Suede

90’s Britpop legends Suede took to a packed out John Peel stage on the Saturday night at Worthy Farm, to give Glastonbury its daily dose of glam. Brett Anderson and co kicked off a well deserved headline slot with a hauntingly beautiful ‘Pantomime Horse’ from their self-titled debut. Anderson strolled out a few minutes after the band, perched on the mic and eyed up the crowd, coiled and ready to pounce. Suede’s frontman is undoubtedly the driving force behind the immensely powerful machine, like a ball of lightning oozing lusty passion. We’re not even half way into their set and he is almost standing on what is now his crowd, demanding that every single one of them bounce along. This is where you really see the return of his youthful vigour, the very thing that makes you fall in love with Suede from the start, as well as the return of one of the greatest frontmen in modern music.

Palma Violets

Palma Violets returned to Glasto’s Other Stage this year, armed with their angsty second album, Danger In The Club, as well as crowd favourites from their debut, 180, as they set the crowd alight with ‘Best Of Friends’ and ‘English Tongue’. Their live energy in incredible; the way that Fryer and Jesson bounce off each other in a similar way to Carl Barat and Pete Doherty is contagious, a real treat. There’s nothing better than seeing a band who really want to be there, a band that will always give 110%. And all of this carnage is skillfully held together by the incredible William Doyle behind the kit.

Peace

What better way to kick off your weekend than with Peace’s feel good, pop-driven set on the John Peel stage? Especially when the heavens decided to open for a few hours. It is incredible to see how they have gone from being completely underground to the band on everybody’s lips in just a few short years. I would have dismissed them as another failed poppy, pretentious attempt of “indie rock”, but Peace are just a band set on bringing back great pop music. And to that I salute them.

Fat White Family

Glastonbury underdogs Fat White Family brought their scrappy rock blues to the Park Stage on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, and were met by a surprisingly large crowd. Their raw, wild live energy was contagious as frontman Saul Adamczewski had the crowd hanging off every single word, while he aimlessly stumbled and staggered hazily around the stage and into the crowd over and over again. Their set really did show off their talent for genre switching from ‘Is It Raining In Your Mouth?’, with its deep Johnny Cash-like vocals, to the three part, narcotic vocal ensemble of ‘Auto Neutron’ – all of which was perfectly executed whilst remaining the grubbiest band at the festival.

Courtney Barnett

The queen of angst, Aussie-rock, with her witty, razor sharp observations, took to a surprisingly high slot on the Pyramid stage on Saturday afternoon, and wowed us with a set packed with relatable, assertive lyrics from her debut, Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit. This was combined with her energetic, vigorous stage presence, and was undoubtedly the highest pedestal that the 27 year old has ever been put on. She definitely did not disappoint us.

Motorhead

It’s great to see the Eavises bringing in heavier rock acts in recent years, adding to the diversity of their line-up. So why wouldn’t you bring in ’70s metal legends Motorhead? They didn’t only shake the very foundations of Glastonbury, with their hefty bass lines, gruff vocals, lengthy guitar solos and incredible drumming (seriously, go on iPlayer and watch those drum solos), but they provided some of the best banter of the weekend too.

The Libertines

The Libs were probably the best kept secret in Glasto’s not so secret set history, and were probably one of the most exciting in the past few years. The chemistry between Doherty and Barat is outstanding, and what holds their momentous set together. The London four piece jumped from anthem to anthem, leaving the pre-Florence audience buzzing, begging for more. This is definitely the Libs’ summer; with a string of festival appearances worldwide, it’s like we’re back in 2002, and its so so good.

 

Slaves

What more could you want after Slaves’ momentous John Peel slot on Saturday afternoon? Yes, you’re right – a 1:30am slot on Shangri-La’s Hell stage. The boys took to the late night setting with their punky, booze fuelled energetic tracks from their incredible debut, Are You Satisfied?. Their panto style communication seemed to go down well with the crowd, a direct contrast to the powerhouse guitar riffs and monstrous drum fills. Sleaford Mods’ support act? I don’t think so…

The Strypes

The Strypes never ever disappoint, so it was great to see them make a last minute appearance. It’s been amazing to see the Cavarn quartet grow so much in just a few short years, even starting to show similarities to early Arctic Monkeys, and possibly following in their footsteps very soon. Lead singer Ross Farrelly’s vocals have blossomed, as he let out passionate screech after screech that echoed throughout the huge crowd at the Other Stage. The raspy, bluesy tone, combined with McClorey’s phenomenal bluesy licks, gave the set its edge. Give it five years and we’ll see those four boys from at the top of the bill.

Abbi Parcell