My Chemical Toilet

Glastonbury gives charity big pay out

We've not always covered The Spice Girls, Black Eyed Peas and Britney. Hell no. We used to talk about live music and festivals. So with that, it pleases me to tell you about Glastonbury and their generosity. The Glasto lot have donated £74,000 to Latin American banana farmers from money made at this year's festival. Banana Link received the money from the event's good causes fund, and will help banana producers negotiate better with European supermarkets to get themselves a fairer deal by employing union leaders in Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras.

"Farmers and farm workers, no matter where they are in the world, are entitled to a fair deal and a fair award for their skills and labours," festival boss Michael Eavis told BBC News. "It is essential that farmers and farm workers stick together and I see this gift to Banana Link as an example of us working together towards these ends." Around £2 million was raised for good causes at the 2007 festival, with Oxfam, WaterAid and Greenpeace among the main beneficiaries.

Posted by Mof Gimmers on October 17, 2025 12:23 PM in Glastonbury
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Vote in the Festival Awards and win a prize!

The summer is over and festival season has officially come to an end. Now it's time for you to vote, which Festival was the highlight of your summer! The UK Festival Awards will be taking place in Central London (where else?) on November 6th and is the industry’s only awards voted for solely by the people who really matter – the fans. Although it's unclear whether those that matter - the fans - are allowed in.

With so many festivals to choose from brace yourself for a hard decision. There are over 20 categories to vote in this year, including Best New Festival so it’s not all about the big guns. The UK has arguably the most vibrant festival scene in the world, and it is time to honour those who made this year a little more special. Have your say and set the standard for next year by voting now at www.festivalawards.com. As well as making a difference to the festival scene, your vote will also qualify you for an exclusive money-can’t-buy prize draw to win a pair of tickets to every winning festival in 2008! You can vote on a whole host of things, from Best Act to Best New Festival... and even Best Toilets. Sadly, we aren't in that category...

Glastonbury impact under spotlight

How much did this year’s Glastonbury Festival affect Mendip’s local economy? That is the question being put to businesses across the district as part of an economic impact assessment being carried out by Mendip District Council and the organisers of June’s festival. The aim of the study is to fully understand the economic effects of the world-famous event, and help to support the planning of future festivals.

As part of that investigation local businesses are being asked, through a survey, about their experiences and what impact the festival has on employment, trading and turnover. Cllr John Osman, Mendip District Council’s portfolio holder for regeneration, said: “Glastonbury Festival is such a huge event for Mendip that we hope this survey will provide us with important data to not only plan future festivals but look at how it affects the whole district."

Posted by Mof Gimmers on August 15, 2025 2:57 PM in Glastonbury
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Bat For Lashes - MCT's favourite tip for the Mercury Music Prize

Natasha Khan It’s not often I advocate gambling, but in the case of Brighton’s Bat For Lashes, I know I'm onto a winner. Seriously, I've been rambling on about the sheer amazingness of this band for so long nobody will actually talk to me anymore. Still, you'd be best off forgoing that round of beers after work tonight – instead, head to your nearest branch of William Hill and put that tenner on the ethereal group to win this year’s Mercury Music Prize. Read my lips: Bat For Lashes are making the most stunning music this side of 1990.

Fronted by the band's songwriter, the extremely nice Natasha Khan, this four-piece made one of the best albums of 2006 with their nominated debut, Fur and Gold. Fizzing with theramins, haunting lyrics and the sort of tunes you’d sell your own mother for, it’s testament to its spine tingling beauty that I spent an entire day in a weird state of hypnosis listening to four 50 second clips when the review copy failed to materialise.

From the melancholic beauty of 'Bat's Mouth' to the sexual Duracell that is 'The Wizard' it's impossible to pick a favourite. Oh go on then, 'Prescilla'. No, 'The Horse and I'. Damn.

Glastonbury video diary

If you want a really good reflection of what the Glastonbury festival experience is really like, then you couldn't go wrong watching this video found on YouTube. Music, mud, random musings, more mud and people with dreadlocks. I've been a few times, and although I didn't really rate it, this is pretty much a perfect 10 minute snapshot of the world's biggest commercial music festival.

Klaxons perform "Golden Skans" @ Glastonbury 2007

The consensus seems to be that Klaxons are better suited to smaller venues / tents, where their mental rave tendencies are amplified to an intense level. They looked pretty knackered by the time Glastonbury came around, but I'll take any opportunity to hear those "ooooh-ooooh-ooooh-ah!"s again...

Is Latitude now the preferred festival for older Glastonbury fans?

Interesting that, just as Mr. Eavis announces that Glastonbury needs to appeal to younger music fans, Latitude - which is aimed at an older crowd - has been receiving glowing reviews across the board this year. The latest to submit enthusiastic opinions are The Times and The Guardian.

Given that the conditions at Glastonbury differed greatly from those at Latitude, it's perhaps unfair to compare the two based on this year alone. And it would be naive to ignore the brand loyalty Glasto has built up over the years. But the fact remains that after a couple of good years, Latitude, which this featured headliners Jarvis Cocker, Arcade Fire and Damien Rice, seems to be persuading a certain section of the festivalgoing public to switch allegiance.

10 reasons why Latitude is better than Glastonbury

kings%20of%20neon.jpg 1. The line-up managed to be awesome and managable, all at the same time.

2. It took 10 minutes to walk from the tent to the stage, not an hour and a half.

3. The weather. It was sunny. I almost cried.

4. The crowd were brilliant, which made all the performers happy. There was not a single "you're not clapping loud enough" diva strop.

5. There were a lot of kids. Whilst this in itself is not a positive, it meant there was lots of face painting, opportunities to make farms out of clay and cutemenwithbabies. (There was also lots of accidental swearing in front of young ones, but the parents were so down-with-the-kids cool, they didn't mind. In fact, they enjoyed how it broadened their life experiences. Or something).

Festivals round-up: Everyone loves Latitude, Live Earth most watched entertainment event in history, Jarvis has the Eye of the Tiger

- The opinions on Latitude, in general, seem to come down on the side of "delightful" (apart from the litter). Even a self-confessed miserablist enjoyed it

- Hold onto your hats - an MP went on a jolly to Glasto courtesy of the BBC and some people aren't pleased

- Guilfest gets some better press from The Sun, after reports of problems with speaker stacks and, well, open sewers

Festivals round-up: Latitude and Indian Summer brighten rather than dampen spirits, problems mar Guilfest, Marilyn Manson footage from Download

- A speaker stack collapsed at Guilfest on Friday, and the comments below this story suggest that while the festival was designed to be mud-free there are other mucky elements they need to look at sorting out

- Observer Music Monthly has a focus on a few of the big events that have taken place this year. Glastonbury this year was "amazing", according to Emily Eavis (but then she would say that, wouldn't she?). Also interviewed are Damon Albarn and Johnny Borrell

- Latitude's growing reputation won't have been harmed by - whaaaat?? - good weather. CSS were among the many acts who impressed Uncut.co.uk (who are one of the festival's sponsors)

Eavis creates debate with Glasto confession

I told you that Michael Eavis wants to get young people back through the gates at Glastonbury. Eavis feels that this year's Glastonbury was noticeably short of about 30,000 to 40,000 young people, and that the tickets had generally been bought by older people.

He said "The problem with the clientèle at the moment is that they're becoming a bit older and a bit more clever and they've got the gear to buy the tickets as they have fast access to the ticket system and can buy more", he said. "These people are perfectly nice and adorable, but we want the late teens because they help to make the character of the festival so it's really important to get them on board."

These comments have created quite a debate, which has resulted in eFestivals writing an open letter to Eavis.

Posted by Mof Gimmers on July 13, 2025 2:39 PM in Glastonbury
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Festivals round-up: Latitude now sold out, Glasto too grown-up, Lovebox plan to halve world hunger

- This year's Latitude has now sold out. No mean feat in such a competitive festival landscape

- You can get a preview to the grown-up arts fest here, or a local paper gives some handy tips here

- Talking of "grown-up", that's a tag that's been thrown at Glastonbury - by its own organiser

- Lovebox Weekender is taking part in an ActionAid initiative which plans to halve world hunger by 2015

- One of the risks Live Earth ran was bad headlines in several countries - unfortunately that's how it's transpired, with viewers apparently switching off in Australia and the U.S in addition to here in the UK. But hey, at least organic soap sales are up

Eavis to sell 40% of Glasto tickets over the phone

Strange news this. Glastonbury festival honcho Michael Eavis has said that there's gonna be some changes to the way tickets are sold for next year's Glastonbury Festival. In an (misguided?) attempt to attract younger festival goers, Eavis says around 40% of tickets will now be sold over the telephone. Out of touch there a bit Mike.

Eavis explained to BBC Somerset Sound that the change will be made because they feel many 16 to 18-year-olds have mobile phones but might not have fast internet connections. He said that this year's Glastonbury was noticeably short of about 30,000 to 40,000 young people, and that the tickets had generally been bought by older people with faster internet access.
Now, is it me, or do most young people possess more internet knowledge than their folks, and thus, using their parents 'faster internet', are far more savvy when it comes to ticket purchase.

"The problem with the clientèle at the moment is that they're becoming a bit older and a bit more clever and they've got the gear to buy the tickets as they have fast access to the ticket system and can buy more", he said. "These people are perfectly nice and adorable, but we want the late teens because they help to make the character of the festival so it's really important to get them on board."

Festivals round-up: Wild In The Country reviews, discarded tents remain at Glastonbury

- Hot Chip's reputation won't be damaged by The Guardian's review of their set at Wild In The Country; The Sun select veterans Underworld as the stand-out performance

- Despite an initiative to send discarded tents to deprived sorts, thousands of shelters remain at Glasto because of a "muck up"

- While this blog gave fairly considered opinions of Secondfest, others have been a little more dismissive

- The Diana Memorial Concert peaked at over 14 million viewers in the UK alone

How to get off the Glastonbury site in 5 minutes

This video aims to show us how to get out of the Glasto festival in only 5 minutes. After watching this video, I'm not certain that it teaches us anything (other than the fact you might need to drive an old double decker bus). That said, this video provides a very real and perfect snapshot of the post festival carnage and trudge.

In-Tents Questioning: Glastonbury - Andy Clarke

This is Andy Clarke. He was a very brave boy and went along to Glastonbury to sample some of the lesser-known delights in addition to the more obvious attractions. Allow him to educate you in angry hippies, horse-headed men and, um, Your Dad.

1. Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from. Now.

OK, keep your trilby on. Andy, 27 ¼, Brighton, England.

2. Which festival have you recently attended?

Glastonbury.

3. Have you attended this festival before? If yes, how does this year compare?

Fifth time for me this year. A little damp under foot, but one of the best. Maybe because the line-up of bands on the main stages wasn’t all that, so we spent more time investigating unknowns.

In-Tents Questioning: Glastonbury - Dave Stevenson

Dave Stevenson is one of My Chemical Toilet's esteemed bloggers. He went to Glastonbury and returned with tales of drug-taking stewards, Americans who look like your Dad and apologetic drunkards.

1. Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from. Now.

Dave Stevenson, 24, London.

2. Which festival have you recently attended?

I'm pretty sure it's Glastonbury, but it's hard to tell with all the mud on top.

3. Have you attended this festival before? If yes, how does this year compare?

I was here in 2005. When, surprise, surprise, it rained a lot, the grass turned to clay, and we spent a lot of time learning exactly why bin bags are a form of currency at music festivals.

4. Which act gave the best performance, and why?

Damien Rice. He's one miserable git, but his voice was outstanding.

Festivals round-up: Diana concert schmaltz / entertainment ratio, Bassey and The Killers benefit from Glastonbury appearances

- The New York Daily News gets it about right on the Diana concert - equal parts schmaltz and entertainment. I loved watching the middle-aged mums mouthing the wrong lyrics along to everything

- Shirley Bassey and The Killers are the big winners sales-wise following their appearances at Glastonbury

- Riderwatch update - Snoop Dogg knows how to do it (allegedly, etc). And at a charity gig, to boot

- Don't forget to enter our competition to win Live Earth tickets for the London event

Want to know what it's like to use the Glastonbury She-pee lady urinals?

katie%20lee.JPG Never let it be said that I'm averse to a bit of adventure. Tell me there's a She-pee at Glastonbury and I'm going to have to give it a try. Why? It's just like Mallory said when asked why he wanted to climb Everest "because it's there". Still, he died in the attempt, so let's not draw too many parallels.

Dedicated followers of my weeing habits, of which I'm sure there are many, will already know that I once had a go with the Whiz, a contraption that resembles a space age funnel that fits over your particulars, leaving you free to wee without sitting down. At the time, I was quite flippant about the Whiz. Sure, it worked, but the whole thing just seemed a little ludicrous to me.

Posted by Katie on July 1, 2025 12:30 PM in Glastonbury
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Shirley Bassey wows 'em at Glastonbury 2007

When Shirley Bassey isn't cheating a fire ball of death in her helicopter, she's stealing the show at Glastonbury 2007. Let's have a look at the 126 year old Welsh crooner belting it out - big finishes and all!

Post-Glastonbury update: Eavis explains sound problems, 70,000 sign up to "I Count", Peaches Geldof video diaries

- The weather at Glastonbury meant sound levels had to be turned down, apparently. Here comes the science

- 70,000 people signed up to the "I Count" campaign to stop climate chaos. Live Earth will aim to build on the momentum

- Virtual Festivals sent one of their writers around the lesser-known areas of the festival. He checked out the Tipi Field, Permaculture, the Stone Circle and Green Futures among others

- Guardian Unlimited has a good round-up of where to find Glastonbury footage online. It's fair to say they're not too impressed with Peaches Geldof's video diaries. They'll also point you towards footage of Aerosmith and Run DMC from Hyde Park Calling

In-Tents Questioning: Glastonbury - Jon Hartley

Jon Hartley is a true Glasto veteran - so how did he find this year's event compared to previous years? Here he tells us about Geordie midgets, Welsh Oggies and Stan Collymore.

1. Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from. Now.

Jon Hartley, 29. London.

2. Which festival have you recently attended?

Glastonbury 2007.

3. Have you attended this festival before? If yes, how does this year compare?

Yes. This was my 10th Glastonbury. I’ve seen some muddy ones but this one just about takes the crown of muddiest yet. As usual nobody seemed to care that it was raining and muddy.

Overall I thought that little improvements occurred without the festival losing its unique feel. This year's big improvement was the late-night fun. No longer is it just Lost Vagueness that provides after-hours fun - Trash City and the new Park area were chipping in as well, and that helped.

Arctic Monkeys sing Diamonds Are Forever at Glastonbury 2007

Here are some scruffy buggers from Sheffield singing Diamonds Are Forever or something at Glasto 2007.

Glastonbury Poll - how was it for you? Did you get covered in poo?

We've had a couple of folk undergo some Glastonbury-related In-Tents Questioning, with more to come. But we want to know what everyone else thinks as well. Can you see where this is headed? Vote below, or, if your preferred option doesn't exist, leave a comment. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to give Mr. Eavis some tips for next time...

Post-Glastonbury update: The Big Kiss result imminent, The Killers say bye-bye to Glasto, the pee-pee clean-up

- Yep, seems The Killers' experience was so overwhelming that they can't see themselves playing the festival again. Nothing to do with the lousy sound, then

- We mentioned The Big Kiss the other week - now we need to know whether the record was broken. Hurry up, Guinness Book Of World Records nerds!

- If your Glasto was less than sanitary, spare a thought for the employees of Viridor. They spent the weekend cleaning up your wee-wee

- Teenagers attending Glasto are now more environmentally conscious... according to a teenager writing for The Times

In-Tents Questioning: Glastonbury - Nick Fleetwood

Nick went to Glastonbury this year. He had to return early unfortunately - did this ruin his fun? Let's find out, shall we? (Yes)

1. Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from. Now.

Nick Fleetwood, 27, London.

2. Which festival have you recently attended?

Glastonbury 2007.

3. Have you attended this festival before? If yes, how does this year compare?

Yes, four other times. This was the worst of the lot. Still great music and randomness but mud, facilities and weather were all the worst of the lot.

4. Which act gave the best performance, and why?

Kasabian - mud-stomping brilliance. Best people to build a crowd up and cracking tunes to boot.

In-Tents Questioning: Glastonbury - Katie Lee

Katie Lee is Shiny Media's Editorial Director, which means that what she says is quite literally gospel. She went to Glastonbury this year and the first thing she did afterwards - before even removing her wellies - was answer our questions about her experiences. She told us all about she-pees, sinking stalls and pear cider.

1. Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from. Now.

Katie Lee, 28, currently residing in London.

2. Which festival have you recently attended?

Glastonbury.

3. Have you attended this festival before? If yes, how does this year compare?

I have attended this festival many times before and this year was probably the one with the most drizzle.

Iggy and the Stooges incite a peaceful riot at Glastonbury

You've heard about the invasion of the stage when Iggy Pop arrived. Unbeknownst to most, this is par for the course at a Stooges gig and pretty unremarkable. However, for the dippy hippies who where there, it must have seemed like their entire world had turned upside down. Watch the video below for a fan's eye view of events.

Post-Glastonbury update: Pete Doherty invaded Iggy Pop's stage, Glasto's green credentials examined

- Pete Doherty and Kate Moss wandered around Glasto in comedy disguises, apparently - and Pete was one of the naughty souls who got on stage with Iggy Pop. For an amusing American take on this story - complete with bemusement at the term "QPR shirt" - click here. Holy Moly, meanwhile, seems to think that it's all a bit pie in the sky-ish

- Get your "awwww"s ready - a wittle baby was baptised on site on the anniversary of his parents' first meeting at Glastonbury

- Socialist Worker Online is pleased with how the Left Field went down. Their website is rather red, unsurprisingly

- A member of the Green Party analyzes the festival's green performance this year in the New Statesman. Overall it gets the thumbs-up

Post-Glastonbury update: Iggy Pop's racist remark, Charlie Brooker's first Glasto experience

- Saturday was a quiet evening for Iggy Pop, 60, then. First a wee attempt at inciting a riot, then a spot of racist language on live national TV

- BBC chiefs may finally get the message. It turns out that if you show programmes other than Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps on BBC3, people are more likely to tune in

- The peerless Charlie Brooker went to Glasto for the first time this year. He took a former Big Brother contestant with him. Waste no more time and click here for laffs aplenty

Post-Glastonbury update: snapshots and pithy captions galore

The referee never officiated another match again after allowing this game to continue.

Close your eyes! She's gonna cartwheel!

Upside of bogshelters: protection from the rain. Downside of bogshelters: piss showers almost unavoidable.

Iggy shouldn't have announced he had a spare roll of Andrex.

Kate avoids drugs by drinking backstage at Pete Doherty's set. Hmmm.

Keith, 54, an actor from London.

"I am TELLING you - this is where I buried my stash."

Post-Glastonbury update: Iggy Pop still naughty, Shirley Bassey cheats death, Amy Winehouse glamps it up

That's it for another year (at least), then. How was it for you? If you feel really strongly one way or another why not fill out our questionnaire?

Here are some of the choicest nuggets from the weekend (beyond the numerous "Arctic Monkeys / Chemical Brothers / Shirley Bassey / Kaiser Chiefs Storm Glastonbury" non-stories):

- Iggy Pop's performance sounded like a riot - wait for it - LITERALLY (badoom tish). As far as rock n' roll behaviour goes, it puts Lily Allen's reigniting of her feud with Cheryl Cole to shame

- Fans complained of sounds problems during a couple of the headline sets. OK, organisers can't do anything about the weather, but surely the sound is a priority?

26 year old man dies at Glastonbury

A 26-year-old man has died at Glastonbury over the weekend of a suspected drugs overdose.

The festival-goer was found collapsed in the early hours of Saturday morning and died later that night after being taken to the nearby Yeovil District hospital.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police said his death was not being treated as suspicious, adding that a post-mortem will now be carried out.

Overall, crime at the festival has fallen slightly on 2005, with 236 incidents reported as of 9am Sunday, down from 267 two years ago.

Posted by Mof Gimmers on June 24, 2025 3:54 PM in Glastonbury
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Glastonbury update: latest pictures from the mudzone

Two hats for Mr. Doherty. This trend is set to hit Camden in thirty-six minutes.

Girls Aloud rock the little-known "Liquid Stage".

The living legend Wineaaahhhse, moments before producing a bottle of vodka from her barnet (possibly).

Graham, 34, a stockbroker from Weybridge.

Bloody metrosexuals and their aromatic mudpacks...

The queue for the toilets is already a little out of hand.

[Photos: Getty]

Glastonbury update: our moblog looks cloudy

If you're one of the poor souls who dearly wanted a ticket but couldn't get hold of one, the above photo is just for you. See how things work out?

Let's just hope those at Glasto checked our handy little Metcheck widget, eh readers? Because if the pics coming through to our moblog are anything to go by, the dark grey clouds ain't going away anytime soon. Looks like tomorrow is about as good as it's going to get.

So maybe you won't get to see Bjork tonight. But you will have a warm, dry bed. Remember that, and - if you wish - enjoy a smug little chuckle.

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