Day One of Glastonbury was a battle of wills; a journey of highs, lows mud and mayhem, culminating with a special set from Super Furry Animals.
No matter how many times you walk the muddy paths of Worthy Farm, the slog around the site doesn’t get any easier, especially when the heavens open like they did for Alabama Shakes mid-afternoon.
Suddenly there’s a mad scramble in the rucksacks for anything waterproof, hoods and umbrellas up, wellies put to the test.
But this is Glastonbury and it wouldn’t be the same without having a deluge. You have to dig in, get another cider and pray for it to pass, which it did by the time Jungle took to the Other Stage.
Pulling in a huge crowd for their Glastonbury debut, songs Heat, Busy Earnin’ and Julia chanted throughout the field.
Overwhelmed by the turn out, they said: “Wow, there are so many of you! Thank you so much.
“We’re so happy to be here, this is the best festival in the world, right?”
Rudimental, who headlined later came out of their trailers to enjoy them too, mingling with festival goers.
If there was an award for being the driest and cleanest, Rio Ferdinand would win.
The former England captain was pristine walking around the festival, his shirt still unspotted when he was on the dancefloor at 2am backstage at The Park.
He was one of many who was blown away by Mary J Blige on the Pyramid Stage, dropping hit after hit before falling to her knees and smashing the sopping floor with her hands.
The crowd lapped up the set, so much so, there was no jeering from her faux pas at the end when she said, “Thank you Glastonbury, London!”
After hours exposed to the elements, SBTRKT provided a warm, ravey haven under the canopy of John Peel.
As the sun was setting, Sharon Van Etten tore out our hearts at The Park with her dramatic new set of songs about a toxic, abusive relationship. Beautiful and brilliant she had us holding back the tears, which would have definitely been flowing had it been day three.
Putting Jamie xx on after was a intelligent move to bring us back up.
Then it was time to decide who to pick for the headliners, with so much choice it’s always hard knowing who to sacrifice, but off to the Pyramid it was…
Foo Fighters loss proved to be Florence Welch’s gain. The flame-haired singer fronting her band Florence + The Machine triumphed on the Pyramid stage, seizing the headline spot that fell into her arms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXZgPJzUk-Y
Like a force of nature, she took charge of the moment and as expected, threw everything she had at it cementing herself as a world renowned performer.
It had to be a special band to lure us away from Florence’s thunderous beats but Super Furry Animals were the ones to do it.
Playing the latest set of all at The Park stage, the psychedelic Welshmen, who have made a return after a five-year hiatus, created the perfect carnival atmosphere with their deep locker of hits. Juxtapozed With U, Hometown Unicorn, Golden Retriever and Rings Around The World had the crowd cheering with delight.
The Man Don’t Give A F**k provided a grand finale, with the band going off stage for a few minutes to return dressed in yeti suits. The Cardiff tribe didn’t utter a word between songs but held up message boards with the simple instructions of “Applause!” and “Thank You.”
Still original, irreverent and special, they provided the perfect closer to the first day.
Bring on day two (after plenty of Paracetamol and Berocca).
