Arcadia was packed for MC Mash Clan’s set. It was really hard to get close – and they closed The Old Railway Track shortly after we arrived to stop anyone else getting in. It’s like stepping directly into a battle scene in the Matrix. The explosions were so intense that they shook and the ground seemed to light up the sky for miles around. The mix of thumping dance music and pyrotechnics is unparalleled. You just don’t see stuff like this anywhere else.
Earlier today the Lightning Seeds were playing to the big crowds at the Pyramid Stage – tonight, approaching midnight, they were back in action but this time on the much more intimate Avalon stage. The crowd inside the tent were full of energy, but plenty of other people were chilling out around bonfires outside the tent.
There were a couple of surprises, including a cover of The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” that had everyone singing along – which seemed to come as a bit of a shock to Ian Broudie. They saved the lively stuff to the end, wrapping up with Three Lions – getting us all ready for tomorrow’s big game!
“That was the best performance from a live band I have ever seen, ever!” – that’s the verdict from Ben from Shrewsbury as he and the Pyramid Stage crowd flock away from a spectacular show from headliners Muse.
For one hour and 45 minutes they kept hard-core fans and part-timers happy with a mixture of classic tracks and new stuff from their latest album – and then they pulled a big surprise when the Edge from U2 joined them to pay tribute to the fallen headliners with a version of “The Streets Have No Name”, Bellamy’s voice sounding not too dissimilar to Bono’s. They finished with a final treat of Knights of Cydonia – which left us wondering: ‘Can Stevie top this?’
It’s 10 years since the Pet Shop Boys last played Glastonbury and what a comeback. Amazing. They had the crowd jumping, waving and singing along from the first track. A brilliant mix of all of their tracks, including some favourites like “It’s a sin” which sent the crowd crazy.
Neil Tennant said he knew “people here like a bit of a show” and that’s what we got – the set, the lights, the four dancers with boxes on their heads, the whole thing was an amazing show. Neil is still the complete showman. And, in his own understated way, so was Chris. The final number – West End Girls. I can guarantee there wasn’t one person not singing “from East End boys to West End girls”.
Brilliant way to close the Other Stage tonight.
She wasn’t on the Glastonbury line-up but Kylie Minogue provided one of the highlights of the festival so far when she walked on to the Pyramid Stage to sing with the Scissor Sisters.
A huge cheer went up as she joined Jake Shears and Ana Matronic to perform Any Which Way, a track from the band’s new album.
It was Kylie’s long-awaited Glastonbury debut – she had to pull out of the festival in 2005 after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
When Shears asked her at the end of the song how it felt to be here she looked happy and emotional.
She kissed both of them, waved to the crowds and after she left the stage Ana Matronic told the crowd: “Just so you know, her hair smells terrific.”
She added: “There’s only one way to follow that”, and the band burst into I Don’t Feel Like Dancing.
From start to finish it was a brilliant, happy, party atmosphere – check out the gallery …
Adam Winrich holds 8 world records for whip-cracking and this is his first visit to the UK.
He was performing for 45 minutes in the Cabaret area, to a stunned crowd. He whipped up a storm – splitting beer cans, newspapers and cigarette butts.
Every year the artists and engineers of Arcadia – whose pyrotechnical wonders are usually based in the late-night entertainment zone – take their madcap vehicles on a daytime cavalcade round the festival site. Here’s some of them on their way past Chill and Charge.
There’s a big dance scene at Glastonbury. And it’s not just confined to the small hours of the morning. Tom from Bristol has been in the Dance Village for the last four hours. “We always do a fancy dress theme each year. This year we chose S&M. If it hadn’t have been so hot you’d have seen a lot more leather on show”.
James, Stuart and Dougie went for a ‘clown theme’ this year. “We were going to do S&M this year but checked the weather forecast before we set off and decided it would be too hot. So the clown costumes from 2009 make a reappearance. Perfectly ventilated oversized pants”. The facepaint is starting to go a bit crusty in the heat.
Jackson Browne and Seasick Steve on the Pyramid Stage, Kate Nash and Imogen Heap on the Other Stage, Scorcher and Skepta in the East Dance tent, The Wurzels on the Avalon Stage … how do you choose where to go on a Saturday afternoon at Glastonbury?
Sally, Charlotte, Ben and Stuart have the answer: “We don’t rush around trying to get to bands. The music’s a bonus – we’re here for everything else just as much as the music. This afternoon we’re just going to sit on another mound of grass and relax”
Michael Eavis was stunned when he bumped into Gary Kentish – there, cut into his hair, was an image of Eavis as he looked back in 1970, the year of the first Glastonbury Festival.
And not only that … alongside him were some of the big stars of the 40th anniversary festival – Gorillaz, Dizzee Rascal, Snoop Dogg, Slash, Rolf Harris and Fatboy Slim.
Gary, from Cardigan, West Wales, sent the photos to GlastoBlog by MMS.
He says: “The hair cut was done by Jay Bura from Oojufink in Cardigan and was done with a cut-throat razor and took four hours on Tuesday prior to us setting off. I met Michael Eavis on Wednesday night and he appeared stunned at seeing himself etched into my hair (that picture was the black and white photo of Michael wearing a cap in 1970)”
It’s only 10 o’clock and already the sun is threatening to make lobsters of us all.
Despite a huge night last night, it’s just way too hot to be stuck in a tent, so hundreds of people are wandering round, just trying to stay cool.
It was such a buzzing night of music last night that plenty of Glasto-folk just didn’t go to bed.
Right across the festival site people are still emerging through the morning mist.
Some are making their way back to their tents, others pushing on to the find the first food of the day, and a few just want to eek out another couple of hours in their fancy dress costume…
It’s a magical time of the day at Glastonbury.
