So, it was the biggest British festival of the year at the weekend, that’s right Glasto 2017.
As I was watching highlights on the TV some burning questions arose so I decided to look into the popular festival a little deeper.
I don’t think there is many people around who haven’t heard of Glastonbury but have not necessarily been before and then there are those you go every year without fail. (You can spot these people a mile away, with their festival bands going up their arm to their elbow)
Lets look at the history of the festival.
Glastonbury is not only the biggest British festival, it’s the biggest in the world. It started back in 1970 and was then called the Pilton Festival, which was inspired by the host Michael Eavis who saw an open-aired performance by Led Zeplin that same year at Bath Festival.
Since 81 the festival has ran yearly except for what they call ‘Fallow’ years which tend to be every 5 years to give the grounds and locals a break from the mammoth scale of the festival.
Glastonbury embraces the hippie ethos and free festival movements, spreading love and peace. This year hundreds of people got together to create a huge peace symbol that could be seen from the air. A lovely gesture bearing in mind recent events.
Not only is the festival a huge platform for established and new music artists but it also showcases theatre, comedy, cabaret and as many art forms as it can.
This year while watching the highlights, I couldn’t help but think, wow that’s a lot of flags! We almost, without question, associate Glastonbury and flags, but why is that? Why all the flags? So I went down that rabbit hole, found myself bouncing from reddit to yahoo answers and even the dark web to find the answer.
I’ll tell you now there is no answer, but some interesting theories. One such answer was that before the invention of mobile phones, people used these flags as markers, if you got lost from your friends you could spot them in the crowd.
A bit like flying your flag on a battlefield. Another theory was that since the BBC coverage, it was for people to grab headlines with inventive flags or spot themselves on the telly.
This year there has been some very inventive flags, and a stand out for me was Theresa May in fields of wheat. Perfect. There was also a poll on the Glastonbury website a few years to see whether flags should be banned because it restricts peoples view, it finished 55-45 in favour of flags. Thankfully.
Finally with all the acts at Glastonbury sometimes you miss out on some artists and this festival is always great for discovering new music.
So I’m going to give you a quick rundown on some acts to listen to, which you may have heard of or may not have.
A thing with every new artist I discover there is what I like to call a HOOK TUNE, a song that grabs me and makes me go ‘who is that?’ then you delve into the artist.
Let me give you a wee list of artists and what I think is a good hook tune for them; First Aid Kit – My Silver Lining, Blossoms - Charlemagne, Kate Tempest – The Beigeness, Maggie Rogers – Alaska, Run The Jewels – Legend Has It, Halsey – Hurricane, Toots & The Maytals – 54-46 Was My Number.
There’s always a chance to watch the highlights online or on the box, and I would recommend watching Kate Tempest highlights if you get a chance!! Well that’s Glasto for another year, and maybe you’ve discovered some new music or maybe even inspired you to go!
WORDS BY STUART GRAHAME
Stuart is one of our regular hosts and over the years has become something of an expert in dating. Watch out for his regular posts full of dating tips and advice.