Blog ≫ 2025 ≫ Glastonbury day 1
I have messed up a bit in my Glastonbury day numbering, if yesterday was day minus one, how can today be day one? Really it's the other way round though, this is definitely day one, the first day of Glastonbury proper, the first day with a big headliner. Well sort of.
Queue way longer for the composting toilets this morning.
I treated myself to a change of clothes by going back to the lockup. Off with the first of the TWO Glastonbury 1995 t-shirts I'd brought, and on with the 1989 or so Senseless things number. This would surely get as many admiring glances as yesterday's t-shirt had. Yesterday and the day before's t-shirt actually, as that went two days. And this one would also. My white underlayer looked particularly grimy around the neck, a combo of dust and sun cream as well the usual day to day dirt. Lovely. I'm still a good seventy-two hours away from a shower here, in either direction.
This is the first proper day of Glastonbury, the rest has just been a warm up. I was at Woodsies in advance of the first act on, who were TBA. Everyone knew this would be someone big opening this stage, lots of rumours flying around. Some people near me seemed to know, but I couldn't work it out from their comments and description, nor from song titles they dropped in. Nor from the act themselves when they came on, nor from any of the songs. I knew it was a someone, and it was a privilege to be in that tent. I just didn't know actually who it was at any point. Turns out it was Lorde, and it was a big deal.
I saw Supergrass at some point around now, I might have to look at the schedule again and revisit this. They were really good, I remember them talking about being there thirty years before, and this time they played a song off their first album that they had not played that time. I might go check out the set list and paste it in here later too. I missed the beginning of the Supergrass set as I was at Lorde, and I missed the end of the Lorde set as I was at Supergrass. I had seen a lot of Iron Maiden t-shirts around the night before and started kidding myself they would be on site. Spoiler: they would not be. At least Supergrass contributed to my #MakeGlastonbury1995Again theme.
I texted Clare about now that I had had enough and could she come and get me. I think I was joking, but I know I was a bit worn out and thought I'd done it all already. I also know on return from the festival later I would say "I don't have to go again", but writing this up only a few days later, I'm thinking "I wish I was back there".
I found proper coffee from a stall called Proper Coffee. I would return here a few times, it was good coffee, and it was in a good spot between the cider bus and the green futures field where I'd been a few times and could find easily.
Next act I have pictures of are Inhaler on the second stage. I like them, and Paul McCartney likes them too. He was watching from the side of the stage, but I would not find this out until Clare sent me pictures later. All my pictures are quite bad, you can't really make out who is on stage.
I had planned to see someone else, someone new, someone cool 1, but in trying to line up seeing my friend Steve again, he was going to Shed Seven at this time. Clare pointed out I would be crazy to miss them, they are great. So I did, headed back to Woodsies with all the other people who wish it was 1995 again, and had a great time. They looked younger than they ought to, and they sounded great. Elvana joined them on stage - an Elvis impersonator who usually does Nirvana songs - and they segued "Going For Gold" into "Suspicious Minds".
Pretty special, but probably not the most exciting special guest I would see all weekend. Little teaser for you there.
Back to the main stage, and it's incredibly crowded, for another TBC act. So crowded that entrances to the field are closed and I had to walk up round the top of the field. I was expecting this TBC to secretly be Pulp and was greatly looking forward to it, and so when it turned out to be Lewis Capaldi I was disappointed. I'm sure it was good, not entirely for me, but glad to have seen him, especially given the back story. He'd had to go off stage part way through the set three years previously, so nice for him to finally be back and finish it, with improved mental health. I did miss Ash for this though.
Turns out I had got my secret sets mixed up anyway and this was not the one that was rumoured to be Pulp, this is the one that I had forgotten all about and everyone else new it was Lewis Capaldi all along.
After this Alanis Morissette, and she had her own intro film explaining all about her and how great she was which was weird. Still all good though. And if Lorde had had something like this I might have enjoyed that set a bit more.
By staying for Alanis, and possibly something after that, I was running late for something I really wanted to see. And by late I mean not early enough, not early enough to get a sitting down spot inside the tent for Taskmaster. I had to stand at the entrance. Still good enough to see and hear, not enough to see the whites of their eyes or to get any good pictures. Alex Horne and Greg Davies came on doing a duet of "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" which was awesome, then they did a live version of the TV show with guests. It was like a greatest hits show, with some guests who had been on the show before; James Acaster, Kerry Godliman, and Lou Sanders, and some who had not; Richard Blackwood, and Basil Brush! And the excellent Spencer Jones helping Basic Brush with some of the tasks. They had lots of fun chat and mostly tasks that they had already done on the show. Tasks have been bring something to take home from Glastonbury, naming words with a certain number of letters, find someone in the audience who looks like you, mind reading, karaoke, sausage or finger, and finally getting dressed in a tent. Really good, wish I'd got there earlier to get a better slot, but that would have meant missing other things, and I could just about see it all.
After Taskmaster I somehow had time to catch the end of The Searchers, doing supposedly their last ever show. They have been going for nearly seventy years so they can't have too many shows left in them, they say this is the last. They were doing a medley of sixties classics when I got there, including their own songs. Good show! I'm sure they did Needles And Pins at least twice in the short time I was there.
After that it doesn't stop, back to the Left Field for actual Billy Bragg. Missed the beginning of his set but it seemed like it had had some problems from his comments. Not when I was there though, a straight run of bangers to finish; Power In A Union, Levi Stubbs Tears, Greetings to The New Brunette, Great Leap Forward, and Between The Wars. Awesome!
It's funny this felt like an afternoon set, whereas The Searchers definitely felt like an evening set.
Finally The 1975 on the main stage. I felt I should, though I don't know them. I have tried to listen to them before but I don't think they're very good. Lots of people disagree, including them. They think they're very good. I heard a surprising number of negative comments from people walking away from the stage though, "were they worse headliner than SZA was?" one.
Cider bus again, and back to my tent. I'm not going to the rave areas I think.
- Actually Wet Leg, I just looked it up.
⬅️ Health stats 7/7/25 :: Health stats 8/7/25 ➡️