Pulp are now strongly rumoured to appear on the Glastonbury 2023 line-up after announcing details of a reunion tour next summer – which includes space for a potential Glasto slot.
The band were already deemed a likely contender by bookmakers, who in September were offering odds of 9/1 on Pulp headlining the iconic Pyramid Stage.
The renowned Sheffield band headlined Leeds & Reading in 2011 after performing a secret set at Glastonbury earlier that summer – but now haven’t played together since a hometown gig in December 2012.
Rumours the band would reform soon stepped up a notch when frontman Jarvis Cocker, who played a solo set at Glastonbury this year as JARV IS, shared a cryptic Instagram post back in July asking: “What exactly do you do for an encore?”
The following week, Sheffield newspaper The Star reported Jarvis had confirmed the 2023 reunion at a book launch event – complete with a Glastonbury slot.
And today, the tour dates revealed “so far” include a gap between 9th June in Dublin and 1st July in London. With Glastonbury 2023 taking place from 21st to 25th June, it’s looking likely Pulp will be returning to Worthy Farm.
Two festival appearances are confirmed as part of the list, at Warrington’s Neighbourhood Weekender on 28th May and at Glasgow’s TRNSMT on 7th July – and we now know the band will also headline Latitude Festival.
Pulp’s previous Glastonbury appearances include 1994, 1995, 1998 and the secret set in 2011. In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Jarvis Cocker said their 1995 slot on the Pyramid Stage: “as the event that made the success a concrete fact.”
The frontman released his book ‘Good Pop, Bad Pop‘ earlier this year which quickly became a Sunday Times bestseller.
The band – consisting of Cocker, Candida Doyle, Nick Banks and Steve Mackey – were regarded among the Britpop “big four”, along with Oasis, Blur and Suede. Tickets for their reunion tour go on sale at 9am on Friday 4th November from Ticketmaster.
In other Glastonbury news, Victoria Beckham has ruled out a Worth Farm appearance as part of a Spice Girls reunion in a US TV interview – following years of speculation fuelled by her former band mates.
She told Watch What Happens Live: “I had so much fun being in the Spice Girls – but now, with everything else that I have got going on with my fashion and my beauty line, four children, I couldn’t commit to that. love the girls. I really, really enjoy singing Spice Girls when I’m doing karaoke, but I think I’d better leave it there.”
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Guns N Roses are now strongly rumoured for a place on the Glastonbury 2023 line-up, with bookmakers ranking the band as one of the favourites to headline the iconic Pyramid Stage next summer.
Sky Bet are currently listing the band as joint second most likely to headline along with Elton John at just 2/5, behind Arctic Monkeys in first place at 1/10.
The short odds mean anyone placing £5 on Guns n Roses or Elton John to headline the Pyramid would receive just £7 back if they’re confirmed as headliners, while anyone placing £10 on Arctic Monkeys is looking at a return of £11 – a profit of just £1 for every £10 staked.
In an interview with Metal Hammer last year, Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis was asked asked: “Who’s the heaviest band you would book for the Festival?”
She replied: “We had Napalm Death in 2017, and it doesn’t get much heavier than that! But I think Guns N’ Roses need to play here at some point don’t they?”
And back in January 2020, The Sunday Times said: “Guns’n’Roses headlining Friday night Glastonbury [is] looking increasingly likely” – just weeks before almost all of that summer’s festivals were forced to cancel when the pandemic broke out.
The American rapper has never played at the festival before, but a ‘festival insider’ claimed the organisers think the deal for June 2023 will be successful.
They told The Sun: “Eminem is wanted for a huge slot at Glastonbury and has been in talks for yonks.
“His dates all line-up and if they can get him on board, it will be the first time he has ever played at the festival.
“Eminem is one of the greatest rappers on the planet and to have him down on the farm would be incredible.
“There is also a huge nostalgia factor with Eminem. He has been around for over 25 years and everyone knows his music.
“It would be a really special moment, not just for him but for everyone at the festival. The organisers think he will sign on the dotted line and they can get things moving.”
While reports suggest he would be headlining the Pyramid Stage, and this would certainly be the most fitting slot if Eminem did appear at Glastonbury, organiser Emily Eavis said previously that all headliners for 2023 had already been booked. For The Sun’s sources to be correct, he would have to be played a “huge slot” elsewhere at the festival – unless of course a previously booked headliner has dropped out.
Despite the Sun’s insider claiming Eminem’s tour dates line up with a potential Glastonbury appearance, the rapper has not currently announced any upcoming gigs, suggested the source either has access to unreleased information or is mistaken.
Arctic Monkeys were also rumoured to have signed a deal to headline Glastonbury 2023 when their UK tour sold out in minutes earlier this month. A source told The Sun: “‘Alex Turner and the band are coming back to Glastonbury, and this time their set is going to be even bigger and better.
“The lads have signed on the dotted line and will return to the Pyramid Stage next June. It is really special for them to be doing a hat-trick on that stage and it is something they have wanted to do for a while.”
The complete Glastonbury line-up isn’t usually confirmed until the end of May, but loads of artists, including the headliners, are typically revealed earlier. Plus, some artists will ‘self-confirm’ their place and many others will be rumoured – and some of the strongest rumours always prove to be true.
We’ve listed every artist that’s either officially confirmed, self-confirmed or rumoured here – and we’re keeping the list updated daily with the latest developments.
Last time around, the main line-up poster was released at the start of March. The first headliner was confirmed much earlier when Glasto organisers announced Billie Eilish at the beginning of October. A few weeks later in early November, it was revealed Diana Ross would play the Sunday night legends slot, so we might not be too far from an official announcement.
Tickets for Glastonbury 2023 will be sold on the 3th and 6th November, around a month later than usual. It’s pretty much unheard of for modern-day Glasto to announce artists before the ticket sale so we think it’s quite unlikely we’ll get any confirmations before then – although it could happen.
Image credits:
Paul Hudson / CC BY 2.0
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