Who headlined Glastonbury Festival with two bands in successive years?
If you trace the meaning of “hallowed turf”, all roads lead back to football. Be it Wembley, Camp Nou, or, in my case, growing up, the bright lights of Yeovil Town’s Huish Park, the phrase is intertwined with grassy venues that we humble fans consider sacred. And while many of my peers on the Huish Park terraces may protest that this plucky little stadium is indeed the only hallowed turf among the green expanse of Somerset, I can’t help but feel the sprawling fields of Glastonbury Festival supersede it slightly.
As a society, we’ve done a pretty good job of canonising the Pyramid Stage headline slots to a point where the announcement of who is playing them should be declared a national holiday to some. Of course, it’s always been a major music milestone. Still, the rise of the internet has brought speculation and anticipation to such an analysed level that the yearly announcement of who gets the slot is met with intense scrutiny.
As such, fans have carefully woven a tightrope for the Eavis family to tread as they wait on bated breath for the yearly announcement of the big hitters. In many ways, it’s dampened their freedom somewhat; one generation on the left, sneering at a mere modicum of deviation from the classic rock they think festivals are built upon and the other on the right, who crunch their eyebrows in confusion at the announcement of another legacy act.
Gone are the days when we looked at the lineup with a swift nod and then started planning our assault on the remaining stages. Instead, we look at the big three and think what else could have been for that year. In light of that all, could you imagine the audacity of seeing the same face on the big stage two years in a row? It seems hard to fathom, but believe it or not, it has been done by one artist performing in two separate acts.
And the surprise you feel about this is solely down to the artist who has done it. I mean, there are certain musicians who’d have no qualms in letting you know they’re the subject of this pub quiz question at any given opportunity. Can you imagine if either of the Gallagher brothers followed up an Oasis headline slot with a solo show of their own? Or worse, what if Matty Healy announces a new side project, saying it’s headlining Glastonbury upon its return after the fallow year? Quite frankly, it doesn’t bear thinking about it.
Well, if any of those three do, in fact, actualise some of my nightmares, at least I’m safe in the knowledge that they aren’t the first to do so. No, it was, in fact, Damon Albarn. The prince of indie soft-boys stepped foot on the hallowed Pyramid plywood once in 2009 with Blur and once again in 2010 with Gorillaz. While some credit is reserved for the relentlessness of his publicist, the feat ultimately confirms Albarn’s place in the pantheon of greats and proves that he is a truly enigmatic musician who has the ability to shape British music in several genres.
Who else has headlined the Pyramid more than once?
Unsurprisingly, Coldplay top the leaderboard with a record five appearances on the big stage, closely followed by The Cure, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead and Muse, who have all headlined the festival three times, respectively. If you think The Cure were quick in raking up their first three headline slots in the space of nine years, headlining in 1986, 1990, and 1995, then hold your breath for Elvis Costello. He first topped the bill in 1987 before returning just two years later. Then, only five years after his second appearance, he headlined again in 1994, securing what remains the fastest hat-trick in Glastonbury headlining history.
Blur, Oasis, REM, Primal Scream, The Killers, Pulp, Davie Bowie and Paul McCartney are all the remaining artists who have stepped foot on the Pyramid twice. But no one has quite done it in the same fashion as Damon Albarn. And, with the annual announcement of the lineup becoming increasingly scrutinised, it’s hard to see this feat being repeated anytime soon.
