Perhaps my most memorable festival experience (well not actually my most memorable...that one is not appropriate for this blog...) was watching Beyonce (aka 'Yonce, aka Queen Bee, aka Sasha Fierce) headline Glastonbury in the Summer of 2011....the first woman to headline in over 20 years....yes I said 2011 not 1911. And this was literally the first headline act I had ever seen that wasn't a bloke! and I repeat...this was in 2011.
This year, as has been widely publicised, The Foo Fighters, due to headline the Pyramid Stage, had to pull out due to a broken leg. Their replacement...the ASTRONOMICALLY BRILLIANT Florence and the Machine! But as could so easily be predicted the reaction to this announcement (not the actually performance) has been overwhelmingly negative - with one of the comments in my Facebook page stating 'great, more wailing banshee'. But what pisses me off more, is that although it is awesome that Glasto have a female headliner on the Pyramid stage again (it's only taken another 4 years), the only way Flo has managed it, is to be the second choice to yet again another ageing white male rocker. Even good ol' Dolly in 2014 wasn't quite good enough, despite selling over 100 MILLION (dude, I said million!) sales world wide, AND pulling in arguably the 'biggest ever' (Emily Eavis) crowd in the history of Glastonbury...and yet still, not-a-headliner.
It's interesting that all the alternative suggestions I've seen banded about regarding the 'better' head liners that 'should' have replaced the white male Foos, are all also, surprise, surprise, white males (Muse, Blur, Stone Roses...etc). You see when it comes to Glastonbury or indeed other big music festivals there is often up-roar when the headliner isn't a white male rocker. Does anyone remember the slating of Jay-Z...'I'm not having hip hop at Glastonbury. It's wrong' (Noel Gallagher)? And more recently the change.org petition to stop Kanye West playing...*big, tired, bang-your-head-against-a-brick-wall kinda sigh*.
This becomes evening more depressing in the context of Glasto which has a reputation as ethical, liberal and egalitarian. So what hope is there outside of Glasto in the harsh world free from mud, wellies and beers for breakfast? Maybe things are changing for the better? But if Flo hadn't have been bumped up, we would be at year 5 since Bee headlined the Pyramid Stage at the next opportunity (i.e next year)...and before you know it, it's another 20 years gone....and we'll all be wondering - what's it gonna take for a woman to get to headline Glastonbury in 2035!
No comments:
Post a Comment