Glastonbury fans are at it again after the announcement that Kanye West would be among the headliners on the iconic Pyramid Stage at the British music festival this year. The reasoning is blunt and self-righteous: A) Glastonbury is a rock festival and if hip-hop wants to be there, it should perform at the back of the bus, er, on a side stage. B) Kanye isn't British. This is a British festival...I mean come on. You don't see Paul McCartney headlining America festivals, do you? C) One of the Gallagher brothers said this was a travesty, and by God we believe him!
In short, they must think all American festivals are total crap because of the vast blending of genres that takes place...ugh, all the various cultures and tastes...sickening. Hopefully we get to see West release some new material this year (perhaps at Lollapalooza in hometown Chicago?) because, if the 30,000-plus people who signed this change.org petition are sincere, few will actually show up for Yeezy's set in the UK (although the founder of said petition has since admitted that he's never been to Glastonbury).
It's not the first time an act has inspired controversy at the festival. Here are four other acts that have drawn the ire of the world's most pure-blooded music fans.
The Smiths (1984)
Yeah, if you thought that the Glastonbury faithful are bad right now, you can only imagine how insufferable they were during the earlier years of the festival. There was a time when the event was so rock-centric that even The Smiths were deemed "too pop" to deserve the honor of gracing the Pyramid Stage. "A lot of people who expected Hawkwind every year really wanted it and fought for that," said current head organizer Emily Eavis during 2009, citing a prog-heavy metal act more popular at the time. "They didn't believe that The Smiths should be playing." For reference, the go-to whiners regarding the Glasto lineup are Noel and Liam Gallagher, the brothers behind Oasis and rock 'n' roll purity the world over. Those guys love The Smiths, and yet the '80s audience wanted nothing to do with the young alt act.
Suzanne Vega (1989)
Kanye West has it relatively easy: When Glastonbury attendees don't like a name on the bill during the 21st Century, they take to the internet and start meaningless petitions. When one person doesn't like the appearance of folk rocker Suzanne Vega at the 1989 event, they make death threats. We joke that attendees are opposed to hip-hop headliners because of the racial issue (are we even joking?) but this was a definite case of gender discrimination, as Vega was the first solo female performer to ever headline the Pyramid Stage. That sort of intimidation would be enough to make us think twice but the guitarist would not be moved: She and bassist Mike Visceglia took the stage, wearing bulletproof vests...as more than a stage prop. Organizers at the event took the threats seriously as well, bringing in Scotland Yard to ensure security.
Jay Z (2008)
Most of you probably figured out the aforementioned rapper we were referencing, or at least it will ring a bell for those paying attention during 2008. That's when Jay Z was named the first hip-hop headliner in Glastonbury festival and, as you can imagine, a serious portion of the British population went berserk (although there honestly seems to be more disgust with Kanye's announcement). This was probably the most famous incident where Noel Gallagher let his righteous view be heard, declaring that it was "wrong" for the genre to headline at the festival. Jay, perhaps as a result of years of beefs with other performers, knew how to end the argument. He came onstage at the moment of truth with a guitar and opened with the beginning of the Oasis hit "Wonderwall," before launching into his own "99 Problems," later improvising during "Jockin' Jay-Z" that the "bloke from Oasis said I couldn't play guitar/Someone should have told him I'm a f*ckin' rock star."
Metallica (2014)
So much changes over the course of 30 years. When The Smiths were announced during 1984, Hawkwind fans declared that they weren't heavy enough to appear. By 2014, the idea of heavy music appearing at all was ridiculousness, resulting in massive protests of Metallica's appearance at the event. Those complaining have shifted tactics however: Realizing that merely complaining about genre won't get the job done, morals and ethics are thrown around as damning evidence against bands. Specifically, the fact that frontman James Hetfield had narrated a documentary on Alaskan bear hunts meant that he and his band were unworthy of appearing (similarly, West has been accused of misogyny). Pulp's Jarvis Cocker gave his own arguable excuse, citing that attendees—who had been drinking and doping throughout the day—would be disturbed by a sudden burst of thrash. Metallica, like Jay Z, had the last laugh, showing a video of the band dressed as bears, shooting humans. Jack White paid homage during his set at the festival, briefly playing the riff from "Enter Sandman."
