Enjoy Glasto — without the mud, wellies or sunburn! TOMORROW
Your TV guide to catching the best acts at Britain’s biggest festival
TODAY THE PRETENDERS
The weekend’s TV marathon startss tonight when The Pretenders, fronted by Chrissie hynde, take to the Other Stage ( BBC4, 7.30pm). hynde, backed by her trusty Telecaster and a band including original drummer Martin Chambers, will lend her tough and tender vocals to hits like Brass In Pocket and Don’t Get Me Wrong plus tracks from last year’s Alone, thee band’s first new album in eight years.
Over on the radio, the BBC’s coverageage starts early. Chris evans will present sets from The Courteeners and Clean Bandit ndit on his breakfast show (Radio 2, 7am).
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON
he MAy have turned 81 yesterday, but one performer capable of delivering the kind of hits-fuelled set that Glastonbury craves is Texan country legend Kris Kristofferson (BBC4, 8pm).
Many of his best known songs were made famous by others, including Me And Bobby McGee (Janis Joplin) and help Me Make It Through The Night (Gladys Knight & The Pips), but Kristofferson will deliver them with a ring of authenticity.
DUA LIPA
BORN in London to Albanian parents who had fled from war in Kosovo, 21-year-old Dua Lipa should benefit hugely from playing Glastonbury (BBC2, 8pm).
The former model’s debut album, out last month, showcased dazzling pop tunes and melodic ballads. her smoky voice is versatile: she can hold her own performing hip-hop and soul or — as she does on homesick — duetting with Chris Martin.
RADIOHEAD
RADIOheAD mark the 20th anniversary of their landmark album OK Computer — and that of the BBC’s Glasto coverage — by returning to the Pyramid Stage they headlined in 1997 and 2003 (BBC2, 10pm).
The Oxford quintet’s penchant for experimentation had seen them become increasingly opaque, but last year’s A Moon Shaped Pool saw them re-ascending the peaks they scaled in the Nineties.
having often adopted a scorched earth policy to playing their old material live, they revisited favourites such as No Surprises and Fake Plastic Trees at London’s Roundhouse last year. Glastonbury can expect more of the same.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
WITh the BBC streaming 120 performances via iPlayer and online ( bbc.co.uk/glastonbury), there are tempting choices elsewhere.
First Aid Kit will combine warmhearted Americana with studied Nordic cool when they play the Pyramid Stage (iPlayer, 2.45pm).
New Jersey singer halsey brings candid, youthful pop to the Other Stage (iPlayer, 7.40pm), and Cambridge quartet Clean Bandit’s fusion of orchestral strings and electronic beats will grace the John Peel Stage (iPlayer, 9pm).
LIAM GALLAGHER
BRITPOP’S finest frontman twice headlined Glastonbury with Oasis, and he comes to Worthy Farm tomorrow (BBC4, 7pm) for the first time as a solo artist.
Oasis numbers Live Forever, Be here Now and Rock ’N’ Roll Star have been sung with swagger at Liam’s recent solo shows, and fans can also expect to hear tracks from upcoming album As you Were.
Brother Noel will be at Glastonbury to introduce a screening of the Oasis documentary Supersonic. But given the pair’s fraught relationship — Noel once called Liam ‘a man with a fork in a world of soup’ — a reunion is unlikely.
FATHER JOHN MISTY
JOSh TILLMAN has been a revelation since he left Fleet Foxes and adopted the absurd pseudonym Father John Misty.
he has written for Beyonce and Lady Gaga and cut three solo albums that earned deserved comparisons with Jackson Browne and elton John. Fed up with singing what he cuttingly calls ‘sad b*****d music’, he adopted a schmaltzy approach for 2015’s I Love you honeybear, and a darkly humorous tone on this year’s Pure Comedy. he’ll definitely be worth catching (BBC4, 9pm).
THE JACKSONS
The death of Michael Jackson cast a shadow over Glastonbury in 2009, with Dizzee Rascal, Pharrell Williams and Lily Allen all paying their respects on stage.
Tomorrow will see another tribute when four of the surviving Jackson brothers — Jermaine, Jackie, Tito and Marlon — make their Glastonbury debut on the West holts Stage (BBC4 10.15pm). With Can you Feel It, Blame It On The Boogie, I Want you Back and ABC in their repertoire, the nostalgia will be palpable.
KATY PERRY
A GLASTONBuRy appearance fits perfectly with pop princess Perry’s desire to be taken seriously, and she should draw a huge crowd to the Pyramid Stage tomorrow (BBC2, 8pm).
Perry, 32, has ceded ground to younger singers such as Ariana Grande and Zara Larsson. But, as she showed at the One Love Concert in Manchester, she is a formidable performer. Teenage Dream, Firework and Roar have singalong potential aplenty.
FOO FIGHTERS
hAVING been forced to cancel two years ago after frontman Dave Grohl broke his leg when falling off stage in Sweden ( they were replaced by Florence + The Machine) the Foo Fighters finally get to play Glastonbury’s blue-riband Saturday slot (BBC2, 9.45pm).
Grohl, once the drummer in Nirvana, now fronts a six-piece band capable of adding softer, acoustic textures to their fast, bruising garage rock.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
TOOTS And The Maytals, fronted by veteran Jamaican Toots hibbert, have perfected an energetic blend of reggae and soul and their set on the West holts Stage (BBC4, 7pm) will feature favourites Pressure Drop and Monkey Man. Indie-rock trio Alt- J (iPlayer, 10.30pm) have become one of Britain’s biggest bands since winning the Mercury Prize five years ago, while soul man Craig David ( iPlayer, 2.45pm) is enjoying an unlikely resurgence.
SUNDAY THE LEGENDS SLOT
The Sunday tea-time ‘ legends’ performance has taken on the mantle of a fourth headline slot. This year, two acts are sharing the honours: Barry Gibb and Chic.
The last surviving Bee Gee, Gibb, 70, was due to perform last year. he withdrew due to a family illness, but did turn up to duet with headliners Coldplay.
his quavering falsetto is still instantly recognisable, and hits like Jive Talkin’ and how Deep Is your Love should ensure an emotional return (BBC2, 6pm).
Chic, led by guitarist Nile Rodgers (below), were sensational on the West holts Stage four years ago and their elevation to a Pyramid berth (BBC2, 7.30pm) is well deserved. having produced some of the greatest dance records ever made, including Le Freak, Good Times and everybody Dance, they will bring the spirit of Seventies New york nightclub Studio 54 to Worthy Farm.
ED SHEERAN
SheeRAN showed just how far one man and his guitar can go when he sold out three nights at Wembley Stadium.
headlining Glastonbury without a backing band is an obvious next step for the unassuming 26-yearold from Suffolk. ed’s recent arena shows had all the bells and whistles of high-tech pop, and there should be more stunning visual effects as he takes to the Pyramid Stage on Sunday (BBC2, 9.45pm).
Grime artist Stormzy, who joined him to perform Shape Of you at the Brits, is playing the Other Stage on Saturday and another duet could be on the cards.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
hAVING just released her sixth album in nine years, Laura Marling has moved on from folk to embrace electric blues and Americana. There should be plenty of variety to her spot on the Pyramid Stage (iPlayer, 2.15pm). elsewhere, American sister act haim offer a modern take on classic Californian styles (iPlayer, 5.35pm), while Rag‘ n’Bone Man brings his bluesy holler to the Other Stage (BBC4, 7pm). New york- raised Jamaican Shaggy’s set will be strewn with hits like Oh Carolina, It Wasn’t Me and Angel (BBC4, 7pm), while London Grammar (iPlayer, 8.30pm) currently sit atop the uK chart with their second album Truth Is A Beautiful Thing.