From David Bowie’s accidental headline set to Jay-Z’s brilliance response after he was criticised by Noel Gallagher,
read on below for the most eye-catching sets on the Pyramid Stage.
T Rex (1970)
Glastonbury, or the Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk Festival as it was known back then, was in for an unwelcome surprise for its inaugural event in 1970.
Founder and organiser Michael Eavis had originally booked The Kinks to headline proceedings,
before they put a major spanner in the works by pulling out of their slot at the eleventh hour.
Determined for the festival not to be disrupted, Eavis phoned the lead singer of T Rex, Marc Bolan.
As he was actually about to play another show at a Butlin’s in nearby Minehead, he agreed to fill in for The Kinks and, although under 2,000 people attended the festival that year, it signalled the birth of a music Mecca.
New Order (1987)
While New Order were famed for the inconsistency of their live performances, their 1987 set, broadcast live on Radio One, was electric from start to finish
For anyone who has not heard the bouncing, groovy synths of Temptation, this live version perfectly encapsulates its euphoric feel, all while being played out to thousands who undoubtedly would have felt privileged to be part of such an astonishing set.
Johnny Cash (1994)
Famed for his iconic yet simple introduction of ‘hello’, Glastonbury was Johnny Cash’s manor from that moment onwards in the summer of 1994.
Reeling through his back catalogue of hits, including Ring Of Fire, Cash made such an impression on Michael Eavis that he ranks it as one of the best Glastonbury sets of all time.
‘He was spellbinding, bloody brilliant. That was one of my best bookings of all time,’ Michael Eavis told NME in 2013.
‘That was one of my best bookings of all time. This was when Johnny wasn’t nearly as fashionable as he was after Hurt.
Some of the youngsters thought I’d gone crazy, as they believed I should be booking new stuff all the time. They thought he was just a daft old country singer. But he was so good. I can’t choose one song as my favourite, I’d have a shortlist of 100.’
Oasis (1994)
Oasis made their Glastonbury debut in 1994, with a young Liam Gallagher striding onto the NME stage donning a blue jumper and shades.
He revved the crowd up by asking them: ‘Are you lot gonna wake up for some proper songs?,’ before going on to perform a short eight-track set.
With a performance that comprised of songs such as Cigarettes and Alcohol, Fade Away, and Live Forever, it made for an iconic show, despite them not being as well known at the time.
They would return as the Pyramid Stage headline act for Glastonbury’s 25th anniversary the following year, as Brit Pop took the UK by storm and the band’s second album, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, became the fastest-selling LP of the decade.
The band made a third appearance in 2004 when show organiser Michael Eavis invited them to officially close that year’s event from the Pyramid Stage.
Pulp (1995)
While Britpop ruled Britain’s music scene in the first half of the 1990s, the dropout of one iconic group threatened to throw things into disarray until another stepped in and saved the day.
Stone Roses were originally slated for Pulp’s slot, before guitarist John Squire had a cycling accident that he was unable to recover from in time to perform, to the sadness of millions across the UK.
Pulp’s resulting slot catapulted them to even greater heights, with a triumphant from the Sheffield outfit cementing their status as one of Britpop’s big boys.
Radiohead (1997)
Radiohead’s performance at Glastonbury in 1997 was nearly very different, after the set was hit by technical difficulties, and the band admitted they almost chose to abandon the show halfway through.
But they persevered and played through their frustration and ended up delivering one of their greatest ever performances.
Coming only two weeks after the release of their album OK Computer, they delivered definitive live versions of highlights, Karma Police, Airbag, Paranoid Android and No Surprises.
The crowd was rapt with attention as the band performed a unique and sensational set that many have credited with impacting the landscape of music in Britain.
David Bowie (2000)
In what was a sign of things to come over the interest and hype surrounding Glastonbury headliners, it was reported that Bowie would be headlining the first edition of the festival in the new millennium before he had even signed to do so.
While tickets did not sell out in 57 minutes, the speculation around Bowie’s booking arguably made him the first ‘accidental’ headliner at Worthy Farm.
While many fans were concerned that his set would be too experimental and lack a plethora of previous hits, Bowie played classics from start to finish, in what was regarded as one of the performances Pilton has ever seen.
Jay-Z (2008)
No stranger in being able to respond to criticism in resounding fashion, Jay-Z delivered the perfect retort to former Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher, who infamously remarked: ‘I’m not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It’s wrong’.
Jay-Z responded by sending the Pyramid Stage wild with a rendition of Wonderwall preceding his smash hit 99 Problems.
His ode to British music also included covers of The Prodigy’s Smack My B**** Up and Amy Winehouse’s Rehab.
For someone who was told in no uncertain terms that his genre would be ‘wrong’ for Glastonbury, all Jay-Z did was prove Noel Gallagher wrong.
Beyonce (2011)
While the relationship between Jay-Z and Beyonce has not always been smooth sailing, they both managed to silence their critics by virtue of their headline Glastonbury slots.
While many critics were sceptical about the idea of a pop artist headlining at Worthy Farm, Beyonce put on a show that instantly proved her doubters wrong.
From Destiny’s Child numbers to covering Kings of Leon and Prince, Queen Bey was in disbelief at the response she received from the crowd.
Speaking to the BBC, via NME, she said: ‘This night was a dream: I felt like a rock star.’
Dolly Parton (2014)
The Sunday ‘Legends Slot is a relatively recent term in connection with the festival.
Tony Bennett is widely-credited for helping bring the term to popularity, as he entered the Pyramid Stage between two acts who were more contemporary at the time.
Performing in between sets by Space and Sonic Youth in 1998, Tony Bennett walked so that Dolly Parton could run.
She wowed the Glastonbury crowd – and millions more – to such an extent that an audience of 2.6 million, or a share of 13.4 per cent of people watching TV in the U.K. at the time had tuned into the country legend’s set, according to ratings advisory firm Attentional.
Patti Smith (2015)
Patti Smith put on a showstopping performance on the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm in 2015.
The New York punk queen captivated crowds with her female rage, ripping her guitair strings out one by one while she sang as a gobsmacked audience watched.
The performer sang her hit song Gloria, as well as covering The Who’s My Generation.
She even went on to bring the Dalai Lama onstage for a guest appearance and presented him with a cake for his 80th birthday.
Florence And The Machine (2015)
Florence And The Machine put on a memorable performance in the same year, when they were recruited as the replacement headliner for the Foo Fighters.
Welch dedicated the set to lead singer Dave Grohl and went on to cover their hit song Learn To Love Again, as she danced across the stage barefoot.
Submersing herself in the experience, the singer got into the crowd and even got on one fan’s shoulders, borrowing a flower crown from a nother.
Hits Dog Days and You Got The Love went down a treat with the excited crowd of festival-goers.
Adele (2016)
Adele put on a sensational performance in 2016, triumphing by putting on what fans hail as one of the greatest ever sets Worthy Farm has seen.
Hilariously, during her stunning show, she swore a breathtaking 33 times – prompting a BBC strong language warning.
She once said her music would never work at a festival but proved herself wrong with the incredible performance.
Playing to a crowd stretching back as far as the eye could see, the chart-topping star opened with her smash hit Hello, and changed one of the lyrics to say ‘I’ve been Glastonbury dreaming,’ prompting a huge cheer from the crowd.
She even pointed out a young girl in the crowd and told her she’d been coming to the festival ‘since I was your age’ and invited her on stage for an impromptu selfie.
Stormzy (2019)
Marking the extent to which grime music resonated with listeners across the UK, Stormzy’s performance in 2019 was one for the ages.
Not just content with delivering a crowd-pleasing performance – which he managed to do with his typical exuberance and swagger – Stormzy also used his set as a platform to raise awareness around major issues of racial and social injustice.
Furthermore, he referenced some of the names to have influence his career – and who he credited for helping to change the British music scene – namedropping the likes of Skepta, AJ Tracey, J Hus and 67.
It was a poignant example of an artist using their status and platform as an influential figure to bring attention to wider issues outside of music.
Paul McCartney (2022)
Paul McCartney’s historic Glastonbury set has been lauded by fans after the music legend became the oldest solo star to headline the festival.
His lengthy performance, which had been delayed by three years due to the Covid pandemic, wasn’t short of surprises as he was joined by guests Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen during the show.
Taking to the stage for his first performance at the festival in 18 years, Paul performed hits ranging from his Beatles heyday to his time with the band Wings.
The pop icon earned a thunderous reception from the crowd of thousands watching the show, with many millions also watching the show air on BBC One.
The Love Me Do hitmaker also got the crowd to cheer for his home city of Liverpool, as well as his late bandmate John Lennon, to whom he dedicated Here Today to.
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Source: USA Today
