Following the confirmation of Arcade Fire and the official announcement of Kasabian as two of the three headliners set for Glastonbury 2014, festival founder Michael Eavis has dropped a hint as to who the remaining headliner might be, describing them as one of the world’s biggest-selling bands.
“We are expecting to announce the full line-up at the beginning of May and everything is now in place,” Eavis recently told the Bristol Post. “We are more than happy with the calibre of the acts and the headliner on Saturday will be one of the biggest-selling bands in the world at the moment.”
Eavis’ comments seemingly confirm that the final headlining act will be a band — ruling out David Bowie and Prince, who some had long speculated would headline Glastonbury’s Saturday evening — while “at the moment” disqualifies the rumoured likes of Depeche Mode or Fleetwood Mac.
While Eavis previously stated that the headliners would be “three bands who haven’t played Glastonbury,” the announcement of Arcade Fire, who played in 2007, and Kasabian, who debuted in 2004, contradicted that claim, though a Worthy Farm newcomer could still claim the Saturday.
Back in October, Lars Ulrich, drummer of Glasto virgins Metallica, made the thrash legends’ desire to play the prestigious UK festival clear, telling MTV, “We’ve been fortunate enough to play every other festival on this planet numerous times, so Glastonbury is the only one that’s eluding us.”
While speculation will continue until the full lineup is unveiled, it’s now clear that the third headliner won’t be Oasis. “The Oasis thing had nothing to do with us, we hadn’t even considered asking them,” said Eavis. “They have played at the festival three or four times and they are a great band. They were not that well known the first time they played here but they were a great band even then.”
“I am not sure that Noel is ready to go back on the road with Oasis because he has his own band at the moment,” the founder and dairy farmer said. “I think if it were to happen and they did come back to Glastonbury it would probably be in four or five years time – I can’t see it happening before then.”
