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Glastonbury festival still has political fire in its belly Glastonbury festival still has political fire in its belly
(4 months later)
It's a shame that Richard Hawley turned down the offer to play Glastonbury because he believes the festival has lost its meaning, as he told Gigwise this week. If he had come down to Worthy Farm later this month, I could have shown him around the Leftfield tent, where we seek to provide a red edge to the progressive ethos that underlies the event. I could have introduced him to Sue Marsh, the disabled activist and blogger who is speaking on a panel addressing the harsh realities of the coalition's ideological austerity. He could have had a cup of tea with Lucy-Anne Holmes from the No More Page 3 campaign, who is taking part in a panel on feminism. We might even have found a seat for him in our discussion of how to mix pop and politics.It's a shame that Richard Hawley turned down the offer to play Glastonbury because he believes the festival has lost its meaning, as he told Gigwise this week. If he had come down to Worthy Farm later this month, I could have shown him around the Leftfield tent, where we seek to provide a red edge to the progressive ethos that underlies the event. I could have introduced him to Sue Marsh, the disabled activist and blogger who is speaking on a panel addressing the harsh realities of the coalition's ideological austerity. He could have had a cup of tea with Lucy-Anne Holmes from the No More Page 3 campaign, who is taking part in a panel on feminism. We might even have found a seat for him in our discussion of how to mix pop and politics.
And that's before we even get onto the artists who will capture the festival's long history of political performance. At 3pm every day you'll find me hosting the Radical Round Up, with new artists who have something to say about the way the world is. Sean McGowan from Southampton, The Quiet Loner from Manchester and Louise Distras from Yorkshire, will all be making their Glastonbury debut there this year.And that's before we even get onto the artists who will capture the festival's long history of political performance. At 3pm every day you'll find me hosting the Radical Round Up, with new artists who have something to say about the way the world is. Sean McGowan from Southampton, The Quiet Loner from Manchester and Louise Distras from Yorkshire, will all be making their Glastonbury debut there this year.
Yes, the Rolling Stones are playing on the main stage, but who spends all of their time there? The true glory of Glastonbury is the myriad of smaller stages where you can encounter something you've never heard before. Admittedly, tickets are not cheap – like many other major festivals they are now in the region of £200 – but which other offers you such great value for your money? There are 11 different stages at Reading festival this year compared to the 60 that grace Glastonbury, offering all manner of music, arts and debate.Yes, the Rolling Stones are playing on the main stage, but who spends all of their time there? The true glory of Glastonbury is the myriad of smaller stages where you can encounter something you've never heard before. Admittedly, tickets are not cheap – like many other major festivals they are now in the region of £200 – but which other offers you such great value for your money? There are 11 different stages at Reading festival this year compared to the 60 that grace Glastonbury, offering all manner of music, arts and debate.
In such an cultural cornucopia, it would be easy for the Leftfield to get lost, hidden away in the nether regions of the bill, there just to make up the numbers. However, the Leftfield is regarded as one of the main stages, not because of its size or ability to draw huge crowds, but simply because the man who runs the festival wants to ensure that leftwing politics are not airbrushed out of the picture. Six months before the 2010 election, Michael Eavis contacted me, concerned that by the time of the next festival we could be under a Tory government. In response to that possibility, he suggested we move the Leftfield from its original site on the fringes of the event to a much more prominent position between the two biggest stages, where we would be seen by greater numbers of festival goers.In such an cultural cornucopia, it would be easy for the Leftfield to get lost, hidden away in the nether regions of the bill, there just to make up the numbers. However, the Leftfield is regarded as one of the main stages, not because of its size or ability to draw huge crowds, but simply because the man who runs the festival wants to ensure that leftwing politics are not airbrushed out of the picture. Six months before the 2010 election, Michael Eavis contacted me, concerned that by the time of the next festival we could be under a Tory government. In response to that possibility, he suggested we move the Leftfield from its original site on the fringes of the event to a much more prominent position between the two biggest stages, where we would be seen by greater numbers of festival goers.
Of the major festivals coming up this summer, such as T in the Park, V, Download, ask yourself how many of them would give space, never mind prominence, to a stage dedicated to promoting leftwing views? Sure, there are other events where the Leftfield could find a home – the Tolpuddle Martyrs festival, the Women Chainmakers festival, the Burston School Strike Rally to name a few – but these are relatively small labour movement gatherings and people would be quick to accuse us of preaching to the converted.Of the major festivals coming up this summer, such as T in the Park, V, Download, ask yourself how many of them would give space, never mind prominence, to a stage dedicated to promoting leftwing views? Sure, there are other events where the Leftfield could find a home – the Tolpuddle Martyrs festival, the Women Chainmakers festival, the Burston School Strike Rally to name a few – but these are relatively small labour movement gatherings and people would be quick to accuse us of preaching to the converted.
For me, the fact that we'll be sharing the bill with the Rolling Stones at the biggest festival of the year only adds to the attraction of Glastonbury. That's where socialism should be, at the very heart of our culture, seeking to both entertain and engage, vying for attention with mud on its boots.For me, the fact that we'll be sharing the bill with the Rolling Stones at the biggest festival of the year only adds to the attraction of Glastonbury. That's where socialism should be, at the very heart of our culture, seeking to both entertain and engage, vying for attention with mud on its boots.
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