Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Glastonbury: 50 Years and Counting

A social and musical history of (probably) the world’s greatest music festival, as told by its principal curators, Michael and Emily Eavis, and many of the key artists who’ve appeared there.

Three years in the making, Francis Whately’s film is a social and musical history of (probably) the world’s greatest music festival, as told by its principal curators, Michael and Emily Eavis, and many of the key artists who’ve appeared there between 1970 and 2019 – Billie Eilish, Thom Yorke, Florence Welch, Dua Lipa, The Levellers, Aswad, Orbital, Fatboy Slim, Linda Lewis, Noel Gallagher, Ed O’Brien, Chris Martin, Stormzy and more.

Balancing the driving forces of social conscience and hedonism, Glastonbury has always been both a world apart and a barometer of the state of the nation. Looking at the hippie days, CND, the contribution of the travellers, dance music, Britpop, The Wall, the impact of television and the first black British solo headliner, this film takes viewers backstage and deep into the archive to reveal the forces that have driven this alternative nation between utopia and dystopia, the greatest night of your life and a muddy field in the middle of nowhere.

This is not a chronological plod through the festival’s evolution so much as a thematic and story-driven exploration of the peaks and troughs, and the agonies and ecstasies, that have shaped Glastonbury’s 50 years and counting.

1 hour, 40 minutes

Music Played

  • Thomas D

    Ich Bin Der Sturm 11.0

  • Portishead

    Machine Gun

  • Finntroll

    Aldhissla

  • The Kinks

    Lola

  • Quintessence

    St.Pancras

  • T. Rex

    Deboraarobed

  • Terry Reid

    Dean

  • Traffic

    Feelin' Alright?

  • Hawkwind

    Hurry On Sundown

  • The Drummers of Burundi

    Extract

  • DEVO

    Whip It

  • Luke Kelly and The Dubliners

    The Rising of The Moon (Live)

  • Madness

    House Of Fun (Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park)

  • Philharmonia Orchestra: Carlo Maria Giulini

    Falla: El Amor Brujo: Ritual Fire Dance

  • Fatboy Slim

    Acid 8000

  • Leftfield

    Release The Pressure

  • R.E.M.

    Everybody Hurts

  • Orbital

    Impact (The Earth Is Burning)

  • Fatboy Slim

    Right Here, Right Now

  • Elastica

    Connection (Live)

  • Radiohead

    Paranoid Android

  • The Chemical Brothers

    Hey Boy Hey Girl (Live)

  • Dua Lipa

    New Rules

  • Alison Limerick

    Where Love Lives

  • Ellinika Kai Ksena Remix

    Rise Up Yves Larock

  • George Morel

    Let's Groove

  • Wiley

    BMO Field

  • Stormzy

    Know Me From

Credits

Role Contributor
Producer Francis Whately
Executive Producer Mark Cooper

Broadcasts

Featured in...