Headliners 2015

[eFestivals]

Oh god an artist COVERED A SONG?

We better start a witchunt and start shooting bands who too have done this heinous crime.

So what if you don't like the covers, both proved very successful, so the argument holds little water.

Also that's not her fault if the people listening don't know who sang the original!

Someone pointed to the size of the crowd, suggesting it meant something significant.

I merely pointed out that if some or much of the crowd doesn't know what they're listening to, does that significance mean as much as was being implied?

Numbers don't equal smart, or good, or anything else, apart from those numbers.

[DomDom1984]

It means she's popular, which surely IS significant when it comes to booking a festival, right?

That said, she didn't draw a big crowd at T in 2012, but absolutely nobody did apart from The Stone Roses because of the weather. King Tuts seen some big crowds that weekend purely because it was in out of the rain. Oh, and because of The Wanted as well.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Obligatory post that the The Very Best remix of the Flo / Jamie XX You Got The Love is quite good, mostly because it more or less ditches Flo and subs in a Malawian guy with amazing pipes.

[russycarps]

so newton faulkner is a viable headliner then? after all, the field was packed when he played the other year.

The worst 10 minutes of my life were spent trekking across that field. Half of the people in this thread were probably there, roaring there approval as he massacred Teardrop.

[eFestivals]

It means she's popular, which surely IS significant when it comes to booking a festival, right?

Only to the extent that the likes of Westlife were more popular.

[DomDom1984]

That point is a good one if you know absolutely f**k all about demographics.

[5co77ie]

So with Taylor Swift headlining Radio !'s Big Weekend (that's 2 festivals she's not doing according to Ed 'crashing the reasonably priced car' Sheeran as she doesn't like festivals) - does this rule her out for Glastonbury?

[eFestivals]

That point is a good one if you know absolutely f**k all about demographics.

the demographics that have Glasto appeal to those with dreadful tastes as well as those with decent tastes?

That demographic?

Flo is undoubtedly popular, there's no denying it. But popularity for her or any other act says naff all about quality.

[DomDom1984]

Quality is subjective when it comes to pretty much any form of entertainment.

EDIT: Worth noting that I don't think talent is subjective, but I don't consider them to be the same thing.

Edited January 23, 2015 by DomDom1984

[eFestivals]

Quality is subjective when it comes to pretty much any form of entertainment.

Absolutely true. That's my total point.

Just because some people think Flo is quality it doesn't mean she is.

[kingcrawler]

So with Taylor Swift headlining Radio !'s Big Weekend (that's 2 festivals she's not doing according to Ed 'crashing the reasonably priced car' Sheeran as she doesn't like festivals) - does this rule her out for Glastonbury?

Don't see why it would, Kasabian did both last year and didn't even headline Big Weekend. I don't think she'll play, but her playing Big Weekend won't be the reason why.

[DomDom1984]

There was a lot of talk about Big Weekend and T last year seeing people ruled out. Unsurprisingly, that didn't happen.

[Homer]

Pages and pages and pages of "I don't like Florence so she's not a headliner" opinions masquerading as fact, load up a new page, first post is the same bloody thing yet again, but with added ludicrous Mumfords assertion to boot.

Apparently half the posters in this thread refuse to give us a break from this tedium, though, and I imagine mine and others' rebuttals are getting similarly wearing, so I won't bother any more and just leave the every-headliner-has-to-be-to-my-taste-and-also-one-of-the-biggest-acts-of-all-time-or-they're-not-a-valid-suggestion brigade to it.

I don't like Florence but I never said she shouldn't be a headliner. I was actually supporting the point that she could be, as she headlined Bestival before, and I reckon that with a a big release behind her she could easily do it, and get bumped up to her first big headlining gig, like what happened with Mumfords.

People who think the headliners should be based magically around their own musical taste actually really get on my nerves too. In fact, I posted on here the other day, on this subject, that I hate U2, but I thought they were an inspired booking (being that they're they biggest band in the world and they don't play festivals).

I'm not quite sure what the argument is here to be honest.

Edited January 23, 2015 by Homer

[SloopJohnB]

I'm taking my 11 year old daughter to Glastonbury for the first time and she'd be made up if Flo headlined....so would her mum.

Me? I couldn't give a monkeys who headlines.....its Glastonbury

That said.....I still want to know who is.....come on Neil

Edited January 23, 2015 by SloopJohnB

[Wooderson]

I hope she plays "Get Lucky".

[dirtymookie]

I've lost track in all this crap about Florence, has it been mentioned before that the band who's been around for a while and aren't all British anymore could be The Cure?

[hoils]

.... from the sort of people that think "You Got the Love" is a screeching Flo song.

.... from the sort of people who ask "why is she playing the Formula One theme tune" or who say (about the same song) "oooo, this must be a new one" (I heard both comments from people watching).

What a load of elitist bollocks.

Were these the young kids?

If so; why should they know or care that You Got The Love was originally a Candi Staton tune? Why should they know or care that The Chain was originally a Fleetwood Mac tune?

Actually, even if they middle aged or old, why should they know or care? Being a a music fan isn't a competition to see who knows the most stuff.

[eFestivals]

What a load of elitist bollocks.

Were these the young kids?

If so; why should they know or care that You Got The Love was originally a Candi Staton tune? Why should they know or care that The Chain was originally a Fleetwood Mac tune?

Actually, even if they middle aged or old, why should they know or care? Being a a music fan isn't a competition to see who knows the most stuff.

How is repeating what I've heard people say "elitist"?

They were 20-somethings.

'You got the love' wasn't originally a Candi Staton tune, but we'll skip over that part.

And they don't have to know or care what 'The Chain' is.

I'm merely pointing out that popularity says nothing about quality.

[Winslow Leach]

Obligatory post that the The Very Best remix of the Flo / Jamie XX You Got The Love is quite good, mostly because it more or less ditches Flo and subs in a Malawian guy with amazing pipes.

Can that guy headline?

[CaledonianGonzo]

Can that guy headline?

They should certainly get him along to play somewhere or other. This is very worth acquiring if you haven't heard it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esau_Mwamwaya_and_Radioclit_are_the_Very_Best

http://soundcloud.com/theverybest/sets/esau-mwamwaya-radioclit-are-1/

[ghostdancer1]

I've lost track in all this crap about Florence, has it been mentioned before that the band who's been around for a while and aren't all British anymore could be The Cure?

not a bad shout, but they've no gigs announced for this year AFAIK, so I wouldn't be putting money on it. if they were going to play, they'd surely have to be headliners as nowhere else would be suitable for them IMO.

[Rose-Colored Boy]

I'm merely pointing out that popularity says nothing about quality.

10 of the last 12 headliners can be the subject of reasonable debate over their 'quality' though so that's not very relevant

[FakeEmpire]

Florence would make an excellent headliner. Both of her albums have sold more than a million copies in the UK, she has crossover appeal to different sections of the festival's demographic, she "gets" the festival in the sense that she's been going as a punter for years, she's headlined smaller fests and subbed some major ones already.

Furthermore, we're always talking about the ever-shrinking pool of viable festival headliners. It's a good thing when a festival like Glastonbury gives someone the push up to headliner status and widens that pool.

There's always criticism at the lack of female headliners as well so it'll be great to do something about that also (and not just a female headliner for the sake of it, but one who deserves it).

She may not be for everyone but what headliner is? I think it's a good choice.

[russycarps]

I've lost track in all this crap about Florence, has it been mentioned before that the band who's been around for a while and aren't all British anymore could be The Cure?

I'm pretty sure someone said that michael eavis has said they will never headline again, for some reason or other.

might be wrong like

[Winslow Leach]

They should certainly get him along to play somewhere or other. This is very worth acquiring if you haven't heard it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esau_Mwamwaya_and_Radioclit_are_the_Very_Best

http://soundcloud.com/theverybest/sets/esau-mwamwaya-radioclit-are-1/

Wow, that's excellent, thanks for the suggestion! I needed something other than "Hur, woman looks like a man. Hur." to stop me from losing all interest in this thread.

Have you ever checked out the Awesome Tapes From Africa project?

http://www.awesometapes.com/

https://soundcloud.com/awesometapesfromafrica

Some great stuff on there. I know people like to knock Pitchfork, but I only heard about it because they reviewed this one:

https://soundcloud.com/awesometapesfromafrica/aby-ngana-diop-dieuleul