The history of Glastonbury
Glastonbury Festival has been an essential date in any music lover’s calendar for over 50 years. Here we’re exploring the history of this much-loved musical event and how it's evolved since 1970.
Image: Raggedstone / Shutterstock.com
When is Glastonbury 2025?
This year, Glastonbury is taking place at Worthy Farm in Somerset from 25th to 29th June 2025. Attracting hundreds of artists and hundreds of thousands of attendees, this year will see The 1975, Neil Young and Olivia Rodrigo headlining the Pyramid Stage.
Hundreds of other acts will grace the main stage as well as additional tents and stages around the huge festival site.
The origins of Glastonbury
The first festival held at Worthy Farm took place in 1970 and was called the Pilton Pop, Folk and Blues Festival. There were just 1,500 attendees and rock band T. Rex headlined. Tickets cost just a single pound. Michael and Jean Eavis founded the festival after being inspired by the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music and the Isle of Wight Festival.
By 1971, the festival was renamed The Glastonbury Fayre and the date was moved to coincide with the summer solstice. It became an event to celebrate free-thinking people and 1971 also saw the erection of the first Pyramid Stage, the main stage inspired by the Great Pyramid of Giza.
1980s bust-ups and battles
As the festival became more popular, it also became more political, with proceeds going to leading charities including the 'Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament'.
The size of the festival meant it was more important to get support from the local authorities and in 1981, the festival received its first festival licence from Mendip District Council. The need for a licence meant the Eavis family faced several prosecutions and defended five of these in 1984.
The festival owners and managers were able to overturn court decisions to refuse their licence and it began to grow in size and reputation, attracting acts including Van Morrison, The Cure and The Boomtown Rats throughout the 1980s.
Television era
As Britpop arrived so did a new wave of artists taking their turn on the main stage at Glastonbury. Oasis, Pulp, Blur and Radiohead all made their festival debuts at Glastonbury in 1994 and the same year also saw the festival broadcast on television on Channel 4.
1998 saw the first 'Legends' slot announced so big names like Tony Bennett could offer something a little more traditional to the usual Glastonbury slate. It marked the beginning of a change in the festival and a move towards more mainstream music.
Mainstream popularity and the festival of the future
By the 2010s, Glastonbury’s popularity was unparalleled. Tickets began to sell out within 30 minutes and this was long before the lineup was even announced. In 2019, the Festival capacity reached 203,500 and the infrastructure required was similar to a small urban development or city.
It’s an amazing feat that festival organisers can turn green farmer’s fields into a thriving festival town for attendees to call home for five days.
Globally renowned artists often grace the stage at Glastonbury in more recent festivals with acts like The Rolling Stones, Beyonce and Adele performing on the Pyramid Stage.
Beyond the main stage, the festival has also expanded to incorporate all aspects of music, art and culture, with interdisciplinary spaces and stages to allow for all kinds of freedom of expression, the original goal and focus of the festival still being enjoyed and celebrated to this day.
Five facts about Glastonbury Festival
1. Jimi Hendrix missed out by a single day
The first Glastonbury Festival took place the day after the death of Jimi Hendrix. While Hendrix was not down to play the festival it’s a certainty that he would have been involved in the coming years had he not sadly died so young.
2. Pilton residents get free tickets
Residents of the nearby village of Pilton have traditionally been given free tickets to the festival. It’s a nice touch for locals who have to live with five days of the festival and of course all the lead up and tidy up.
3. Court trials have been put on hold for the festival
Unbelievably, a murder trial in London was put on hold to allow a member of the jury to attend the festival. The case was halted in 2009 so the juror could benefit from the £200+ they spent on the ticket.
4. 1987 will forever be known as the year of the trouser thieves
Many strange things have happened at Glastonbury but nothing tops 1987, when hundreds of pairs of trousers were stolen from tents. Michael Eavis said at the time, ‘large numbers of trouserless men and women were wandering about, quite embarrassed – until we found their clothes dumped in a muddy ditch.’
5. Glastonbury costs around £22m every year
The cost of getting Glastonbury off the ground and the infrastructure necessary to make it a success is around £22 million every year. There are many different considerations to keep in mind from the security to the stalls, the staging to roads and this all comes at a huge price tag. The organisers state they need to sell out to cover the costs.
The most iconic Glastonbury performances
Five days of mud, music and memories. That’s Glastonbury in a nutshell. Just like the Faroe Islands have Ólavsøka (an annual festival that combines national pride and tradition) and Woodstock captured the spirit of '60s America, Glastonbury is a British summer staple.
Every year hundreds of thousands of music lovers descend on Worthy Farm for the iconic festival, hoping to catch a piece of history. And at Sky HISTORY, we know a thing or two about history-making moments! From iconic pop acts to indie heroes, here are 12 unforgettable performances that defined Glastonbury.
1. T. Rex (1970)
What better way to kick off a roundup of iconic Glastonbury performances than with the OG headline act? English rock band T. Rex (made up of duo Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn) hit the stage in 1970 after original headliners The Kinks pulled out at the last minute. So interestingly, you won’t see T. Rex on the original Glastonbury bill (which advertises tickets at £1 plus free milk from the farm and an Ox roast). For context, tickets to Glastonbury 2025 cost £378.50. Talk about inflation!
2. The Smiths (1984)
The Smiths playing Glastonbury in 1984 wasn’t necessarily smooth sailing. There were issues with sound during the first 10 minutes of the set and guitarist Johnny Marr recalls feeling ‘slightly out of our element’ playing to such a massive crowd. But ultimately, Morrissey and the boys won over festival-goers with their gloomy classics.
3. Orbital (1994)
Before Orbital, Glasto was mostly guitars and drum kits. After Orbital, electronic music crashed through the gates for good. Ravers wearing bucket hats danced manically under laser beams and Orbital proved Worthy Farm wasn’t just about guitars. It was about whatever gets you moving! Glow sticks optional.
4. Pulp (1995)
It doesn’t get more Britpop than Pulp so when the Stone Roses pulled out after guitarist John Squire was injured in a cycling accident, organisers knew exactly who to call. Frontman Jarvis Cocker sauntered onto stage in his NHS specs and charity-shop chic outfit, rescuing the festival with a storming rendition of Common People. It was scruffy in all the right ways!
5. Radiohead (1997)
Glastonbury 1997 was one of the wettest in history. Not quite on the scale of deadly storms that have hit the UK in the past, but enough for it to go down in history as the 'Year of the Mud'. Undeterred, fans pulled on their wellies and enjoyed acts like Radiohead, who have since described their legendary set as a 'form of hell' because of technical difficulties. All in the name of raising funds for causes like Greenpeace, Oxfam, Water Aid and Mid-Somerset Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace Group.
6. David Bowie (2000)
Bowie at Glastonbury 2000 was proper pinch yourself stuff. Wearing a custom Alexander McQueen frock coat that cost more than a small car, he nailed the Sunday night headline slot. After a musical tour through his career that included hits like Heroes and Under Pressure, he wrapped things up with a tongue-in-cheek rendition of I’m Afraid of Americans. Pure Bowie brilliance.
7. Amy Winehouse (2007)
Amy stepped out onto the Pyramid Stage in 2007 with her signature winged eyeliner, beehive hair and fierce aura. Her set was smoky, soulful and heartbreakingly raw.
8. Jay-Z (2008)
Remember Noel Gallagher moaning that hip-hop had no place at Glasto? Jay-Z remembered and had his very own ‘anyway, here’s Wonderwall’ moment when he walked onto stage to the opening chords of (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? then treated the crowd to a full Wonderwall cover. Genius. As 99 Problems kicked in, it was clear Jay-Z had converted everyone.
9. Beyoncé (2011)
Beyoncé strode onto the Pyramid Stage dressed in a shimmering gold sequin bodysuit. Some questioned her booking, until she smashed out hits like Crazy in Love, Single Ladies and Halo and transformed Worthy Farm into a pop cathedral.
10. Dolly Parton (2014)
Dolly charmed the soggy masses into submission in 2014 with beloved hits like Jolene and 9 to 5. A special appearance from Bon Jovi and a cover of Alicia Keys' Girl on Fire made sure her set went down in history.
11. Stormzy (2019)
History was made in 2019 when Stormzy became the first Black British male artist to headline the main stage at Glastonbury. It was a milestone for rap music and the Black British community as a whole. He stepped out in a stab-proof vest designed by Banksy and turned Worthy Farm into a massive, mud-splattered political statement. It was one of those performances, like the energy you’d find at Notting Hill Carnival, that made you feel part of something bigger.
12. Billie Eilish (2022)
Billie Eilish was crowned Glastonbury's youngest ever solo headliner when she lit up the Pyramid Stage in 2022. Hits like bad guy had the crowd bouncing and proved that Gen-Z has earned its place in the muddy fields of Worthy Farm.
Glastonbury’s seen it all. Triumph, disaster, mud-caked euphoria. All these performances truly captured what makes it special, and why, no matter the weather, we keep coming back.
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