Ten years of revealing Glastonbury’s secrets: How surprises provide the festival’s greatest moments
“Well, you didn’t think we were gonna let you down, did you?”
So said Jarvis Cocker as he addressed the enormous crowd at Glastonbury‘s Park stage in 2011; thousands and thousands of people stood in front of him to see perhaps the worst-kept secret in the festival’s history, and one of its greatest live music experiences.
The speculation that the then newly reformed Pulp would play the surprise set that day – after Radiohead the previous day, no less – had grown so intense that latecomers reportedly had to be turned away, such was demand.
Beyonce, Coldplay and U2 headlined that year, but like many squashed in the Park Stage audience, squelching in the mud, it was the magic of singing along to Do You Remember The First Time?, Something Changed, and Common People I remember above everything.
Over the years, artists including The Killers, The Libertines, Lady Gaga, Foals and Franz Ferdinand have also popped up “unannounced” at Glastonbury. Last year, an act supposedly called The Churnups, conspicuous by their late-evening Pyramid Stage slot despite being an unknown entity, turned out to be The Foo Fighters.
The festival is famous for its secret sets, surprise guests and big names appearing in unexpected places, so while Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA headline this year, it is the TBA slots that may well provide some of the most memorable moments.
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on stage at Glastonbury in 2023. Pic: Anna Barclay
One person in the know is the founder of @secretglasto, a Twitter account which launched 10 years ago and now has almost 80,000 followers and a small team of six keeping the updates going. They have no official ties to the festival, but over the years have cultivated their sources – from people working on stages to sometimes even acts themselves – so they are “90% confident” about whatever they hint at.
“There’s also people that have been good at [revealing] what acts are playing before the line-up comes out,” says the Secret Glasto founder (we’ll call them SG). “So you can take their word a lot more seriously because they have some way of knowing what’s going on – even if you don’t know the specifics as to how they get that information, you can see the track record.”
When it comes to favourite secret sets, SG names Drenge and Wolf Alice, but says it’s “hard to look past The Killers”, who turned up in 2017 – 10 years after headlining for the first time, and two years before returning to headline again.
“The Killers in a tent, that’s something you feel it would only ever happen at Glastonbury. Compared to most of our secret set rumours we heard that one very late and personally I was very nervous by it, but also we had no other names in the frame. The relief when Frank Carter mentioned it was The Killers after him was palpable!
“So many people I have met since that show have been really thankful because they wouldn’t have gone [without the Secret Glasto tip] because a lot of them actually liked acts playing elsewhere at the time… why would you go to a secret set you don’t know if you’ve got eight out of 10 options elsewhere? The Killers to everyone was a 10 out of 10 option.”
With the potential for people to miss other brilliant acts based on the hints of their anonymous account, SG says they do feel a sense of responsibility, especially as the number of followers has grown.
“Quite a lot of the time for these secret sets, to get a good spot you’re [at the stage] for an entire set before. And you’re missing other things that you would love to see. So it is a big responsibility to make sure that we’re right about our info. There have been some secrets we just haven’t tweeted because we didn’t know who it was.”
Liam Gallagher is currently performing his Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary shows – but he could take a break for Glastonbury? Pic: Dan Reid/Shutterstock
Kasabian frontman Serge Pizzorno on stage headlining Glastonbury in 2014. Pic: James Mccauley/Shutterstock
For many Glastonbury-goers, the account has become a go-to place for reliable hints about the unnanounced acts set to play. There are a few TBA slots on the line-up this year – the biggest of which is set for the Woodsies Stage at 6pm on Saturday.
The bookies’ favourities include Liam Gallagher, fresh from his Definitely Maybe anniversary tour dates; Kasabian, who would mark 10 years since they headlined in 2014; and Pulp, as Cocker will already be on site to perform in the small Stonebridge Bar with Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor on the Friday. Other names bandied about include Harry Styles, Green Day, Charli XCX and, um, Taylor Swift, who’s set to perform her Eras tour shows in Dublin on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, so seems pretty unlikely.
SG is not revealing anything yet, but says Pulp, Kings Of Leon, Kasabian and Charli XCX are among the main acts rumoured.
Could Harry Styles pop up this year? Pic: PA
As well as the Woodsies TBA, SG also says there will be some other “big surprises around the site doing some very small slots”.
However, they won’t mention where. “I don’t even want to mention the stages because I know how skittish some of those areas can be. I know in 2022, there was going to be a stage headliner from one of the recent years playing a very small slot that got canned quite last minute. So yeah, quite hesitant to to reveal more than that, but we have heard of some very interesting things.”
After 10 years of revealing Glastonbury’s secrets, what has SG learned about why the surprise acts have become such a special part of the festival?
“I think it’s just the fact all these acts have decided the money [doesn’t matter], and their egos don’t need placating,” says SG. “You’ve got some acts who would just be like, if we’re not a headliner, no matter what the money is, we would not play a certain slot.”
Glastonbury’s secret acts are there purely to put on something fun for the fans, SG continues. “It creates such a different atmosphere. A lot of the secret sets are bands that feel like Glastonbury helped their careers in some way, and it’s their way of sort of giving back.
“Unlike other British festivals, I think Glastonbury cultivates more of a ‘we go every year, regardless’ mentality. So these acts can feel like the people that supported them at, say, a previous slot that went really well for them will still be there, or at least a sizeable number of them will still be there, to enjoy the secret set they do down the line.”
Coldplay have become the first act in history to headline Glastonbury five times – playing a record-breaking set to a huge, sparkling audience for whom it felt like coming home.
Thousands in the crowd will no doubt have seen them at least once here before, but no matter – they have their detractors, but you cannot argue with the fact Chris Martin’s band can put on a headline performance worthy of Worthy Farm.
Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis was among the special guests watching stage-side as they performed to a crowd stretching way back into the night, and they were also joined by stars and musicians including rapper Little Simz on stage.
Theirs was a celebration not just of their own significant achievements, as one of the most successful British bands in recent history, but of Glastonbury festival and the talent it has supported throughout the decades.
Pic: PA
But the biggest surprise came from Hollywood legend Michael J Fox, who appeared on guitar for the rousingly emotional Fix You as the penultimate track. It’s a song and a performance even the hardest hearts could not fail to be moved by.
Backstage, Tom Cruise was among the fans watching as fireworks lit the sky.
Michael J Fox in Back To The Future. Pic: Universal Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock
Michael J Fox and his wife Tracy Pollan in April. Pic: Reuters
Having handed out their traditional Coldplay LED wristbands before the set was under way, this was a gorgeous light show and epic sing-along of audience participation as the band performed hits starting with Yellow, where it all began, and continued through their extensive back-catalogue.
“I look around and I just see amazing, wonderful people from all over the place and that’s what makes Glastonbury the greatest city on Earth,” Martin told the crowd, in a set featuring songs including Higher Power, Clocks, Viva La Vida, The Scientist and My Universe, which the band recorded with K-pop boy band BTS, with lyrics sung in both English and Korean.
Pic: PA
Earlier in the day, Kasabian had been worst-kept secret of the festival with their surprise set, which led the Woodsies area to be closed off as the crowd grew in anticipation.
And at the Other Stage, The Streets’ Mike Skinner entertained fans with a crowd-surfing set – with Friday night headliner Dua Lipa spotted in the crowd, making good on her promise to enjoy the festival for the full weekend as a punter, as well as one of its biggest stars.
But Saturday night belonged to Coldplay. This was their first Pyramid Stage headline appearance since 2016 and their fifth in total, meaning they now overtake The Cure, who have headlined four times.
Pic: PA
When the band was announced by festival organisers earlier this year, the news was met with the same criticism the band have faced for years: the music is dull, the choice of headliner uninspired, jokes about Martin turning up everywhere here, etc etc.
Similar will no doubt have been tweeted out during their set. The answer is simple, though: those who don’t like them, don’t have to watch them.
Read more:
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Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
There’s plenty else going on at Glastonbury to keep people entertained, whether you’re here soaking it all up in person, or following on TV at home.
The size of the Coldplay crowd says it all – they put on an epic show, and this is why they were chosen to headline Glastonbury once again.
Entertainment
Glastonbury: Controversial Irish-language rappers draw ‘headline-worthy’ crowd against the odds
In a morning timeslot when most respectable Glastonbury-goers would usually be in bed, Irish-language rappers Kneecap drew what stage organisers described as a headline-worthy crowd to the area.
The trio have built a name for themselves with a balance of socially conscious lyrics and satire but have really come to the fore in recent months after taking legal action over a UK government decision to block funding they had been granted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Often described as controversial, there is no doubt they are unafraid to say what they think – but argue they are simply speaking up for the deprived areas of Northern Ireland, in a language which is “often ignored”.
Kneecap fans during the Electric Picnic Festival in 2022. File pic: PA
Plus, there is a lot of tongue firmly in cheek here.
Three friends from Belfast, Kneecap are Mo Chara (Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh), Móglaí Bap (Naoise Ó Cairealláin) and DJ Próvaí (JJ Ó Dochartaigh, a former teacher who still wears a balaclava initially put in place to disguise himself from his students).
One of their most famous tracks, Get Your Brits Out, has been criticised for being anti-British – but the trio say this is the biggest misconception about the band. And clearly, as it blasts out from a tent in the English countryside, it is loved by the Glastonbury crowd.
Kneecap fans at one of their concerts in 2022. File pic: PA
“This is a thing that people love to spin, like we’re some anti-British band,” says Mo Chara, speaking to Sky News following their successful set. “We have English family. We have loads of good friends who call themselves British. It’s the British government we don’t like.”
They come from a “serious” area of the world where there has been “drama, a lot of violence”, he says.
“I think we’re the first generation… because we came after the ceasefire or just before it, around that time – ceasefire babies, as people like to call us – […] we’re able to joke about these things that were once traumatising for people in our community.
“But every side of the community can take a joke and we don’t give people enough credit, that people know how to have a laugh.”
“I think being offended is subjective,” says Móglaí Bap. “We’re having a good time, a bit of craic. There’s a lot of fun with it and all these jokes, humour, it’s all in context, and you can take it out of context and get offended. But I think genuinely, we meet people from all walks of life and they enjoy it.”
Read more:
Glastonbury’s greatest secret sets of all time
How politics accompanies the music of Glastonbury
Dua Lipa at Glastonbury: A masterclass from a proper pop star
Unsurprisingly, the trio have locked horns with quite a few politicians.
At the minute, they are embroiled in a legal battle with the British government over the blocking of £15,000 in funding from the Music Export Growth Scheme, which aims to help UK music groups market themselves abroad.
It’s a “slippery slope” and sets a “bad precedent”, says Móglaí Bap, to only give funding to artists that “align with them… that doesn’t make any sense”.
They are all taxpayers, he adds, and therefore have “every right” to funding that is available to British artists.
A government spokesperson says they are unable to comment due to this being an election period, but the Department for Business and Trade’s decision at the time was that Kneecap’s Republican views made them ineligible.
Rich Peppiatt, Michael Fassbender and Kneecap attend the UK premiere of Kneecap, the opening film of the Sundance London Film Festival. Pic: PA
While they await the outcome of the legal case, the rappers are busy performing following the release of their second album, Fine Art, earlier this month, and are also looking forward to their big-screen debut.
The band members play themselves in a biopic about their rise to prominence, set in post-Troubles Belfast, also starring Irish actor Michael Fassbender. The film has been shown at festivals including Tribeca in New York, and the band say the reaction has been “crazy”.
Which all means it looks like the fanbase will expand even more when the film is released in the summer.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
So while some politicians may fail to see the funny side of Kneecap, there are plenty of young people in Belfast, Glastonbury and beyond who clearly enjoy their irreverence.
Dua Lipa has set the bar high for this year’s Glastonbury headliners, performing a slick set of hits to an enormous crowd at the festival’s famous Pyramid Stage.
The 28-year-old star told fans she had manifested the moment, but watching her command the stage – hit after hit played, voice soaring, dance moves effortless – it seems her talent was always going to bring her here.
Starting with Training Season, from her latest album Radical Optimism, Lipa kept the energy levels high throughout for tracks including Be The One, Levitating, Hallucinate, One Kiss, Physical, New Rules and Don’t Start Now.
As is Glastonbury tradition, fireworks lit the sky, during and after the set, while several costume changes also added to the sense of occasion – which the singer described as “the maddest night of my life”.
Pic: AP
Telling the crowd about manifesting the experience, she also hinted she would be staying on at the festival to enjoy the rest of the weekend (although probably not in a tent, I’m guessing).
“I have written this moment down. I’ve wished for it, I’ve dreamt, I’ve worked so hard in the hopes that maybe one day I’ll get to do it and I can’t believe I’m here,” she said.
“You know when I wrote it down, I was very specific, I said I really wanted to headline the Pyramid stage on a Friday night because then I knew I could party for the next two days in the best place on Earth.
“I’m so grateful, little me would just be beside herself right now.”
Read more: Full line-up for Glastonbury 2024 – with space for surprises
Pic: PA
Lipa’s performance included Cold Heart, her Sir Elton John collaboration, which saw her greeting delighted fans at the front of the crowd, who had no doubt been there for hours beforehand to save the spot.
She followed another Glastonbury tradition by bringing out a surprise guest – Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, to perform The Less I Know The Better from his band’s 2015 album, Currents – and teased Barbie’s Dance The Night during one of her several costume changes.
The star also showed awareness of the festival audience, with 90s rave imagery on screens and confetti cannons blasting rainbows.
It’s something some big acts can get wrong – to go down in Glastonbury headlining history, it needs to be more than just an extra tour show.
Pic: PA
At times, however, the set was so slick, it felt more geared to the TV audience than to the crowd – a couple of songs saw Lipa performing to the camera, back to the audience, for good chunks of time – but when the choreography is this good, it’s captivating to watch wherever you are. It’s a small complaint.
Festival organiser Emily Eavis had said beforehand that Lipa was “born” to headline.
By the time the star had closed the set with Houdini, she had proved her absolutely right.
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Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
If Lipa is indeed staying on to enjoy the weekend, she’ll get to see for herself the huge array of brilliant acts on offer.
But as headline sets go, hers will be a hard act to beat – a masterclass from a world-class, proper pop star.
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