Mick Jagger was nervous ahead of the Rolling Stones’ Glastonbury debut in 2013 because Bono had warned him it was one of the toughest gigs around.
U2 at the legendary British music event in 2011, but had a tough time due to the rain and the mud. He spoke to Mick about his experience and his warning made the rocker nervous before his big Glastonbury bow.
“I spoke to Bono when he had his Glastonbury experience, which he said was one of the most difficult days he’s ever done a concert – it was mindblowingly difficult because of the weather,” the rock veteran wrote for The Guardian. “I was afraid it was going to be the same for us, but it didn’t turn out like that.”
Although he didn’t have to worry about the weather, he was still concerned about delivering something a bit different to their usual well-worn set.
“People always try to do something special for Glastonbury, like when JAY-Z did (Oasis song) Wonderwall. A week or so before our appearance, I thought, if we’re going to do a big night at Glastonbury, let’s try and do something a bit topical,” he continued. “So I thought I’d rewrite the lyrics of Factory Girl to do something different. I was a bit wary of it, if people were really going to get it – but they got it.”
And he admitted the experience was unlike any of the mammoth shows the Stones have played before.
“I’ve done a lot of big crowds, but normally when you do these big crowds you can’t often see them,” he explained. “In this case, though, the crowd goes up the hill and was illuminated by flares. You could actually see 100,000 people, which was amazing. The crowd was amazingly supportive, vibrant, enthusiastic, exuberant – even though you’re a long way away from them, you can still feel the wave of feeling coming from them.”
This year’s Glastonbury festival, which was due to take place now, has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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