Latest news with #The1975
The Guardian
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The 1975 at Glastonbury review – amid the irony, ego and pints of Guinness, this is a world-class band
The 1975's first Glastonbury headlining slot arrives preceded by some intriguing rumours about what's going to happen. Some fairly eye-popping figures are being bandied about regarding the cost of their set's staging – which allegedly vastly outweighs the fee the band are being paid – while one dubious online source insists Healy has shaved his head for the occasion. He hasn't (he appears onstage tonsorially intact), but clearly large sums of money have been spent somewhere along the way. What ensues isn't quite as complex as their last tour, which featured lead singer Matty Healy eating raw steak, doing push ups, climbing through a television and Prince Andrew's face appearing on a bank of television screens accompanied by the strains of Mahler's 5th Symphony. Nevertheless, there are huge video screens everywhere: not just behind the band, but above them and at either side of the stage, and indeed below the actual video screens that Glastonbury traditionally provides. The treadmill that ran across the front of the stage during their 2018 tour – there for Healy to glide around on, something he does with admirable insouciance – makes a reappearance, while, for reasons that aren't entirely clear, the rear half of a car makes an appearance stage right at one point. Healy sings from within it. The screens alternately bathe the stage in white or pink light, show Adam Curtis-esque montages of news footage, flash up lyrics as Healy sings them – a good idea in the case of Part of the Band, a song packed with authentically funny lines. But this being the 1975, never a band to miss the opportunity to make a meta point about being in a band, they also flash up critiques of Healy's lyrics – 'MINDLESS HOLLERING' – and more generally, of the 1975 themselves: 'They're essentially making robotic Huey Lewis tunes' is a particularly cutting judgement on the band's signature synth-heavy, pastel-hued 80s pop-rock-influenced sound. Later, the screens render their lyrics as meaningless gibberish by displaying what it sounds like he's singing – 'oh mah hez smell like chocolate'. And this is done immediately after Healy informs the audience that he's 'the greatest songwriter of my generation … a poet'. 'I was only joking,' he adds later, although his talent as a frontman is less open to question: there's something gripping about the way he switches from straightforward 'Glastonbury-are-you-with-us?' enthusiasm to role-playing as a raddled, tormented pop star, pint in one hand, cigarette in the other. He makes earnest pronouncements about the lasting friendships at the centre of the band and is seemingly astonished at the size of the crowd: 'Oh Jesus,' he mutters as the lights reveal its full extent, 'yeah, it's normal, it's fine'. But then, there'll be arched-eyebrow examinations of his own genius, from posing to dancing with wild enthusiasm. It's a show that's frequently strange and self-deprecating – an intriguingly different approach to the business of headlining the world's biggest music festival – although it runs the risk of the actual music they make getting lost somewhere amid the visual bombardment and commentary. Happily, their set also functions as a reminder that behind all the irony, the 1975 are impressively skilled at the prosaic business of writing songs. If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know) or She's American have pop-facing melodies strong enough to shine through. The one point where the staging seems to overwhelm the show itself is during a lengthy interlude when the band vanish from the stage entirely and the message 'Matty is changing his trousers' flashes on to the screen. It's a very risky move indeed at a festival where there's always something else you could be watching: a minor exodus duly takes place in the audience. But when they return they start rolling out the big hits: It's Not Living (If It's Not With You), Sex, Love It If We Made It's dense parade of millennial angst, the gleaming pop of The Sound. It ends with About You's appropriately epic balladry, and the members of the 1975 embracing each other, apparently genuinely emotional: a straightforward conclusion to a bold, experimental, occasionally confounding, but ultimately hugely impressive performance.
Wales Online
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Glastonbury cancelled for 2026 after Eavis family shared update
Glastonbury cancelled for 2026 after Eavis family shared update Glastonbury Festival has been 'cancelled' for 2026 after the Eavis family confirmed the iconic music event will not be happening next year People gather in front of the main Pyramid Stage during day five of Glastonbury Festival 2024 (Image: Getty Images ) Glastonbury Festival will take a break in 2026 after organisers confirmed next summer will mark one of its scheduled "fallow" years. The festival at Worthy Farm, Somerset, will pause to give the land a chance to recuperate following the influx of festival-goers. Speaking last year, organiser Emily Eavis, 44, daughter of founder Michael Eavis, 88, said: "(It will) give the land a rest. The festival before a fallow year is always a fun one to plan, because you almost have to fit two years into one." She added: "We're already in talks with some acts for it. It's exciting!" Glastonbury traditionally takes a break every five years, the last being in 2018, before making a comeback the following year. Acts performing this year include the British pop band The 1975, the veteran singer-songwriter Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, and the US pop star Olivia Rodrigo, all headlining the Pyramid stage. Other notable performers include the Brat star Charli xcx, the rising rapper Doechii and the controversial Irish rap trio Kneecap – despite many calls from politicians, including the prime minister, Keir Starmer, for them to be removed from the bill. Article continues below Glastonbury Festival has sold "a few thousand less tickets" this year in a bid to avoid overcrowding, organiser Emily Eavis has said. The music festival usually has capacity for 210,000 people. Eavis, 45, outlined the changes that have been made to this year's festival and said music area Shangri-La is "going full trees and green space" which is "completely the opposite to anything they've done in the past". She also revealed that the festival has managed to buy some land that sits "just on the outside of the site", which will be used for crew members. She added: "We've also sold a few thousand less tickets, so it will be interesting just to see how that affects the dynamics on site." Eavis said times have changed, adding: "There were years where you just couldn't sell out, you just couldn't give them (the tickets) away." Glastonbury is running from June 25 to June 29 this year. The line-up features a number of acts listed as TBA, as well as a mysterious act called Patchwork, who will take to the Pyramid Stage on Saturday. Careful not to draw speculation as to who the act could be, Eavis said: "I've been working on Patchwork for a long time." Article continues below She also said that planning for their appearance had taken about a year for "logistical" reasons.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Your front-row pass to who the performers will be watching at Glastonbury
Hello from Worthy Farm, home to Glastonbury festival! As is tradition, this newsletter is coming to you from a sparsely apportioned cabin behind the festival's legendary Pyramid stage, which this weekend will feature headline sets from The 1975, Neil Young and Olivia Rodrigo. The festival proper is kicking off right about now, though really it has been whirring away for two days already. The official opening was on Wednesday night: a circus spectacular on the Pyramid stage featuring jugglers, drummers, fire-flinging dancers and a bloke doing handstands on a fairy-light-strewn bike suspended above the audience. The extravaganza came courtesy of the talented folk from Glastonbury's theatre and circus fields, who were tasked with opening the festival for the first time since the early 90s. (Incidentally, the Theatre and Circus Fields have a pretty remarkable origin story: in 1971 Winston Churchill's granddaughter Arabella was being relentlessly hounded by the paparazzi in London, having created a bit of a stink by daring to speak out against the Vietnam war. She legged it to Somerset, and there helped one of her father Randolph's former employees, Andrew Kerr, and some farmer named Michael Eavis, launch a certain summer festival. Churchill would devise the Theatre and Circus fields a decade later and handled their running until her death in 2007. You'd imagine she would have been thrilled to see her charges back doing their daredevil stuff on the Pyramid.) The theatre and circus folk will be doing their thing all weekend, part of the more than 3,000-strong army of performers at this year's festival. As ever the Guardian is your one-stop shop for coverage of the biggest and best of those performances. All manner of goodies have already been published: an interview with the band Keir Starmer wants banned from the festival, Kneecap; music editor Ben Beaumont-Thomas's tips for the best acts to see this year; Glasto returnees, including Billy Bragg and Kate Nash, recalling their festival debuts; and, most importantly of all for those of you at home, an exhaustive viewing guide. Then, all weekend we'll have news, reviews, galleries, features and of course the big Glastonbury liveblog, which runs from lunchtime to after midnight today, tomorrow and Sunday. That will be topped off on Monday by a special Glastonbury edition of the Guardian's G2 newspaper supplement, with a full exhaustive review of the festival. Drink it all in because next year Glastonbury takes a year off, to allow the farm to recover from hundreds of thousands of people stomping all over it. I'm dreading it already, but let's worry about that later and make the most of this year first. To help maximise your enjoyment of the festival, whether on site or at home, we've asked some of this year's performers to share the one act they're most excited to see this year … Tom Odell | Eternally boyish indie pop singer songwriter 'I'm such a huge fan of CMAT – Ciara is an incredible artist and such a fun person to be around. She supported me last year in Amsterdam at the Ziggo Dome, and we all ended up getting incredibly drunk in the backstage bar afterwards. I'm so happy to see her absolutely smashing it right now, and I can't wait to watch her perform on the Pyramid Stage!' Tom Odell plays Woodsies 9pm, Saturday Lambrini Girls | Sardonic, sweary Brighton punk trio 'I'm really looking forward to see Turnstile take the Other Stage [4:30 PM Sunday]. They're undeniably one of the most hyped bands right now, and it's for good reason. Their live shows are beautifully orchestrated chaos. I really respect their willingness to evolve. They've pushed the boundaries of hardcore, embracing pop and indie influences without losing their edge. It's ruffled some feathers because a lot of hardcore fans want to gatekeep hardcore – and that is what I love most about it. Punk was never meant to be exclusive, Turnstile are making it accessible for everyone!'Lambrini Girls play Left Field, 7.50pm Saturday Sign up to The Guide Get our weekly pop culture email, free in your inbox every Friday after newsletter promotion Billie Marten | Soulful jazz folk, straight from Yorkshire 'There are oodles of treats to watch this weekend; Four Tet, Father John Misty, Amyl and the Sniffers, Nilüfer Yanya, Jalen Ngonda … but it's all about Beth Gibbons for me. What a hero! I grew up listening to her aching vocals on the Portishead records, and then her solo work. Mysteries is a masterpiece in writing, structure and production. Having never seen her live, only through the shiny barrier of YouTube and TV, I am totally ready for one hell of an arresting performance. Long reign Beth!' Billie plays the Acoustic Stage, 5pm today. Ros Atkins | BBC analysis editor and rave master 'My head's spinning from the array of DJs I'd like to see. But one time I won't be listening to them is 3.15 on Saturday afternoon. Instead, I'll be at the Greenpeace stage. Last year, I was a guest on Huw Stephens' Roundtable on BBC 6 Music and one of the songs we reviewed was Antarctica by Divorce. It stopped me in my tracks and I've been a fan ever since. There's a brilliant creativity and range to their songwriting and sound; I also find their tracks really affecting – in a good way! I've not seen Divorce live and plan to put that right. Emotions may run high.'Ros played the Stonebridge bar on Thursday. You can listen to The Festival is Here, his Glastonbury-themed collaboration with Crissy Criss, here If you want to read the complete version of this newsletter please subscribe to receive The Guide in your inbox every Friday
Wales Online
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Glastonbury's Welsh language pop star who is playing alongside Charli XCX and The 1975 after catching the eye
Glastonbury's Welsh language pop star who is playing alongside Charli XCX and The 1975 after catching the eye Cardiff's Mali Haf will play the BBC Introducing Stage Mali was a runner up in the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition 2025, earning her a place on the coveted line up. (Image: Bea Young ) She describes her music as electronic fairycore of Welsh witch pop, but who exactly is Mali Haf who will be performing Welsh language music at Glastonbury 2025. The singer will appear at one of the most prestigious festivals in the world alongside the likes of The 1975, Neil Young and Charli XCX to name a few. So, how did a girl from Cardiff find herself on this prestigious line up of acts? Well, she entered a competition on a whim. Mali entered the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition 2025, not optimistic that she would progress, let alone win a spot to perform during the weekend. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What's On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here . It is an annual contest that provides a platform for new and unsigned UK/ Ireland-based musicians to showcase their talents and potentially win a coveted spot on the main stage at Glastonbury. The judges include Michael and Emily Eavis, Glastonbury stage bookers and music business professionals. Despite not winning the competition, they decided on two runners-up. This includes Ghana-born, Gloucester-raised neo-soul / hip hop act Nat Oaks and Cardiff's own Welsh language singer-songwriter Mali Hâf. Both of the acts received a £2,500 Talent Development prize from the PRS Foundation as well as a slot at this year's Glastonbury Festival. Content cannot be displayed without consent Article continues below To enter the competition you must submit a short application form and put forward your favourite representation of your music. Mali decided to submit her song Esgusodion, the Welsh word for excuses. She said about the song: "It's quite broad really, what I'm singing about, but like excuses. I guess I sort of realised that they're everywhere and it was at the time of the election. I was like, they are literally, they're everywhere. From yourselves, from politicians, from maybe partners. So I guess the song was like noticing that and shooing them away in a fun way." She then found out she had reached the top 90 out of 7,500 applicants, before then making the top 8 and then finally the top 3. She said: "Each step that happened it was like 'oh my god'. I had to process each step so the final one where I'm actually going to the festival you know it took a while to be like 'oh my god I'm going'. "If you asked me a few years ago, is that where you want to play and I'd be like of course that's every musician's dream. But, you know, I'm a realistic, maybe I'm too realistic sometimes, you know, just so I don't get my heart broken. But I was like, you know, if it doesn't happen, whatever and then it does happen. And it's like, you know I at least thought it would be something even more in the future. But the fact that it's come now, it's crazy." When asked what can the crowds of Glastonbury expect from a Mali Haf performance she said: "Well, if you follow me you know that I love my witchiness and magic spells and folklore, but like I also love modern music too so it's like combining that. My folky roots with with the modern elements, just being Mali Haf who's playful and doesn't take life too seriously." The weekend will boast numerous acts from across a spectrum of musical genres, as well as a variety of different acts including comedy, culture and educational talks. The singer has said that she is most looking forward to seeing the powerful women performing across the weekend, including Doechii and Amyl and the Sniffers. She said: "Festivals in general are like the happiest place in the world to me. Like you are just living in the outside world and you see music every two seconds. Really like it's just like a dream life for a weekend isn't it. Of course it's a dream like every other musician." The musician had previously worked at Glastonbury a few year ago on a coffee stall, however this time she'll be returning to do what she does best, performing her music on stage. Mali who has already started packing is looking forward to showing what Wales has to offer, whether that is in the way of her Welsh language songs or in her outfits. She has two outfits made by Welsh fashion designers, including Rosie Evans and Joseph Thomas of the Haus of Androgyny. She said: "Obviously, there's more to my identity than just being Welsh, but being raised in the Welsh culture and having music and the arts being so important, you almost feel like I've got to give back because like it's a big part of my journey like would I would be the singer I am now if it wasn't for my culture telling me how important and amazing singing and the arts are." The majority of her set will be done through the medium of Welsh, following in the footsteps of the Welsh band Adwaith who have also performed on the BBC Introducing Stage. The singer will be following in the footsteps of the Welsh language band Adwaith as she performs on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury. (Image: Adam Houghton ) She said: "I'm hoping that it's just becoming more normal to be heard, rather than like, 'oh, it's the first time we're hearing Welsh', because it shouldn't be, you know. It shouldn't like be unusual. We're literally next door to England and our language has been around longer. So why is it unusual? "I'm glad to be part of that wave that's just bringing its normality and showing every aspect of it, as there's not just one way of showing Welsh." Article continues below Mali will be performing on the Thursday, Saturday and Sunday of the festival across three different stages. You can find more information here.
Times
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Times
The 1975 at Glastonbury 2025 review — hard to take seriously
The first headliner of the weekend was a strange choice. The 1975 certainly made a big splash about ten years ago, combining rock, pop and everything in between as a reflection of the new genre-free era of music, but more recently they have been working on an album yet to be released and singer Matty Healy has become known for being immortalised by his ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift in her song The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived. Still, they were determined to make an impact, from the blinding lights of the multi screen setup to Healy arriving on stage with a pint of Guinness (a real glass one — where did he get that from? Did he bring it with him?) and a cigarette before leaping about in imagined rock star fashion. It was all very flash, but with their uptight white funk sound, and Healy coming across like a drunken George Michael, it was frankly hard to take seriously. • Glastonbury 2025 live: the 1975, Lewis Capaldi and Lorde kick off festival 'Love me if that's what you wanna do,' sang Healy on Love Me, strutting from one side of the stage to the other, and you did feel that he really would like you to love him. Sometimes that desire reaped dividends. She's American was a nice bit of 80s pop funk, Paris was a sweet love song featuring the line 'I think my boyfriend's a narcissist', and there was a certain charm to Healy and his mix of arrogance and insecurity. But then he had to ruin it all. Looking like he was about to cry, he announced, 'This moment has made me realise … that I probably am the best songwriter of my generation.' There followed a nonsense novelty pop song after which he announced, 'Only joking. I'm an idiot.' It was also hard to equate Healy's dissolute rocker image, complete with ever-present cigarette and tendency to wobble about like he was really out of it, with the word-perfect delivery, the way he knew exactly where the cameras were at all times, and the precise, clean, rather soppy pop coming out of the band. There were some good songs here, especially the state of the world address Love It If We Made It, although showing horrific current affairs scenes to accompany it was gratuitous. But this Glastonbury headline set was unconvincing, like Healy would love nothing more than to be cast in a film about a troubled rock star and this was his audition. It was all an act, in other words: not a bad act, and certainly a high budget one, but ultimately rather empty.★★☆☆☆ Follow @timesculture to read the latest reviews
