Few bands have had as tumultuous a history with Glastonbury as The Fall, who many music fans - including John Peel - convincingly argue are the greatest British punk-era group of all. Their leader, Mark E. Smith, believes he was banned from the event for being pro-nuclear weapons when it was called Glastonbury CND Festival, only for Michael Eavis to supposedly wreak revenge by booking the band in 1992, but billing them lower than fellow-Mancunians James. Or so Smith, who verbally castigated Eavis from the stage, would have it.
Smith returned alone in 2010 to perform Glitter Freeze with Gorillaz on the Pyramid Stage and didn’t have a great time then either, saying that backstage was “full of newsreaders’ daughters and politicians’ daughters”. Will 2015 be the year when he finally falls for Glastonbury’s charms? Highly unlikely, but you can expect a vital, punishing set filled with tracks from Sub-Lingual Tablet, the 31st album from Smith and his group, which has an ever-rotating line-up.
Few bands have had as tumultuous a history with Glastonbury as The Fall, who many music fans - including John Peel - convincingly argue are the greatest British punk-era group of all. Their leader, Mark E. Smith, believes he was banned from the event for being pro-nuclear weapons when it was called Glastonbury CND Festival, only for Michael Eavis to supposedly wreak revenge by booking the band in 1992, but billing them lower than fellow-Mancunians James. Or so Smith, who verbally castigated Eavis from the stage, would have it.
Smith returned alone in 2010 to perform Glitter Freeze with Gorillaz on the Pyramid Stage and didn’t have a great time then either, saying that backstage was “full of newsreaders’ daughters and politicians’ daughters”. Will 2015 be the year when he finally falls for Glastonbury’s charms? Highly unlikely, but you can expect a vital, punishing set filled with tracks from Sub-Lingual Tablet, the 31st album from Smith and his group, which has an ever-rotating line-up.
