Smallest crowds on big stages/biggest crowds on small stages?

[Padjeq]

Panic! At The Disco Other Stage headliners 2008. One of my favourite bands at the time, but I was very close and still had space around me. Loved it.

[Drinky]

BTW if we're going back a bit, King of Leon in 2003 and the first time round for The Killers in 2004 in the New Bands Tent were huge overflows right out to the pylon. When the lighting rig blew up during Mr Brightside I'm sure no-one further back than the first 5 rows could see anything, let alone anyone way out back.

[Supermerv]

Smallest for me had to be Slaves opening Other on Sunday in 2017, definitely less than 200 people, but they still smashed it.

[goonerben]

Biggest:  2003, Kings of Leon on a Friday early evening slot in the JP - you could not get near the tent. 

[FuzzyDunlop]

54 minutes ago, Drinky said:

I think we ended up wandering by because Shaggy in the Gully was too packed. Not many people around us were into it and I think they finished very early (barely more than an hour into the slot). Weird booking all round really

I was in the Gully watching Shaggy... it wasnt that busy once you got inside

[Chip Batch]

18 hours ago, FakeEmpire said:

Smallest crowds on main stages where I've actually been at the show and not just walking through:

Emeli Sande, Other - 2017
Frightened Rabbit, Other - 2016
Savages, John Peel - 2013

 

I felt bad for FR on that one - the weather was crap and got cut short too. I still really enjoyed it though. One of my favourite bands.

[Little Andy]

13 hours ago, BBC7BBCHEAVEN said:

I'm so confused by this. I'm sure I saw Frightened Rabbit play in Williams Green, it was absolutely rammed and was an unreal gig, Scott was clearly pretty hammered and seemed to be loving it.

When I search now though it says they've played the other stage and John peel.

Can anyone confirm / deny the WG set? I'm worrying I've started creating false gig memories 

Darn, I chose to attend the wrong set that year. 😞

[gfa]

Clairo was very empty after George Ezra last year, went from a completely chocker tent to about 300-500 people

[BBC7BBCHEAVEN]

It also doesn't seem to have been mentioned but Travis at Croissant Nuef was ridiculous 

[Drinky]

Now I think of it... Editors in 2005 drew a tiny crowd on the Other. They were a very late addition in place of Le Tigre (?), literally a week or so out I think so their names weren't in the programme or website. This was in the days before there were screens on the Other stage so they were almost literally unannounced, and it was only a few weeks after Munich came out the first time round and got a bit of radio play. For early afternoon Other it was deserted.

[Sasperella2]

Fontaines DC on Sunday 2019 in Leftfield. Couldn't get in the tent. Hung around outside listening and drinking cider to wait for Algiers. Tent promtly ended at poor Algiers played to about 30 people. They were great though IMO. 

[budvar]

Madness played a "secret" headline set in the Lost Vagueness ballroom back in 2007. A small tent that was uncomfortably packed but great fun. The mud outside was pretty deadly too.

Stornoway opened the Pyramid on the Saturday morning in 2011. A very thin crowd but made me laugh when they thanked their warm up act... U2.

[foolsgold1981]

28 minutes ago, budvar said:

Madness played a "secret" headline set in the Lost Vagueness ballroom back in 2007. A small tent that was uncomfortably packed but great fun. The mud outside was pretty deadly too.

Stornoway opened the Pyramid on the Saturday morning in 2011. A very thin crowd but made me laugh when they thanked their warm up act... U2.

That Madness set was brilliant! We got tipped off during Killers and as the sound wasn't great we decided to head over early. Got near the front and ended up on stage with my (then) girlfriend for that world record kissing attempt.

How was that 16 years ago?!!

[BambooShanks]

Smallest:

Jon Hopkins - WH 2019. Got pretty much to the barriers without trying.  I think the field filled a bit more as the gig went on but was on the quiet side.  I was bouncing though so it's all good.

Roisin Murphy - WH 2022.  Had acres of space to dance in. Hardly surprising when she was going against a Beatle.  No regrets.

Largest:

Every thursday at Stonebridge.  Don't think I've ever been there on a thursday and it not get shut down at some point.

Beans on Toast on Greenpeace in 2019 was something else.  

 

[Once was just teepees]

5 hours ago, Padjeq said:

Panic! At The Disco Other Stage headliners 2008. One of my favourite bands at the time, but I was very close and still had space around me. Loved it.

This was definitely the tiniest major stage crowd I've ever been at. Was about 50 people there tops! Most of them about 12. I left to watch Jimmy Cliff after 3 songs and have never regretted that decision

[GlastoLou]

The killers 'secret set' at JP was absolute carnage, folk were dangling from trees and trampling peoples tents, bloody mental! 

[Glasto Weatherwatch]

On 6/12/2023 at 3:07 PM, FuzzyDunlop said:

Smallest on a big stage

i walked past Boy Better Know in 2017 on the other stage. 

500 is stretching it, more like 300 there. I have heard that it got bigger as the set went on. (I wasnt there)

It was the smallest headliner crowd I've ever seen (so much so I took a pic).

I went to Broken Social Scene in JP just before Stevie Wonder in 2010 and there were about 12 people there. 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Glasto Weatherwatch

[oakdown]

23 hours ago, found home in 2009 said:

Was the Frightened Rabbit one when the stages stopped for a while due to thunder and lightning? Think they were on after everything restarted, but it was still pouring with rain and schedules were all a bit off. I was at that, ended up on tv. Must have been about 200 people max. Definitely the smallest crowd I've seen at a main stage, shame as they were a brilliant live act

I also ended up on the telly at that set! Didn't notice the size of the crowd at the time as I managed to get a barrier spot. Band were great, folk around me were loving it and were kind enough to help persuade security to grab me a setlist that had flown off the stage at the end. One of my favourite Glasto moments despite the rain/mud - the setlist is still framed on my wall.

Edit: Had a look through my albums and found this photo from the Williams Green set later on that day. Almost broke my ankle jumping around on the slippy barrier to 'Living in Colour' 😂 RIP Scott.

Edited June 13, 2023 by oakdown

[Crazyfool01]

58 minutes ago, GlastoLou said:

The killers 'secret set' at JP was absolute carnage, folk were dangling from trees and trampling peoples tents, bloody mental! 

We camp just outside and I made it back in time to make sure the exodus didn’t mean we had broken tents 

[GlastoLou]

1 minute ago, Crazyfool01 said:

We camp just outside and I made it back in time to make sure the exodus didn’t mean we had broken tents 

Folk were going mental, rightly so! The killers aren't worth screwing up the rest of someone's festival!

[MEGATRONICMEATWAGON]

10 hours ago, Supermerv said:

Smallest for me had to be Slaves opening Other on Sunday in 2017, definitely less than 200 people, but they still smashed it.

Ah, we wanted to see them but they were first on and we were annhiliated from a night in the SEC which went on until 6am. Something by Sunday morning had to give 😆

[MEGATRONICMEATWAGON]

4 hours ago, Glasto Weatherwatch said:

It was the smallest headliner crowd I've ever seen (so much so I took a pic).

I went to Broken Social Scene in JP just before Stevie Wonder in 2010 and there were about 12 people there. 

It did seem to be alright in the end judging by this video. Maybe a lot of people rushed over after Kano finished on the Park - 

Edited June 13, 2023 by MEGATRONICMEATWAGON

[waltere]

54 minutes ago, MEGATRONICMEATWAGON said:

Maybe a lot of people rushed over after Kano finished on the Park - 

Kano finished before BBK started, went past the Other post-Kano en route to Justice and there was nothing happening there (literally, not metaphorically)

[MEGATRONICMEATWAGON]

7 minutes ago, waltere said:

Kano finished before BBK started, went past the Other post-Kano en route to Justice and there was nothing happening there (literally, not metaphorically)

Yeah, just a theory. Think Kano finished just as BBK went on, so a lot of people might have headed that way from the Park and started to pack it out. Certainly looks busy-ish from that song, no idea if it was a song later in the set tho.

[deepkittycaz]

6 hours ago, Glasto Weatherwatch said:

 

I went to Broken Social Scene in JP just before Stevie Wonder in 2010 and there were about 12 people there. 

I'm a massive BSS fan. They deserved better than that.