Speaking to BBC Radio 6 last month, festival organiser Emily Eavis confirmed that a secret headliner had been booked, but that, frustratingly, she couldn’t reveal who it would be until May. Crucially, she said the act hasn’t already been announced due to ‘contractual reasons‘, which probably means the act in question are trying to create a bit of a storm by playing at Worthy Farm. Performances from Fleetwood Mac and Prince have been denied by the Eavis household, while other rumoured artists like Kanye West have been quashed by Wireless Festival claiming that it will be his UK festival exclusive. So who could this elusive act be? The internet is rife with rumours, so here is a rundown of some of the most hotly tipped names.
Oasis
On Thursday (24th April), Gallagher sent out five separate tweets spelling ‘OASIS’, and then another tweet which read “OASIS LG”. Twitter scrambled to attention at this, with the British public working themselves into a frenzy at the prospect that the band were about to ‘Beyoncé’ an album, or indeed confirm a Glastonbury performance. Having headlined the festival in 1995 and 2004, their appearance would be a nice anniversary slot, but it seems unlikely. There has been no obvious reconciliation between the brothers since their row in 2009, and in 2011, Liam claimed he would never visit the festival again… but then he performed there with Beady Eye last year so maybe that wasn’t quite true. Perhaps to throw us off the trail, former Oasis guitarist Bonehead has chipped in saying that Liam probably only tweeted that because the two of them had gone to the pub together. Friend of Noel Gallagher, Andy Goldstein also tweeted this, so maybe not.
I just text Noel asking about the chance of reforming …his reply " There's more chance of me and my ex-wife getting back together" So no.
— Andy Goldstein MBE (@andygoldstein05) April 25, 2014
Update: 26/05/14: Emily Eavis has confirmed that Oasis won’t be performing. Darn.
@TheToneWill oasis aren't playing this year.
— Emily Eavis (@emilyeavis) April 26, 2014
ABBA
This would be amazing, wouldn’t it? One of the most commercially successful pop acts in history, with countless well known songs, there’s certainly demand for an ABBA reunion but whether it will happen at Glasto is another story. Their final performance together was in December 1982, and 2014 marks 40 years since the group won the Eurovision song contest with their single ‘Waterloo’, so it would be a shocker if they did make a comeback. Rumours have been circulating for decades, and last year, Fältskog, who has long been considered to be the major obstacle to a reunion, said in an interview, “if they ask me, I’ll say yes.” Unfortunately, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson said in 2008 that ABBA will not reform, stating there is nothing that could persuade them to perform together again. However, those two then performed together at the Olivier Awards earlier this month, so maybe something is possible. Fourth member Frida Lyngstad says she’d like to reunite, but that it’s up to Björn and Benny. Furthermore, Michael Eavis said last year that the three headliners of Glastonbury 2014 would be acts that had never played at the festival before, and they haven’t… yet.
Radiohead
The five-piece Oxfordshire rock band have performed at the festival a multitude of times before (most recently a secret set in 2011) but haven’t played a show for a year and a half. Recently confirming that they’re working on a new album, they have a reason to go out and headline the festival, if they have new material to showcase. An Australian website also notes the similarities between the disgusting Glastonbury line-up poster, and the inside booklet for the band’s 2011 album The King Of Limbs. A subtle hint from festival organisers, or just bad design on both sides?
Kate Bush
Having announced a string of London dates for late-August and throughout September, Glastonbury could be a rather major warm up gig. The singer has never performed at any festival before, and has odds of 9/1 on headlining Glastonbury 2015. Bush was notoriously quiet and mysterious with the shock announcement of her Before the Dawn tour, so it’s possible that she would do the same thing with Glastonbury too. Also, the delay in the announcement is justified, as she would have wanted to sell tickets to her solo shows before revealing a slot at Glastonbury. If Kate Bush were to feel at home on a stage anywhere, it seems Worthy Farm would be the one, I mean, have you seen the ‘Wuthering Heights’ video? She’d fit right in.
Metallica
Metallica have been the bookies favourite for a while, with William Hill even refusing to take bets on them performing at the festival because it’s an ‘open secret’ that they have already been booked. Drummer Lars Ulrich previously stated that the band would be ‘ready to go’ if they were asked to play at the festival, saying that it is something he would love to do. The band will be in Europe at the time of the festival, as they will play at Rock In Rome Sonisphere on 1st July, so it would be odd if they didn’t stop off at Glastonbury, especially if it’s a festival they’ve personally expressed desire to play at.
A whole load of other names including Foo Fighters, Adele, The Stone Roses, David Bowie and Daft Punk have all been put forward too, but I guess we’ll just have to wait for the announcement to be made in May.
Update: 29/04/2014: Michael Eavis has said that the final headliner is “one of the biggest-selling bands in the world at the moment.” Could he really have taken the risk of booking One Direction?! The backlash could be worse than Jay-Z at Glasto ’08. Midnight Memories was one of the best selling albums globally in 2013.
Resale tickets for Glastonbury 2014 will be available on 27th April. Glastonbury will take place from 25th – 29th June 2014.
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