THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A BOOK OF THE YEAR PICK IN THE TIMES: ‘Captivating’
A ROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR: ‘In-depth and inspiring’
‘Beautifully compiled … the perfect festival experience’ SUNDAY TIMES
Glastonbury 50 is the authorised, behind-the-scenes, inside story of the music festival that has become a true global phenomenon.
The story begins in 1970. The day after Jimi Hendrix’s death… dairy farmer Michael Eavis invites revellers to his field in Somerset to attend a ‘Pop, Folk & Blues’ festival. Tickets are £1 each, enticing more than a thousand customers with the promise of music, dance, poetry, theatre, lights and spontaneous entertainment – as well as free milk from his own Worthy Farm cows.
Fast forward through five tumultuous decades and the Eavis’s vision now encompasses a gigantic ‘city in the fields’, with a total annual population nearing a quarter of a million. Tickets sell out within minutes, the show is beamed live to more than 40 countries around the globe, and over 3 million people are registered to attend. Meanwhile, the bill has expanded to include big name performers, artists and designers from every branch of the creative arts. Glastonbury Festival is now the largest outdoor green fields event in the world.
In their own words, Michael and Emily Eavis reveal the stories behind the headlines, and celebrate 50 years of history in the Vale of Avalon. They’re joined by a host of big-name contributors from the world of music – among them Adele, JAY-Z, Dolly Parton, Chris Martin, Noel Gallagher, Lars Ulrich and Guy Garvey. They’re joined by artists – Stanley Donwood, Kurt Jackson and many more. Writers – Caitlin Moran, Lauren Laverne, Billy Bragg – and by a host of photographers, from Seventies icon Brian Walker to rock and roll legends Jill Furmanovsky and Greg Williams.
Together they bring you the magic that makes Glastonbury, Glastonbury.
A BOOK OF THE YEAR PICK IN THE TIMES: ‘Captivating’
A ROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR: ‘In-depth and inspiring’
‘Beautifully compiled … the perfect festival experience’ SUNDAY TIMES
Glastonbury 50 is the authorised, behind-the-scenes, inside story of the music festival that has become a true global phenomenon.
The story begins in 1970. The day after Jimi Hendrix’s death… dairy farmer Michael Eavis invites revellers to his field in Somerset to attend a ‘Pop, Folk & Blues’ festival. Tickets are £1 each, enticing more than a thousand customers with the promise of music, dance, poetry, theatre, lights and spontaneous entertainment – as well as free milk from his own Worthy Farm cows.
Fast forward through five tumultuous decades and the Eavis’s vision now encompasses a gigantic ‘city in the fields’, with a total annual population nearing a quarter of a million. Tickets sell out within minutes, the show is beamed live to more than 40 countries around the globe, and over 3 million people are registered to attend. Meanwhile, the bill has expanded to include big name performers, artists and designers from every branch of the creative arts. Glastonbury Festival is now the largest outdoor green fields event in the world.
In their own words, Michael and Emily Eavis reveal the stories behind the headlines, and celebrate 50 years of history in the Vale of Avalon. They’re joined by a host of big-name contributors from the world of music – among them Adele, JAY-Z, Dolly Parton, Chris Martin, Noel Gallagher, Lars Ulrich and Guy Garvey. They’re joined by artists – Stanley Donwood, Kurt Jackson and many more. Writers – Caitlin Moran, Lauren Laverne, Billy Bragg – and by a host of photographers, from Seventies icon Brian Walker to rock and roll legends Jill Furmanovsky and Greg Williams.
Together they bring you the magic that makes Glastonbury, Glastonbury.
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Reviews
In this beautifully compiled history, Eavis and his daughter Emily trace Glastonbury's remarkable 50-year evolution, alongside testimony from performers and a fabulous trove of photographs. Blessedly mud-free, it's the perfect festival experience.
A must-have for festival fans.
Michael Eavis and his daughter Emily prove typically welcoming guides as Glastonbury 50 unravels the history, the book's scrapbook approach mixing personal stories and classic photography with colourful reminiscences from the likes of Chris Martin, Ed Chemical, Noel Gallagher and Banksy.
... Emily Eavis's childhood recollections, and photographs documenting how it went from a mellow hippy love-in with free milk in 2971 to a crusty nightmare in the early Nineties to a fully functioning pop-up city it is today, are captivating.
With exclusive interviews, never-before-seen photos and lots of insight from big names, including Adele, Dolly Parton and Noel Gallagher, this is a must for any music fan.