If you think it’s too early to start planning your vacation time next summer, you’re not as proactive as U2. “The 26-year-old rumor has finally come true. At last, the biggest band in the world are going to play the best festival in the world,” said Glastonbury organizer Michael Eavis. The 40th anniversary of the Glastonbury festival, to commence on June 25th, comes just a few days before U2 plans to embark on their 360° tour of North America. The festival will host U2 in the its trademark Glass Pyramid.
To look at Glastonbury roots in the late ’60s, with early performances from Hawkwind, Terry Reid and Fairport Convention (all of which are wonderfully documented in the notorious Glastonbury Fayre documentary) one would never expect that the festival would still be thriving today at the forefront of the summer concert circuit. At the same time, few likely guessed how massively successful U2 would become when they emerged in the early ’80s. In addition to recent photos of the supergroup, Backstage Gallery has some choice shots of Bono in the salad days of 1983. Living proof that hair may change but that greatness never can!