The first odds for 2019’s Glastonbury headliners
https://www.anglotopia.net/british-e...ry-headliners/
I am so glad that Glastonbury had its customary fallow year in 2018, because I know that aggregating all the NME’s articles about the festival together and forming them into a coherent, but still semi-concise whole is really bloody hard work. However, it looks like we finally have odds for next year’s headliners. According to the Eavises, we know these hints so far: 1) According to Michael, the headliners will include “two or three [acts] that have never played”. 2) According to Emily, and this may be a bit less relevant in narrowing it down, “Headliners should be the best artists around – whether they’re rappers, pop stars or rock bands. The genre is irrelevant – it’s about who is going to produce the most exciting show and is making the best music.” Apparently, as of February, only one was booked.
And now, Paddy Power has released their first list of odds for the headliners (and since I recently discovered that I’ve been interpreting the odds system that’s been presented to me all this time, I’ll include both the original fractional system presented and the Americanised version I’m used to in parentheses):
1/5 (6:5) Kendrick Lamar. The Eavises have said nothing about Lamar, but given that he’s currently on top of the world AND will be headlining at the Leeds and Reading festival this year (Saturday night), it’s not hard to see why he’s the favorite.
◦1/4 (5:4) Madonna. Insiders recently told The Sun that she’s one of theartists already booked. The source said “Preparations are already well under way after they’ve taken this year off, and Michael and his *daughter Emily Eavis want to make it better than ever. They have always been massive fans of Madonna and know she would put on an unforgettable show.” And it’s not like The Sun has ever steered us wrong.
◦1/2 (3:2) Elton John. When Elton John was asked about the possibility of a Glastonbury spot, he said “I don’t think I am a Glastonbury type of act, but having said that I played Bestival and had a great time… so we’ll see.”
◦2/1 (2:1) Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac are the perennial candidates for a Glastonbury headline slot. I cannot remember having ever gone a year without hearing rumours of the band being considered for a headlining Glasto slot. Last year, Mick Fleetwood said: ““One day we’ll just get on a plane and come over and do it”. Why has it never happened? According to Michael Eavis, they appear to be too expensive: “Adele did it for less, Rolling Stones did it for a reasonable rate… We can’t afford to spend £4-5m on people to play. Mick Fleetwood said he would do it himself, but come on. I’d like the rest of the band and they all want to be paid a lot of money.”Emily added: “They’ve got so many managers I can’t agree a price. Stevie Nicks would be good. Maybe I could get her on her own.” Part of me wonders about the irony that would happen if they played in 2019, the year where they’d have the most backlash to it, due to Lindsey Buckingham parting ways with the band.
◦4/1 (4:1) Arctic Monkeys. They’ve headlined in 2007 for their Favourite Worst Nightmare tour, and again in 2013 for their AM tour. It’s not too hard to imagine they’d do it again to promote Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino.
◦5/1 (5:1) ABBA. This time, the management has spoken about the possibility of the band bringing their “Virtual Tour” to Glastonbury: “No, *definitely not. We should remember them how they were in the 1970s, and listen to how they sing today.”
◦12/1 (12:1) Stone Roses, Taylor Swift. At this point, nobody’s even sure if Stone Roses are still together or not. The jury’s still out on Taylor Swift. According to Ed Sheeran, “I’d bet you a large amount of money she doesn’t – a large amount of money. Taylor doesn’t like festivals.” However, that was in 2014, and this year, she’s headlined The Greatest Weekend, the BBC’s Glastonbury replacement, so this either makes it more plausible since she’s more open to it than previously expected, or less because she’s just done it.
◦14/1 (14:1) The Strokes, Led Zeppelin. On Led Zeppelin, Emily Eavis has said “There’s a few people who I’d love to get like Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, people that haven’t done it”, she said last year. Obviously it would be great if we could get Led Zeppelin for example, but not sure if that would ever happen.” Things have not changed, since they seem to have stuck to working on their coffee table book. Given the lack of Glastonbury buzz and the lack of a new album to promote, I have no idea why The Strokes were put on the list. I can only assume that the bookies in question finally decided that Oasis had no chance of reforming, so putting them on the list YET AGAIN would be pointless.
And now, I look forward to more news to see how things change. In the lead-up between writing and publishing this post, Emily Eavis did a Radio 2 interview, where she said that the tickets for the 2019 festival will go on sale in October, and the line-up will apparently be announced shortly afterward, remarkable given that they usually get announced around Spring the year of the festival. Apparently, she dropped a hint at one of the performers, and it’s not a terribly helpful one: “It’s all really started moving quite quickly now. We’ve finally found our Sunday teatime legend slot as well, which is really exciting… I can’t tell you, but I’ll give you a clue: it’s a female. She is not British, but I can’t give you any more clues because it will get me into trouble.” Part of me suspects this could be the Madonna set, but another part of me suspects she’s still too popular for the Legends spot. And about the prospect of Paul McCartney headlining, she said: “Oh we always want him – he’s top of our list. We’ll have to see.” And so, my Glastonbury sense is tingling. This could very well be a tacit admission that he’s already been tapped to headline.