Glastonbury 2017: Jeremy Corbyn conquers the stage – as it happened
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The Labour party leader got the biggest crowd of the weekend so far as warm-up man for Run the Jewels. Plus all the rest of the action from Saturday daytime
Okay everyone, that’s it for the Guardian day blog. Alex Needham will guide you through this evening’s performers, highlights including Katy Perry, Liam Gallagher, Solange, and, depending on what your definition of ‘highlights’ is, Foo Fighters.
We’re all off for a celebratory pint. Easy on the froth, Corbz!
Time for another highlight from our Corbyn interview.
Asked what the naughtiest thing he’d ever done at a festival was, Corbyn replied: “Oh it’s far too bad, I can’t possibly tell you,” he said, before adding: “Where’s the nearest wheat field?”
Kyle Maclachlan of Twin Peaks fame has been spotted in the audience for Katy Perry. He had his kids with him and allegedly looked tanned.
Here’s a photo of Kyle at the closing ceremony of the 57th Monte-Carlo Television Festival in Monaco. Love you Kyle! I am the Guardian’s leading Showgirls fan! Come find me later!
Other celeb spots today include Tilda Swinton and someone from Oceansize. Tan shade unconfirmed. More news as it comes.
Friends Neil Phillips and Neil Lansdowne with Louis Phillips, 3
What do you love about Glastonbury?
NP: The atmosphere.
NL: (Louis whispers to his friend) “Rocking out” is Louis’s answer. Who did we just go see, Lou? (Louis says: British Sea Power) They have the best bands here.
NP: And it’s the size of it as well. You can never get round to everything, so it’s a case of making the most of it.
NL: This is your second time, isn’t it Louis?
NP: (Louis holds up 10 fingers.) 10? How’s that possible? He’s been to two, 2015, 2017 and you were in your mother’s belly for 2013, weren’t you? So I don’t know if that counts.
Are you strong and stable?
NP: Not after last night. We went to Arcadia. Lou obviously didn’t join us for that party, he was in bed. He didn’t make it to Radiohead.
Grohl or grime?
NP: Probably Grohl. Grohl over grime. But, you know, I like a bit of everything. Eclectic.
Aren’t pop-punk trio Busted by now just a Glasto novelty act? At one point, they were a tween band, heavily styled in sub-Green Day matching ties and spiked hair, armed with sugary anthemia about school, crushes and scenarios that will be familiar to those who watch bro-coms. Now, though, they’ve done a bit of a Take That: grown up, had children, and leant in to Kings Of Leon-ish soft rock and ropey but gently danceable punk-funk (which doesn’t sound unlike a discofied Klaxons, minus the Ayuahasca, or Friendly Fires in their Jamie Principles stage).
Nostalgia triggered or not, Busted’s fans have grown up and are out in their droves. The band have drawn an abnormally large crowd to their Avalon performance, spilling out of the tent 200 people back. They start with old ‘classic’ Air Hostess, but it’s not long before their stuff that sounds like literally everything else, preened into borecore perfection, gets an airing. There’s slight relief in the downtempo 80s power ballad that sound like an ultra sax-y Phil Collins by way of Michael Bolton (that’ll be frontman Charlie’s vocal husk), or the Top Gun soundtrack, which seems to suit them.
A new string of live dates - including one at Royal Albert Hall - suggest that Busted have pulled off the feat of maturing into a new band while still capturing the spirit of their old incarnation. Novelty, at least, they are not.
Continuing our portrait series, we ran into music writer, manager and founder of punk band the Membranes, John Robb.
What do you love about Glastonbury?
The weather. I was wet, I’ve just dried out now. I’m from Manchester, this is perfect weather. We like the drizzle – it’s life affirming. And you don’t have to have a shower in the morning. What I love about Glastonbury is its diversity. It’s like Katy Perry, Napalm Death, grime, all in a row – it’s the Spotify generation in physical manifestation. Everybody now flicks from one type of music to another online, but it’s actually in real life. Also, what I like about Glastonbury at my age (56): they complain about Glastonbury not being like in the old days – yes, that’s what’s good about it. Who’d want to go to festivals like the old days? I’ve been here 25, 30 years, and I like the way it changes. It’s very clever the way it moves with the times. I’ve no problem with pop acts being on. They mix it all up, don’t they?
Would you describe yourself as strong and stable?
Yeah, but far more strong and stable than the Maybot. I’m waiting for Jeremy Corbyn. [John was speaking shortly before the Labour leader’s turn.] I’m waiting for the revolution. I’d like to see him on the Left Field stage, that’s his proper home.
Grime or Grohl?
Grime. I think Dave Grohl’s the greatest drummer in rock music, but I prefer it when he plays the drums.
Sauntering on stage to the sound of portentous choral chanting, Wild Beasts’ frontman Hayden Thorpe is dressed top to toe in white – the combined effect of outfit and entrance music summoning a vision of the second coming of Christ.
It’s not an allusion the band can really live up to, especially since they kick off with generally underwhelming songs from their recent album Boy King, which prize organ-rattling beats and wiry soul over Thorpe’s eccentric warble – something that marked the band out as a breath of fresh air when they first emerged in 2006.
Thankfully, its not too long before old steamy favourites like We Still Got The Taste Dancing on Our Tongues get an airing, Thorpe’s voice veering from unnaturally deep to disconcertingly fragile, like an embarrassed choirboy whose voice is breaking.
The Kendal band - who follow British Sea Power’s set on the same stage and joke that they are part of a “Cumbrian takeover” - ultimately deliver a slightly dull set, often overwhelmed by monotonous bass and drums. A late addition of the genuinely quite erotic sex-ode All The King’s Men (mainly sung by bassist Tom Fleming) is proof of how distinctive they used to be – these days they can’t compete with the genuinely messiah-esque likes of Jeremy Corbyn and the risen Craig David over on the Pyramid.
A lot of attention has been paid to Corbyn’s rallying words of revolution, but I know what you’re really thinking: what can his creased denim shirt tell us about his home affairs policies? Luckily, fashion editor Hannah Marriott is here to decode his sartorial choices:
“Undoubtedly, Jeremy Corbyn is far too busy with politics to be paying attention to the trends emerging from the men’s fashion shows in Paris this weekend. And yet, spookily enough, his outfit today closely mirrors some of the strongest spring/summer 2018 men’s looks.
His beaten-up brown lace-up shoes are uncannily similar to those worn by male models on the Balenciaga catwalk a few days ago, in a show inspired by the off-duty looks adopted by office workers taking their kids to the park at the weekend. Balenciaga’s design team would appreciate the normcore appeal of his unbuttoned, creased denim shirt, too, while his white trousers are a brave choice for Britain’s most filthy festival. This isn’t the first time Corbyn has accidentally adopted a high-fashion look. Vogue recently described his aesthetic a “very Vetements”, while one of London’s hottest designers, Martine Rose, recently used a picture of Corbs in his grey cycling shellsuit as the invitation for her show. Clearly, Corbyn has the fashion vote.”
So there you go. I think we can all agree that world peace is on the horizon.
Not all of the young people at Glastonbury are interested in politics. One of our young reviewers has instead been considering her verdict on Maggie Rogers’ performance earlier this afternoon.
Z says: “8/10. I really liked her flappy blue and silver dress. She was very emotional – I thought she was going to cry, but in a happy way. I was laying down to listen to it better, not sleeping this time! I loved her last song Alaska. There were thousands of people there.”
While Glastonbury’s reinvigorated political spirit is something to celebrate, Nadia Rose’s Park Stage performance is initially hindered by Corbyn and Run the Jewel’s scene stealing stage clash. The Labour leader and rap duo’s presence at the Pyramid stage has hoovered up half of the site it seems, leaving a very modest crowd at the hill top venue.
It’s her fourth show of the weekend but that’s not prevented the south London MC’s high-energy performance. With a five strong squad of friends joining her on stage, she darts and dodges like a nimble boxer and boasts just as much in between tracks as she does on them.
“There’s a lot of things I can do with my mouth,” she says after her mate does some beat boxing, “...but that is very special”.
The audience expands eventually and her buoyant, cartoonish energy is infectious - there’s a lot of joy to be had watching a lot of gawky guys in wellies dancing to bashment. I even notice one husband getting ticked off by his wife after his gaze in the direction of a young woman twerking in front of him is held for just a little too long.
All the right components are there - slick rap, sweltering dancehall, a hit single in the shape of the bouncing, braggadocios Skwod - but it might be better placed in a dark, sweaty tent after hours rather than in a grey, drizzly afternoon outdoor space.
A few yards away from Rose another party is popping off - the Jarvis Cocker soundsystem in the Stone Bridge tent. Beginning in typically freaky form, he invites a line of spaced-out dancers to warm up the crowd with aerobic lunges and arm waving, while feverish psychedelia pumps through the speakers. A bonafide Glastonbury veteran, it’s a strange, intimate experience to gawp at a legend pumping out dark, groovy tunes with the confidence of a man holding court in his front room.
The rappers with Corbyn as hype man: Run the Jewels reviewed
No act at the festival has a better hype man than Run the Jewels. In fact, he’s a little too good: there’s a notable exodus of Corbynistas when El-P and Killer Mike take to the stage after the Labour leader’s appearance. Still, a significant chunk of the audience does stick around, which in itself is pretty remarkable. This is a group that were always seen as decidedly “for the heads” - a Pyramid slot was never part of the equation.
The pair of course grab the opportunity with both clenched fists, hurling themselves into the likes of Blockbuster Night Part 1. The stage patter deviates wildly from political (Mike delivers a shoutout to the Grenfell residents) to pisstakey (El-P apologises for smoking the present he brought for the Pyramid audience) to poignant (Mike remembers his mother, who died this week). As is customary at Glasto this year, a special guest rocks up – this time it’s DJ Shadow, reprising his role in Nobody Speak. As is even more customary at Glasto this year, Johnny Depp is in attendance, looking on eagerly at the mayhem in front of him.
Before Corbyn came on, a video played to the crowds featuring socialist and peace campaigner EP Thompson, himself addressing the Glastonbury crowds in the 1980s. Left-wing Twitter went into kissy-eye emoji mode:
There have been some pretty mega Pyramid stage crowds in the past – the Rolling Stones in 2013 often thought of as the daddy of them all – and by all accounts Corbyn was up there with them.
Tens of thousands gathered to watch Corbyn in the mid afternoon, a crowd of the size typically reserved for Glastonbury headliners. Almost all watching were fans; many wore T-shirts bearing his face or name, and there were banners of appreciation in the crowds.
“When Theresa May called the snap election, going back on what she said previously, Corbyn had a right to challenge that,” said Danny Owen, 27. “He’s been challenged by his own party twice and over came it. He galvanised it and Labour made inroads because of Corbyn and his manifesto. He’s become a figurehead now. He’s relatable. People say he’s radical, but I don’t think he is – he wants fair wages and outcomes and well funded social services. The fact people see that as radical is a sad indictment of our society.
Charlie Foster Lewis, 42, a Victoria line tube driver, said: “He was fabulous, friendly, meeting everyone, pulling pints at the bar, taking selfies. He was talking about Grenfell tower; he said no one should have to live in those conditions.
“He stands for everything, he’s all about the people. We’ve been fans of Corbyn for the past five years. It’s very important and it’s time to engage young people in politics.”
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