Glastonbury is known as the grand-daddy of all the festivals worldwide. It can make or break your career, especially if you're given the headliner status early. Michael Eavis has a knack of finding the right bands at the right time to headline the Pyramid stage. Case in point, Kings of Leon headlined in 2008, just before Only By The Night took over the world. Some say that KOL were given the slot, due to Jay-Z controversially headlining on the Saturday, so all eyes were on him.
2014 will see Arcade Fire headline Glastonbury for the first time in their career. A strange pick, and one which has seen a lot of debate. Some say it's their time, and some are asking why they're headlining. I'm in camp 2. Arcade Fire headlined Reading 2010 alongside Guns N' Roses & blink-182. They were the oddball headliner, and as such, played to a vastly smaller crowd, due to Pendulum being on at the same time. In my opinion, they're not a headline band. Their songs are not commonly known, like Mumford & Sons' songs are.
The other rumours for the headliners are as varied as being Rihanna, Prince, Kasabian, Foo Fighters or Kanye West. All 5 of these bands are bigger than Arcade Fire. Whilst looking at eFestivals (a very reputable website for festival rumours) I noticed that a certain band are the strongest rumour to headline the Other Stage (Glastonbury's 2nd stage). A band who are known commonly as the biggest metal band of all time, and one who've become less of a band and more of a company recently, having recently released movies and books, and even having their own festival. Of course, I am talking about Metallica. Now, I am not a diehard Metallica fan by any stretch of the imagination, but even I can see that Metallica are WAY bigger and better suited to headlining than Arcade Fire. Metallica have been booked to play Sonisphere this year, for the 40th anniversary of Knebworth festivals. Surely this shows their credentials? The fact they've headlined many major festivals worldwide and the fact they've sold out Wembley Stadium. In recent interviews, the band have spoken of a desire to play Worthy Farm, as it's the last major festival they've not ticked off of their list.
So, why are they being rumoured to be playing the Other Stage? Metallica are a brand. They've got the fans to get their albums to number one for a week. They sell and have sold millions of albums. Metallica are the single biggest metal band in the world, and that makes them one of the biggest bands in the world by proxy. This surely means they should be heading up the Pyramid stage. Many are saying that they shouldn't play Glastonbury, because of the people who go to Glastonbury. I call BS. Metallica can more than play the festival, and excel at it. They've always been a band who adapt and change what they need to. They'd be ideal to headline Glastonbury, mostly because it'll get people talking again, like they did with Jay-Z headlining. And who doesn't want to see 'One' and 'Enter Sandman' being blasted out of the Pyramid's PA? It'll be a special moment. Metallica are as important to metal music as Led Zeppelin, and as Glastonbury is a festival of the arts, it would show a huge diversity to book them. To have them headline the Other Stage seems like an insult, considering they'd probably be louder than anyone else the whole weekend. Putting them on the second stage whilst someone like a Kanye West, or a Rihanna plays the Pyramid, would be a stupid decision to make in my honest opinion.
Now for the other headliner. The bookies have stopped taking bets on Kasabian being revealed as a headliner and I think it is their time. They've been knocking on the door for the last few years, and headlining the Olympic Park last year, along with Reading the year before, has finally shown that they're a threat to the crown of the UK's biggest rock band. Currently, you'd have to say that the crown belongs to Muse. Again, no where near a fan, but people LOVE Muse. People are starting to fall in love with Kasabian, due to the brashness, and Oasis-like swagger they have about them. The main difference is that Kasabian obviously love doing what they're doing. And the guys clearly enjoy playing together. Serge Pizzorno is one of the most talented song writers and guitar players in the country, if not the world. In frontman Tom Meighan, they've got a mouthpiece who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and say what needs to be said. Everyone is jumping on the Arctic Monkeys bandwagon as the most important band in the UK. Kasabian are that. Unabashedly English, and completely uncorrupt of any outside influences, Kasabian are the spokesman for the next few years of UK rock.
Arcade Fire, Kasabian and Metallica. An artsy Indie band, an Indie rock powerhouse and the biggest metal band of all time. Glastonbury could be about to get interesting again.
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