Glastonbury – Saturday highlights: From Paul McCartney’s surprise guests to Olivia Rodrigo singing ‘F*** You’ to the Supreme Court with Lily Allen
Paul McCartney brought out Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl in an epic surprise
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Day four of Glastonbury is coming to an eventful close at Worthy Farm on Saturday (25 June).
Prior to Paul McCartney’s headline set, Gen-Z star Olivia Rodrigo invited surprise guest Lily Allen on stage to deliver a blistering rendition of Allen’s 2009 hit “F*** You” addressed to the Supreme Court justices over the recent Roe v Wade ruling.
Elsewhere, viewers at home were delighted when they spotted a raincoat-clad woman in the BBC festival coverage bearing a striking resemblance to the Queen.
While the royal was not in attendance, there have been a long list of celebrities spotted on the festival grounds, including Paul Mescal and Tilda Swinton.
Below are the highlights from day four at Glastonbury – you can follow along with the latest updates on our liveblog here.
During her Glastonbury set on Saturday evening (25 June), Rodrigo joined stars including Phoebe Bridgers and Billie Eilish to condemn the Supreme Court over Roe v Wade.
Partway through her performance on the Other Stage, the “driver’s licence” singer brought out special guest Lily Allen for a rendition of Allen’s 2009 hit “F*** You”.
Introducing the song, Rodrigo said: “I’m devastated and terrified [by the recent ruling] and so many women and girls are going to die because of this and I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who showed us at the end of the day they truly don’t give a s*** about freedom.”
After huge applause from the audience, the 19-year-old went on to address the individuals specifically, stating: “This song goes out to the justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh.”
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)
Standing next to Rodrigo, Allen was seen giving the middle finger. “We hate you guys!” said Rodrigo, before the pair launched into the expletive-filled track.
Paul McCartney brings out Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl during headline set
The Beatles legend took the stage and became the oldest ever solo headliner at Glastonbury.
During his set, the audience delivered a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” for McCartney who celebrated his 80th birthday last week.
Elsewhere, McCartney dedicated his song “My Valentine” to his wife Nancy, who was in the crowd. The music video for the track, which features Johnny Depp, played in the background.
The biggest surprise arrived when McCartney brought out not one, but two musical legends: Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl.
Viewers at home, however, were disappointed by the BBC coverage of Saturday’s (25 June) headliner given that it was broadcast an hour after McCartney had actually begun his set.
Several stars, including Tilda Swinton and Paul Mescal, have been spotted at Worthy Farm.
One person in particular, however, has caused a stir among viewers at home after BBC footage showed a woman in the crowd bearing a striking resemblance to the Queen.
During Friday night’s (24 June) coverage of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’s show, the camera panned over to people in the audience, including one woman in a blue raincoat and sunglasses.
Self Esteem followed in the footsteps of Idles during her Glastonbury set, giving a special shout out to music hero Big Jeff Johns.
Big Jeff is a well-known music fan from Gloucestershire who has spent much of his life attending gigs in Bristol. He has become a fixture at festivals including End of the Road and Green Man, where he has since become a resident DJ.
Earlier this month, Big Jeff was admitted to hospital in Swansea due to injuries that he sustained in a fire at his home in Totterdown.
You can read The Independent’s four-star review of Self Esteem on the John Peel stage here.
Metronomy succeeded in impressing the crowds today, including The Independent’s Mark Beaumont. In his five-star review of the afternoon set, Beaumont writes that while the Devon band may have formed in 1999, “as the bubblegum sound of 2019 track “Salted Caramel Ice Cream” booms out from the stage, the bodies in the audience wriggle and wave, and it’s clear the band are still hitting the sweet spots”.
Olivia Rodrigo also earned a five-star review, with writer Ben Bryant in attendance. “Warm afternoon sunlight gleaming off her knee-high DMs, mirror-mosaic piano, and purple electro-acoustic guitar, this is one of the most iridescent – and sweetest – shows of Saturday at Worthy Farm,” he wrote.
Gallagher took to the stage without his brother, but it was a performance that showed what “latter-era Oasis could have been”.
“What’s gonna happen here now,” says Noel Gallagher, stepping gafferly up to the microphone halfway through his set, exuding Mike Lynch energy, “is I’m gonna play you a couple more tunes you don’t give a s*** about, they’re for me. But if you stick around after that, woo, there’s gonna be a lot of very happy people in bucket hats…” writesThe Independent’s Mark Beaumont in a four-star review of the set.
His bursts of Oasis tunes have largely been songs he sang on record, packing sets with mid-paced acoustic led singalongs but lacking the punch of a “Supersonic” or “Rock’n’Roll Star”.
The Swedish environmental activist took to the main Pyramid Stage in a surprise appearance, where she delivered a short speech about the climate crisis.
She told revellers at the festival that they face a battle against “the forces of greed” if they want to prevent a “total natural catastrophe” caused by climate change.
She said that the climate crisis is “not the new normal” and will only get worse. However she insisted that “we can still avoid the worse consequences” of climate change.
“Together we can do the seemingly impossible,” she said.
You can keep up with The Independent’s live coverage from Worthy Farm here.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments