Friday 4 June 2010

Johnny Marr recalls The Smiths at Glastonbury 1984

Johnny speaking to The Guardian about The Smiths 1984 Glastonbury appearance.
“ When the Smiths played Glastonbury in 1984, we were slightly out of our element. Previously, we'd always played to manic, devoted audiences who were more like supporters at a cup final, but at Glastonbury we were playing to people who largely hadn't seen us before. It wasn't like when Jay-Z played, but we were very "urban" compared to the other acts. Our songs were

so fast that we got through our first four in about the time it took for the other bands to finish their intro. Eventually, I did manage to instigate a stage invasion, which raised a few eyebrows. One fan was trying to climb on stage, I helped pull him up, and then a few more people followed, and all of a sudden we'd managed to turn it into a Smiths gig. 
What people don't realise is how mellow and low-key Glastonbury used to be. It wasn't televised, and it wasn't a career-defining moment back then. You'd turn up to find just three fields – and they would be by no means full. You had a choice between the shit field, the field no one cares about, or the muddy one. Today's video screens would have seemed like an utter abomination.
Glastonbury's rise in popularity has a lot to do with rave culture. People were getting together in warehouses at the end of motorways just to avoid the police, and then they realised Glastonbury offered thousands of people a chance to get together legally. Suddenly, Glastonbury no longer seemed an outdated idea, whereas in the 80s, it had been caught between the ideals of the 70s and something which had yet to be defined.
Worst Glastonbury moment The first 10 minutes of the Smiths' performance in 84, because the sound got screwed up on stage. My guitar was coming out of the bass amp, and the vocals were, too. They pulled things together . . . by the time of the last song”.
Here is a link to the Guardian Glastonbury piece. Glastonbury

2 comments:

  1. I was there when you and the boys took to the stage.It seemed like you where only on for five minutes.Years later at a recording studio in Blackburn(Mr Peculiar) your drummer(i can't remember his name) told me what happened.I remember the CND guy shouting"this is a peace festival"...I went and had an Earth Chillum and fell asleep to Elvis Costello.

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