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2 Legend (Old Duffer) Headliners


Guest sdaveak47

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I was an "old duffer" when I first went to Glastonbury in 1997 when Neil Young was due to play - been a fan since 16 - but by the time I got there he had had to pull out after lacerating his hand and my first sight of Glastonbury was through torrential rain and a quagmire! with a 2 year old my first experience was shaping to be my last! after putting family to bed i wandered the site, eating at Manic Organic and catching Sharon Shannon and David Byrne - it was growing on me. On saturday i went to see a band I had never heard of - Radiohead - the rest is history! Never missed a Glastonbury since and taken in more new music and indie bands then I can remember. Now you who think Neil and Bruce are duffers - please open up your mind - I can tell you now that when Neil opens with an electric Hey, Hey, My, My then you will never forget the experience like i have never forgotten what Radiohead did to me 12 years ago - you will not be disapppointed! Every year Neil asks 'younger' band to play the set of their lives at the Bridge School Benefit - Neil will know what deal this is and will deliver!

Someone elsewhere said that if these headliners come off then it will be his last Glasonbury as it could be never be topped - I can sort of agree but who knows what Arcade Fire or Ryan Adams will deliver in another 5 years - be open and you will just love the experiences. I will keep going until my kids are old enough to to go by themselves so the magic of Glastonbury is safe in their hands - I owe that to the Eavis' and if they deliver this summer we will all owe them for maybe the best ever festival - well till the next year!

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Posted this on another thread, speaking about Bruce Springsteen......

Don't know about that, I'm 21 and know who he is but I would bet a lot that I could find a lot of people who don't. Also acts like this don't help attract the younger audience they are always banging on about. I know people who refuse to go to Glastonbury because its 'too old fashioned and hippy'. Now these are nice people who go to other festivals and I don't really think Bruce will attract new people do you? My first Glastonbury was last year and I was amazed to see so many 35+ year olds sat in their camping chairs. I have no problem with that but wheres the future? Older bands like The Who, Aerosmith, REM even Blur etc still appeal to a younger crowd but also the older lot. Bruce Springsteen does not, he is squarly rooted in the past. If they have Neil Diamond and Bruce Springsteen, well thats a double edged sword if I ever saw one.
Edited by BenchBuddah
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Neil Young has a large catalogue of wonderful songs, ranging from quiet acoustic stuff to wild electric guitar. But he is very much his own man and tends to play what he wants rather than the crowd pleasers. Saw him last year at Hop farm and no outing for everyones favourite "Like A Hurricane" but also some good stuff, so you have to take the rough with the smooth. Lots of integrity with his Living With War tunes/tour.

Best Best performance of all time for me was at a Nelson Mandela concert when he played Keep On Rocking in The Free World acoustic on a very harsh sounding twelve (I think) string guitar.

It could be a real dream.

"Rock and roll will never die"

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17 and couldn't be more excited.

Bruce will be the spectacle of next year's festival circuit.

Blur should be fantastic too. Although I've already got tickets for their Hyde Park gig on the 3rd.

Neil Young, I'm not a huge fan of, but unless Morrissey or something Libertines-esque is going on at one of the other stages, I'm sure I'll be down at the Pyramid.

Edited by DaleM
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I've held off talking about this in a vain attempt to not get my hopes up. Suffice to say the thought of Bruce playing the greatest festival in the world was something completely inconcievable not so long ago. I've been pretty heartened by the (generally) enthusiastic response the two "old duffers" have received as I actually expected a lot more of a backlash. But there was talk earlier in the thread of Bruce in particular being "firmly in the past" and another thread noted he wasn't "relevant". This is arse. I'd argue that Bruce playing Glasto would be the culmination of a five-or-so year period thats seen him become more relevant (whatever that means) than any time since the mid-80s. Many of the better (admittedly mostly American) bands of recent years have either acknowledged his influence and/or actually joined him onstage, from the Arcade Fire to the Hold Steady, the National, Band Of Horses, even the bl**y Killers ripped him off on their second record. He's still filling stadiums and he's doing it on the back of new material. No Stones-type lazy-trawl-through-the-hits here. In addition, he’s played benefits for Obama (surely the best thing to happen to the FUTURE in a long time), who was quoted as saying “the one person I’ve always wanted to meet was Springsteen” and used his music throughout his campaign.

As for Shakey, I find it difficult to believe anyone would begrudge him a headline slot, given the shadow he's cast over "alternative" music for over three decades. The intensity he brings to a live performance would shame whatever hip young gunslingers happened to be on the bill.

It might initially seem top-heavy, two legends simultaneously but seriously, what are the alternatives? Another year of the landfill indie carousel? Not to come off like a jaded nostalgist (I'm 30, incidentally) but the fact is there's very few bands out there genuinely worthy of a headline slot. Even the names mentioned here like the Prodigy? ONE class album (Jilted), one MASSIVE album (wherein the rot started to set and the cyberpunk posturing got in the way of the music), followed by eleven years of...not much at all.

There's a reason the old duffers haven't suffered a similar fate. They've both made monumental f**k ups (Neil Young's -ahem- Shocking Pinks and THAT Dancing In the Dark Video for example) but come Glasto, if these rumours are true, the two guys who don't really have to be there, the two multi-millionaires, will be the the two guys playing as if their very lives depend on it.

For the second year running the Eavises have surprised people, got them talking and made Glasto unique in the ever-growing festival "circuit". Respect.

Edited by chevychase
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I'm 26 and think the headliners are fantastic choices.

I couldn't name a Neil Young song and would struggle with a Bruce Springstien song as well but I said the same about Leonard Cohen and Neil Diamond last year and they are now too of my favourite artists. I think one of the reason Glasto is such a great festival is due to its diveristy and the fact it is something different to your average festival.

If you want a festival that has Artic Monkeys, Oasis etc headlining then there are plenty of festivals around that can cater for your needs, To me Glasto is about having someone pioneering and special as a headliner. I believe the three mentioned fit that bill very well.

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im 18, the only thing i've heard of any of those headliners is my mum playing brucey.

its probably been said before but eavis did say he was going to "return to glastonburys roots" after 08 cus it was too risky.

saying that, it would of been good to have a dance headliner, when was the last one?

im a bit miffed about the headliners, but it aint all about them at the end of the day. i just hope eavis makes it up at the glade, dance village and shangri la!

Edited by Brizzle
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have to say that as a reasonably old duffer i simply cant get excited about any of the headliners.

i could get excited by neil young if there was a guarantee that he were to play the whole of ragged glory but thats a non starter.

i have never heard a single boss tune that has any relavence to my life or taste in music.

and im already vip'd for both of the hyde park blur gigs (nice to know people that know people :D )

so i will be spending my time away from the pyramid headliners

fortunatly for me (and everyone else) the big G is never soley about who's on the pyramid @ 10pm

personally im hoping for a reggae legend on the jazzworld for 1 of the days & sigur ros and orbital on the other stage for the other couple of days - that would do me fine.

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24 years old and if those three are the headliners then I will be at the Pyramid every night.

Can't wait!!

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I don't think its necessarily the age of the performers or the crowd that counts, its the style of music and the atmosphere. This is why I think Blur should be on the Friday and NY on the Sunday. Songs like Song 2 will be mad on the Friday, not sure many have the energy left for it by Sunday night.

Friday = lively, Saturday = anthemic, Sunday = chilled out, slower stuff.

If however Prodigy or Oribtal end up playing the Other Stage on the Friday against NY then I will be happy!

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the generlisations and ignorance [i mean that in the sense that some people are just plain unaware] in some statements in threads like theses amazes me.

if people made a little effort then sweeping statements like 'old duffer' may be replaced for some actual critique.

i'm 23 and i saw neil young the night before a gcse exam going on for 8 years ago. i also thought my dad was saaaad for listening to brooce then i fell in love with 'secret garden' and never looked back. i saw the band at crystal palace on the rising tour.

i'm not saying like them, i'm just saying give them a shot and form an opinion rather than 'they're +50 so must be toss'. if any human can listen to harvest or nebraska without a smidge of awe then they're lying...or dead (joke) :P but give it a try at least!

if ME secures these i couldn't think of 3 more deserving headliners in terms of longevity (albeit blurs' hiatus), legacy, respect and just damn good music.

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Muse, Sunday night @ Glastonbury 2004. This was literally one of the all-time great Glastonbury headline shows. That's one to disprove you, if not The Who/Primal Scream/Basement Jaxx/Kaiser Chiefs (Kylie would have exhilarated too) all taking second-from or headline slots on Sunday in recent years too.

I'd say Sunday is moreover the act picked that may end up pleasing locals as well as providing an awe-inspiring end to the festival, and normally those two factors twinned culminates in a legend playing. I think Blur fit the bill perfectly.

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