Glastonbury has finally returned to Worthy Farm! To get you in the mood for the one of the most iconic music festivals in the world, we’ve put together a list of books inspired by legendary Glasto performances.
Got a favorite Glastonbury performances? Let us know in the comments!
- Radiohead – Pyramid Stage, 1997
For the members of Radiohead at Glastonbury in 1997, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Suffering from technical issues throughout their set, they described the performance as a form of hell, yet turned out a performance that will last forever.
Radiohead’s OK Computer celebrates an album that transformed Radiohead from a highly promising rock act into The Most Important Band in the World.
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- David Bowie – Pyramid Stage, 2000
David Bowie, the epitome of cool, had the crowd eating from the palm of his hands from the Pyramid Stage in the year 2000. One of the most iconic performances of all time, it was also cut off from live broadcast on the BBC at the time.
Read how Hugo Wilcken analyses Low, one of Bowie’s most creative albums and the first in the famed Berlin Trilogy.
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- Oasis – NME Stage, 1994
The performance that let the world know that Oasis were here and they were here to stay. Britpop had erupted.
Released just 2 months on from their Glastonbury set, Definitely Maybe became one of the fastest selling albums of all time. Here, Alex Niven examines the rise of Oasis through this album, and celebrates the cultural influence it had on Britain in the 1990s.
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- Kendrick Lamar – Pyramid Stage, 2022
If Jay-Z paved the way for hip hop acts to headline Glastonbury, then Kendrick Lamar solidified their right to be there. Giving the crowd a performance for the ages he closed out the festival in style.
Published shortly after his performance, this book explores the instant classic To Pimp a Butterfly, taking a deep dive into Lamar’s second album.
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- Elton John – Pyramid Stage, 2023
Okay technically this one hasn’t happened yet, but I think we can all agree that Elton John’s final UK performance will be one for the ages.
On the flip side, Elton’s Blue Moves was commercially disappointing and poorly reviewed. Read why Matthew Restall believes the misunderstood album deserves a lot more praise than it got at the time.
