Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has shut down speculation that Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin could perform at next year’s 50th anniversary festival.
Eavis, who is the daughter of festival co-founder Michael, said that fans would have to wait at least another year to see the music legends performing on the Pyramid stage due to the lengthy negotiations required to secure a band for the line-up.
Led Zeppelin have never played at Worthy Farm and have not performed together for more than a decade.
Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood hinted earlier this year that the band could appear at the iconic festival in 2020, but Eavis confirmed that this would not be the case – despite her being “hopeful” that they will perform at the event “one day.”
“They are a band I’d love to have at Glastonbury,” she told Hugo Rifkind at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.
“I’ve always been quite open about the fact that we would really love to have them. I’m so hopeful that one day they will do it.
“But it’s not going to happen for 2020, forget it. I’m sorry. The other one is Led Zeppelin. People keep coming up to me again and saying ‘Is it true?’
Glastonbury 2020 headliner rumours – In pictures
1/14 Taylor Swift
The American megastar came back with a bang in August, releasing her seventh album Lover and announcing a string of tour dates. Eagle-eyed fans have spotted a rather intriguing gap in her schedule, between an appearance at Oslo Sommertid on June 26 and Denmark’s Roskilde on July 1.
It would leave her enough time to hop over from Scandinavia to Somerset to perform on either the Saturday or the Sunday, leading to inevitable speculation she’s bound for the Pyramid Stage. Swift has so far remained silent on the matter, though.
Invision/AP
2/14 Spice Girls
Could Spice Girls be destined for the Legends’ slot at next year’s Glastonbury? If their recent, sold-out arena tour is anything to go by, then they could certainly pull in the numbers. And the prospect of such an appearance might even tempt a certain member back into action.
Speaking on the Jonathan Ross Show in September, Mel B was pressed on whether Spice Girls could be in line for Glasto. “You’re asking me, I’m always going to say yes,” she replied, “because I’m always the one that’s like ‘Spice Girls will live forever’.”
She added there had been “bits and bobs of conversations” with the other members about Glastonbury, with Victoria Beckham apparently interested in getting involved — she was absent from the recent tour.
PA
3/14 Paul McCartney
By design or otherwise, Michael Eavis has always been rather loose-lipped when it comes to the identities of future headliners. Speaking to BBC Somerset back in April, he was asked whether Paul McCartney might be coming to Worthy Farm.
“Hopefully for the 50th,” Eavis replied. “Don’t make a big thing of it though, will you?”
Naturally, everyone made a big thing of it. Macca is one of the bookies’ favourites to take the top spot on the Pyramid Stage, and has added fuel to the fire himself, saying he was “starting to think about it”.
“It’s starting to become some remote kind of possibility,” McCartney told BBC Radio 2 in September. “People are saying that it will be good if I did it, so I’m starting to think about whether I can or whether it would be a good thing.”
He added: “We played there quite a long time ago so maybe it is time to go back. I don’t know. I’d have to put a few things in place.”
AFP/Getty Images
4/14 The 1975
Asked in December last year whether The 1975 are ready to headline Glastonbury, frontman Matty Healy said: “Yeah, I think we are. I know that we are. Glastonbury, give us a year.”
By that logic, 2020 will be the year that Healy and co take top billing in Somerset. They were the headline act this year’s Reading and Leeds festivals, and seemed well-suited to the big time.
So could they be a good fit for the Pyramid stage? Emily Eavis responded soon after Healy’s initial comments, saying: “That’s good. Interesting. They’re great. Obviously we’d love to have The 1975.”
Getty Images
5/14 Elton John
He’s announced his retirement from touring and has plenty of free time next summer as he takes a break from his farewell tour. It would be a fitting goodybe.
AFP/Getty Images
6/14 Green Day, Weezer and/or Fall Out Boy
The pop-punk heroes are touring Europe together next summer, and are free on June 28 between dates in Huddersfield and Dublin.
Getty Images
7/14 Foals
Perennial festival favourites, Foals have played Glasto five times now, the last of which was a frenzied secret set. Could their sixth appearance be the biggest?
8/14 Kendrick Lamar
The finest rapper of his generation, he hasn’t played in the UK since summer 2018. He would undoubtedly bring something special to the Pyramid stage.
Getty Images for Samsung
9/14 Arctic Monkeys
Too soon? It was only six years ago that Arctic Monkeys headlined Glastonbury, but you wouldn’t put it past them to make a triumphant return.
Getty Images
10/14 Coldplay
Chris Martin made a fleeting appearance playing guitar alongside Kylie on the Pyramid stage in 2019. Don’t count out him coming back with the rest of his band next summer.
Getty Images
11/14 The Kinks
They haven’t played together for 22 years, and traded insults in the press for decades, but Ray and Dave Davies are back together. In June 2018, they announced they were working on a new album and that they intended to play shows. What’s more, The Kinks were the first band to ever headline Glastonbury back in 1970. Could the planets align?
AFP/Getty Images
12/14 Ariana Grande
Glastonbury grows ever fonder of booking big pop acts, and at the moment they don’t come much bigger than Ariana Grande. She’s a possibility, for sure.
Getty Images for iHeartMedia
13/14 Blur
Damon Albarn and the gang played on stage together for the first time in four years back in March, and haven’t ruled out reuniting again. Their 2009 Glastonbury set was one for the ages.
Getty Images
14/14 Oasis
It’s everyone’s favourite rumour: an Oasis reunion. It’s going to take something special for the brothers to put their (many) differences aside. Would a Glastonbury headline set be sufficient? For now, let’s just say definitely maybe.
Getty Images
1/14 Taylor Swift
The American megastar came back with a bang in August, releasing her seventh album Lover and announcing a string of tour dates. Eagle-eyed fans have spotted a rather intriguing gap in her schedule, between an appearance at Oslo Sommertid on June 26 and Denmark’s Roskilde on July 1.
It would leave her enough time to hop over from Scandinavia to Somerset to perform on either the Saturday or the Sunday, leading to inevitable speculation she’s bound for the Pyramid Stage. Swift has so far remained silent on the matter, though.
Invision/AP
2/14 Spice Girls
Could Spice Girls be destined for the Legends’ slot at next year’s Glastonbury? If their recent, sold-out arena tour is anything to go by, then they could certainly pull in the numbers. And the prospect of such an appearance might even tempt a certain member back into action.
Speaking on the Jonathan Ross Show in September, Mel B was pressed on whether Spice Girls could be in line for Glasto. “You’re asking me, I’m always going to say yes,” she replied, “because I’m always the one that’s like ‘Spice Girls will live forever’.”
She added there had been “bits and bobs of conversations” with the other members about Glastonbury, with Victoria Beckham apparently interested in getting involved — she was absent from the recent tour.
PA
3/14 Paul McCartney
By design or otherwise, Michael Eavis has always been rather loose-lipped when it comes to the identities of future headliners. Speaking to BBC Somerset back in April, he was asked whether Paul McCartney might be coming to Worthy Farm.
“Hopefully for the 50th,” Eavis replied. “Don’t make a big thing of it though, will you?”
Naturally, everyone made a big thing of it. Macca is one of the bookies’ favourites to take the top spot on the Pyramid Stage, and has added fuel to the fire himself, saying he was “starting to think about it”.
“It’s starting to become some remote kind of possibility,” McCartney told BBC Radio 2 in September. “People are saying that it will be good if I did it, so I’m starting to think about whether I can or whether it would be a good thing.”
He added: “We played there quite a long time ago so maybe it is time to go back. I don’t know. I’d have to put a few things in place.”
AFP/Getty Images
4/14 The 1975
Asked in December last year whether The 1975 are ready to headline Glastonbury, frontman Matty Healy said: “Yeah, I think we are. I know that we are. Glastonbury, give us a year.”
By that logic, 2020 will be the year that Healy and co take top billing in Somerset. They were the headline act this year’s Reading and Leeds festivals, and seemed well-suited to the big time.
So could they be a good fit for the Pyramid stage? Emily Eavis responded soon after Healy’s initial comments, saying: “That’s good. Interesting. They’re great. Obviously we’d love to have The 1975.”
Getty Images
5/14 Elton John
He’s announced his retirement from touring and has plenty of free time next summer as he takes a break from his farewell tour. It would be a fitting goodybe.
AFP/Getty Images
6/14 Green Day, Weezer and/or Fall Out Boy
The pop-punk heroes are touring Europe together next summer, and are free on June 28 between dates in Huddersfield and Dublin.
Getty Images
7/14 Foals
Perennial festival favourites, Foals have played Glasto five times now, the last of which was a frenzied secret set. Could their sixth appearance be the biggest?
8/14 Kendrick Lamar
The finest rapper of his generation, he hasn’t played in the UK since summer 2018. He would undoubtedly bring something special to the Pyramid stage.
Getty Images for Samsung
9/14 Arctic Monkeys
Too soon? It was only six years ago that Arctic Monkeys headlined Glastonbury, but you wouldn’t put it past them to make a triumphant return.
Getty Images
10/14 Coldplay
Chris Martin made a fleeting appearance playing guitar alongside Kylie on the Pyramid stage in 2019. Don’t count out him coming back with the rest of his band next summer.
Getty Images
11/14 The Kinks
They haven’t played together for 22 years, and traded insults in the press for decades, but Ray and Dave Davies are back together. In June 2018, they announced they were working on a new album and that they intended to play shows. What’s more, The Kinks were the first band to ever headline Glastonbury back in 1970. Could the planets align?
AFP/Getty Images
12/14 Ariana Grande
Glastonbury grows ever fonder of booking big pop acts, and at the moment they don’t come much bigger than Ariana Grande. She’s a possibility, for sure.
Getty Images for iHeartMedia
13/14 Blur
Damon Albarn and the gang played on stage together for the first time in four years back in March, and haven’t ruled out reuniting again. Their 2009 Glastonbury set was one for the ages.
Getty Images
14/14 Oasis
It’s everyone’s favourite rumour: an Oasis reunion. It’s going to take something special for the brothers to put their (many) differences aside. Would a Glastonbury headline set be sufficient? For now, let’s just say definitely maybe.
Getty Images
“Let’s clear that up now. I do not think that is going to happen.”
Eavis assured the audience that the festival has “got a really good line-up coming together,” with “two out of three headliners” confirmed.
“We are still negotiating, and all summer on the last one, to a point where every day the kids go ‘any news?’” she added.
The special 50th anniversary Glastonbury Festival will take place from June 24 to June 28.
Diana Ross is the only act confirmed so far, with the Supremes star set to perform in the Sunday night ‘legends’ slot.
Additional reporting by Press Association
