The Darkness Attack Glastonbury Festival.

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THE DARKNESS singer JUSTIN HAWKINS has dismissed GLASTONBURY as the festival for “buying funny hats”,
and has said organiser MICHAEL EAVIS “mised the boat” when trying to get the group for the 2004 festival.

The band famously played bottom of the bill in 2003, when they were relatively unknown.

However, this year they will headline the Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds festivals in August, and will not appear at Glastonbury, who claimed the band would want much more money to perform this year.

Speaking in today’s The Sun newspaper(March 30), the singer gave his opinions as to why.

He claimed: “We were speaking to all the big events before Christmas and Glastonbury was on the list. But Eavis said he thought we wouldn’t be around for the festival in June. It’s his loss. Our decision not to play Glastonbury is nothing to do with cash.

“Of course we asked for a lot — we’re the best band around. Michael Eavis is just annoyed that he missed the boat. He came back to us after he realised his mistake. But it was too late. We’d already agreed to do the Carling Festival for a lot less money. So he’s lost out. Glastonbury is all about sitting in a field and buying funny hats.

“When I go to a festival it’s because I want to see bands and like the line-up. I never went to Glastonbury until we played there. Don’t bother with Glastonbury unless you want to stand in a field and be healed. Reading is about the rock.

Also already confirmed for this year are 50 Cent, The Offspring, Ash, Morrissey, The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, The Hives, Lostprophets and The Streets.

This year’s festival takes place over their weekend of August 27-29 at Richfield Avenue, Reading and Bramham Park, Wetherby, West Yorkshire.

Tickets are priced £105 for a three-day weekend pass and £45 for a day ticket, not including camping. Tickets are limited to eight per household. Each day the arena opens at midday.

― Rock Bastard, Tuesday, 30 March 2004 07:07 (twenty-one years ago)

The Darkness really are getting too big for their boots.
I'd believe Eavis over the band any day. They love the money they are earning and the fact they can make big demands and someone will pay.

― Rock Bastard, Tuesday, 30 March 2004 07:33 (twenty-one years ago)

my god, justin hawkins is a twit. can someone give him his cocaine overdose now...?

― not a fan, Tuesday, 30 March 2004 07:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Coke? Nah. Pepsi will offer more £££££ for their adverts I'd bet...

― Rock bastard, Tuesday, 30 March 2004 07:39 (twenty-one years ago)

english culture is so so so tacky.

― not a fan, Tuesday, 30 March 2004 07:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Mind you If any band gets offered £1m to play a gig I don't see many knocking it back. And who can blame them. Maybe i'm just disappointed Justin Hawkins makes it look like they're only in it for the money instead of the love of RAWK which initially seemed to be the most important thing for them.
So yeah Justin Hawkins is a twit.

― Rock Bastard, Tuesday, 30 March 2004 07:41 (twenty-one years ago)

They suited Glastonbury to a T last year! Oh well. He is basically right about the appeal if by "funny hats" he means "bottles of weapons-grade pear cider".

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 07:44 (twenty-one years ago)

One tends to be a gateway to the other. It is a tragedy for our time.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 07:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Lixi once nearly bought a witches hat with a bobble on it.

Actually no, that was at a UK hip-hop free festival!

So your insinuations are ENTIRELY BASELESS.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 07:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm surprised theres no TS: Reading Vs Glastonbury thread on ILX.

― Rock Bastard, Tuesday, 30 March 2004 07:49 (twenty-one years ago)

me too. justin is like their god or something.

― not a fan, Tuesday, 30 March 2004 07:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Because the Reading vs Glastonbury debate would be so one-sided as to be embarrasing. I find it hard to believe anyone over the age of 17 could prefer Reading.

Was last year the year of the WIZARDS HATS at Glasto? That was almost as bad as the ubiquitous fairy wings the year Hole played...

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 08:02 (twenty-one years ago)

(I was secretly hoping this would be about the Darkness planning to divebomb the festival in a big private Biggles-style biplane with Permission To Land written across it, but you can't have everything I suppose)

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 08:05 (twenty-one years ago)

they can always do a secret show in the lost vagueness...where everyone ends up one way or another :)

― thomas, Tuesday, 30 March 2004 08:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Taking Sides: Reading Festival Vs Glastonbury.

There we go...

― Rock Bastard, Tuesday, 30 March 2004 08:23 (twenty-one years ago)

"I find it hard to believe anyone over the age of 17 could prefer Reading."

I think Reading was probably better up until the early 80's; Glastonbury was definitely better through to the early '90's; and Reading was probably better again until they started doing it in tandem with Leeds in 1999, since which it's nose-dived dramatically.

I'm 24 years over 17 btw.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 08:29 (twenty-one years ago)

that was at a UK hip-hop free festival
aren't all UK festivals hip hop free? *drum kit sting*

i'd have more respect for the darkness if they'd refused to play any festivals ever again

― zebedee (zebedee), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 09:20 (twenty-one years ago)

the DORKNESS wanted 1 Million to play Glasto

If i were Eavis I would have told the Darkness to FOAD! and then book Killing Joke.

You got respect Jaz Coleman, for slagging off the Darkness at last year's Kerrang Awards.

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 09:29 (twenty-one years ago)

the Dorkness!!! heeheeheeheeheehee!!! d'you see what he did there?

― noodle vague (noodle vague), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 10:27 (twenty-one years ago)

I went to the Leeds festival once its a fucking refugee camp with bands, and the bands are shit.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 12:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Actually funny hats would go well with the funny suits The Darkness wear.
Hawkins slagging Glasto is a bit like him slagging NME/Editor of NME, thinking he can have a got at everyone who won't lick his arse.
I've lost a lot of respect for Kerrang with the way they suck up to the darkness. Album of the year indeed..

― Rock Bastard, Tuesday, 30 March 2004 13:57 (twenty-one years ago)

but isn't justin's argument that Eavis passed on the Darkness because he thought their bubble would have burst by the time of 2004's festival, and by the time he realised that the band had already signed to the Carling Weekender anyway, fo less money than Eavis is now offering them? how exactly does that make the Darkness money grabbers?

― stevie (stevie), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 14:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Depends on who you believe.

― Rock Bastard, Tuesday, 30 March 2004 15:09 (twenty-one years ago)

yawnerama

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 15:12 (twenty-one years ago)

It's not very gracious, anyway. It was opening the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury last year that made them.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 15:13 (twenty-one years ago)

It's not very gracious, anyway. It was opening the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury last year that made them.

This is absolutely true. I've never seen a first-on-at-Glasto band make such a lasting impression on so many people, punters and press alike were still foaming at the mouth at the end of the weekend, thus ensuring the band's name was on everyone's lips for the following months.

Bear in mind the main stage opening act in, for example, 1998, was My Life Story...

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 15:17 (twenty-one years ago)

N OTM.

― Rock Bastard, Tuesday, 30 March 2004 15:19 (twenty-one years ago)

It was opening the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury last year that made them.

They're the new James.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 15:28 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought James were made long before that, but then I am an indie schmuck.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 15:35 (twenty-one years ago)

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