Reliving Some Of The Best Glastonbury Performances In Recent Years

GLASTONBURY, ENGLAND - JUNE 29:  (EDITORS NOTE: Image was processed using digital filters) A general view of flags in the crowd as the Rolling Stones perform on the Pyramid stage during day 3 of the 2013 Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm on June 29, 2013 in Glastonbury, England.  (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)
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The Glastonbury festival starts this week, and to get you excited, we’re looking back at five of its best performances in recent years. Some of the most famous acts in the world have played the English festival, and knowing the significance of the event, they come with their absolute best. In these performances, we see artists who absolutely commanded the crowd, giving festival-goers something to remember for the rest of their lives.

Jay Z, “Wonderwall” / “99 Problems”

When Jay Z was announced as the headliner at Glastonbury in 2008, Noel Gallagher of Oasis groused at the notion, complaining that the festival was supposed to be for rock, not hip-hop. Hov got his revenge by beginning his set with a gloriously off-key rendition of “Wonderwall,” which the crowd gleefully sang along to. He then went into “99 Problems,” and he would remark later in the set, “My name is Jay Z, and I’m pretty f*cking awesome!” No one in the crowd seemed to disagree.

Radiohead, “Karma Police” / “Street Spirit (Fade Out)”

Radiohead appeared for a surprise gig at the 2010 festival. They closed their set with two of their most beloved songs, “Karma Police” and “Street Spirit (Fade Out).” The crowd was fully engaged, giving us the amusing site of thousands of people singing about someone’s Hitler hairdo making them feel ill. Despite “Street Spirit” being one of Radiohead’s sadder songs (and that’s really saying something), you can feel the joy as the crowd sings along to a song they’d memorized the lyrics to years ago.

Amy Winehouse, “Rehab”

This one comes from 2007, when Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black album exploded, and “Rehab” was the biggest song in the country. Admittedly, her death from a drug overdose in 2011 casts a shadow over the song’s cavalier attitude toward alcohol abuse, but this performance shows Winehouse in her absolute prime.

The Verve, “Bittersweet Symphony”

Before going into the band’s most-loved hit, frontman Richard Ashcroft engaged in a fun bit of stage banter, in which he joked that he was worried the band wouldn’t be as good as Keane (to avoid any bad blood, he clarifies that he likes Keane). After about a minute, The Verve launched into the song that made them as huge in the U.S. as they already were in the UK.

Gorillaz ft. Snoop Dogg, “Clint Eastwood”

If you were disappointed by Snoop’s verse on Gorillaz’ “Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach,” this is for you. At the 2010 festival, Gorillaz launched into their monster hit “Clint Eastwood,” with Snoop providing some fire verses. Naturally, he improvised a bit, and he amusingly referred to Damon Albarn as “My n*gga.” After a “meh” verse in the studio, Snoop made up for it by bringing his A-game to Glastonbury, and completely stealing the performance.

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