Glastonbury, despite being geographically closer to a number of lesser-known Somerset-based football clubs, is much like the Manchester United of the music festival world. Its hard-won prestige and loose purse strings attract some of the biggest international stars to its ranks every year, and punters flock from across the globe to watch them perform on English turf.
2015 was no different. There were some cracking spectacles, displays of pro tekkas, and fans roaring and singing en masse to cheer on their favourite players. There were also a few fouls committed, but nothing to take the shine off the juggernaut main event.
Ultimately, the winner was music.
Here’s our all-action replay, featuring the biggest and best highlights from Glastonbury 2015.
Goal: Patti Smith Calls In Super-sub, The Dalai Lama
American veteran art-punk Patti Smith one-upped everyone else at Glasto by unleashing a secret weapon during her performance. Smith welcomed the one and only Dalai Lama onto the Pyramid Stage to deliver an empowering speech about compassion and friendship. She also led the Glasto crowd in a rousing chorus of the Happy Birthday song in honour of the spiritual leader and his upcoming 80th. Unbelievable tekkas!
Watch: Patti Smith & The Dalai Lama Live @ Glastonbury 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XPO8B2QZ1g
Goal: Pharrell Scores With New Song ‘Freedom’
Pharrell Williams made plenty of fans Happy during his hit-packed solo Glastonbury debut, but his most impressive manoeuvre was busting out a brand new song, dubbed Freedom, during his set on the main stage. The catchy piano-driven tune had the Glasto crowd singing his praises.
Watch: Pharrell Williams – Freedom Live @ Glastonbury 2015
https://youtu.be/n_tXteMTmwE
Yellow Card: Kanye West Fouls BBC With Bad Language, Resulting In Hilarious Subtitle Gaffe
One of the surprise highlights of Yeezy’s set came courtesy of the subtitles used by the BBC during their broadcast of his headlining performance. As NME reports, screenshots of said subtitles, which were censored to make Ye’s lyrics appear less sweary, have gone viral online due to their level of utter hilarious. Observe:
Oh, BBC2 and your subtitling. Bless. #glastonbury #kanye #bless #motherducker pic.twitter.com/GC6X0mSGqu
— Aeth (@aethre) June 27, 2015
Confusion reigns: Kayne and #Kanye are battling it out for top trending rights – but at least we have subtitles pic.twitter.com/U5iVkIyBKp
— Mark Frankel (@markfrankel29) June 27, 2015
BBC subtitles have given up. pic.twitter.com/iCLAzwK04P
— Rob Davis (@Robgog) June 27, 2015
Goal: Lionel Richie Sets Attendance Record For Glasto 2015
Legend of the game Lionel Richie drew the biggest crowd of this year’s Glastonbury Festival, with at least 100,000 people estimated to have flocked to the veteran singer’s hit-packed set on the main stage on Sunday afternoon, filling it almost to capacity.
Watch: Lionel Richie – Dancing On the Ceiling Live @ Glastonbury 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lMxN07lCRQ
Ultras react: Glastonbury Security Guards are the most dedicated Lionel fans
No joke. Glastonbury staff are the ultras of the festival scene. Watch them bust out a surprise flash mob during Lionel Richie’s set, for the win!
Yes to the dancing security guards during @LionelRichie #Glasto2015 pic.twitter.com/etNJ5JRsFI
— Will Foster (@wgsfoster) June 28, 2015
https://twitter.com/JulieMassiter/status/615189008721838080
Title Challenge: The Who Vs. Kanye West
The Who used their own headlining run to drop a shoulder in to fellow headliner, Kanye West and mount a challenge for the “greatest rockstar” title. During Yeezy’s own set on the Pyramid Stage, the rapper once again referred to himself as “the greatest living rock star on the planet”, to which the veteran rock act responded with a carefully placed strike:
Watch: The Who Glastonbury – Who’s The Biggest Rockstar?
Hat-trick: Aussies Score Plenty Of Points At Glasto
In music, as in football, when Aussies excel on the international stage, it’s kind of a big deal. At Glastonbury this year, those Aussies included Chet Faker, aka Chet Facker, who performed a solo set atop the John Peel Stage on Friday afternoon, complete with a crowd singalong to his hit, Talk is Cheap.
Watch: Chet Faker – Talk Is Cheap Live @ Glastonbury 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uHe0tBqfu8
Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker was also on board, joining Mark Ronson onstage to deliver a rendition of their collab Daffodils from Ronson’s hit-filled Upton Special album. Splendour In The Grass preview, anyone?
Watch: Mark Ronson Feat. Kevin Parker – Daffodils Live @ Glastonbury 2015
https://youtu.be/gYbmts3BQnM
And let’s not forget singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett, who delighted the crowd on her second consecutive Glasto stint with a set of tracks hot off her internationally acclaimed album, Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit. Check out the Melbourne tunesmith performing one of those tunes, Dead Fox, live for the BBC at Glasto, in the video below (Skip to the 1:04:00 mark):
Watch: Glastonbury 2015 Day 2: 16.30 – 18.00
Red Card: Kanye West Tackles Queen
Kanye West committed a foul against Queen by recklessly tackling Bohemian Rhapsody. He obviously put little thought into what he was doing and quite frankly could have injured someone. Read more of our coverage on that particular incident here.
Match Preview: Splendour In The Grass
As well as the stand-alone highlights of the three-day festival itself, Glastonbury 2015 also gave us plenty of previews of the action to come at this year’s Splendour In The Grass festival, which hits Aussie turf next month. These included performances by headliners Florence + The Machine, who paid tribute to the band they were replacing on top of the Glasto bill.
Watch: Florence + The Machine – Times Like These (Foo Fighters Cover) live @ Glastonbury 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHUK6Bxvbuk
Mark Ronson brought out the big guns, with a set that featured all-star cameos by the aforementioned Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, as well as Mark J. Blige, George Clinton and Grandmaster Flash, who joined the hotshot producer for a rendition of his smash hit, Uptown Funk.
Watch: Mark Ronson – Uptown Funk Live @ Glastonbury 2015
https://youtu.be/j3y361HfpSE
And Catfish And The Bottlemen, who soldiered on despite a deluge of rain playing havoc with their gear.
Watch: Catfish and the Bottlemen – Live @ Glastonbury 2015
https://youtu.be/Q5ENp5IhFtA
Catch up on our coverage of Glastonbury, here, and for more info on this year’s Splendour festival, head to our Splendour In The Grass 2015 Feed.
