It's a case of out with the new and in with the old at Glastonbury 2009, as organisers confirm the full lineup for this year's event. As well as headline slots from Blur, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young, performances from Status Quo, Bjorn Again and Spinal Tap have also been confirmed for the Pyramid stage.
But festival organiser Emily Eavis was quick to point out that the festival hasn't severed ties with hip-hop, following last year's controversial but successful headline slot from rapper Jay-Z. "There will be performances from Dizzee Rascal, the Streets and N*E*R*D, so we haven't ignored that area of music at all. But there is no point even trying to replicate the success of Jay-Z's performance last year on the Pyramid stage," she said.
Eavis also acknowledged that criticism for a lineup that features its fair share of elder statesmen of rock was inevitable. "We know that there will be objections to whatever we do but if last year taught us anything, it was that we have to follow our gut instinct. Risks pay off, and featuring Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen in one weekend was a choice that surprised many. But we had a chance to get both performers and we had to take it."
Eavis added that she has had the best response to this year's lineup from twentysomethings looking forward to seeing the Boss play for the first time. Glastonbury will be Springsteen's first festival performance in the UK. This year had the potential to feature "real Glastonbury moments", said Eavis, pointing to bands such as the Specials and Amadou and Mariam to provide some of the best entertainment of the weekend.
Glastonbury will also see headline performances from Jarvis Cocker, Doves and Echo and the Bunnymen John Peel stage, while the Park stage will play host to Animal Collective, Bon Iver and the Horrors.
Eavis also said that, despite the lineup leaks, this year was already going more smoothly because tickets had sold out in April. "We're really pleased with the way it's worked out with tickets going on sale so early. This way people can put a deposit of £50 down in October and pay the rest off later, which is great for people who can't afford to pay a lump sum," she said.
After last year's event failed to sell out, organisers decided to capitalise on a successful 2008 festival by putting tickets on sale eight months early, in October 2008. "As far as we're concerned, slow and steady is better than a bun fight," she added.
The festival, which takes place between the 25-28 June 2009, will kick off with performances from Maximo Park and Metronomy on Thursday 25 at the Queen's Head stage. The next night will see Lily Allen and the Specials play the Pyramid stage before Neil Young, while Kasabian will support Springsteen on Saturday evening and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds will play before Blur, who will close the festival on Sunday night (28).
Click here for details of the full lineup.
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