festivals.

If you could pick one act for a festival, dead or alive, who would it be?

There’s a lot of modern stuff that’s all alive and kicking. I think for a dead one I’d go for Marc Bolan. He played at the first one in 1970.

Do you use the internet much?

Do you know what? I’ve never read a website in my life. I don’t use the internet at all. I like to see people face to face. I don’t like to do it so remote – especially with all these emails, nobody knows what anybody looks like anymore.

You were at the launch party of Blackbud’s debut album, you must like to support new bands?

Yeah I was. I love new bands. They won the new bands competition didn’t they? Like The Subways. We have a few bands who come through the competition process. How are The Subways doing now do you know?

A few of our bands come through the competition process, Blackbud’s one of them so I hope they do well. I went to the concert at Bradford Upon Avon the other week when they played there in the village pub. It was great. Really crowded. We’re looking for new bands all the time, obviously. That’s headed up by Emily. She’s working for Island records at the moment actually choosing new bands for them. That’s her year off job.

So are you going to tell me who are headlining Glastonbury next year?

I’ll tell you one band who will definitely not be playing is U2.

Any particular reason?

No, you ask them.

Many thanks to Michael for his time ... and his fantastic festival!

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