Elton John was just one of the standout performers from this weekend’s Glastonbury. He finished his emotional set featuring the likes of classics such as Your Song, Rocket Man and I’m Still Standing and thanked his fans for joining him, saying they will be in his “heart and soul forever” in what was his last ever UK show.
Other performers who wowed crowds this weekend included Lizzo, Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses and the Foo Fighters.
But as another epic year draws to a close, who will stand out in history as the ultimate Glastonbury performer?
Here we have all you need to know on who has performed at Glastonbury the most.
Van Morrison
Eight times
The veteran Northern Irish star tops the list for the most frequently performing Glastonbury singer, headlining an impressive eight times in 1982, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997 and 2005.
Elvis Costello
Six times
Coming in at second place, Elvis Costello has racked up his many appearances by playing alone and as part of a group. He has perfomed as a solo artist and as part of Elvis Costello & The Attractions.
He was on the lineup for 1984, 1987, 1989, 1994, 2005 and 2013.
Primal Scream
Five times
In third place is Primal Scream, who have always put on a good show at the farm. The Scottish rockers are known for being outspoken, loud and saying just what they think. This was demonstrated when the punks stormed the stage in 2009 and started their set by saying: “We’re a punk rock band and you’re a bunch of f***ing hippies.”
It was reported that on the Saturday before performing in that same year that singer Bobby Gillespie had caused upset backstage by defacing a celebrity-signed Make Poverty History poster so it read “Make Israel History”, earning them a spot in the top 20 historic Glasto moments as voted for by NME.
Coldplay
Four times
Coldplay aren’t too far behind the leaders, taking to the stage in 2002, 2005, 2011 and 2016.
But the band may not ever be back, judging by the comments of frontman Chris Martin after their last performance in 2016.
Speaking in 2019 Coldplay singer Chris Martin revealed he was put off returning to performing because of “hurtful online comments”.
During their performance that year, the Pyramid Stage field was lit up with tens of thousands of sparkling neon bands which had been handed out beforehand, but Chris Martin personally appeared again in 2019 with two surprise performances, doing Blinded By Your Grace Pt. 1 with Stormzy and joining Kylie Minogue for Can’t Get You Out of My Head during her Legends slot.
When asked by Colin Paterson of BBC Breakfast and Radio 5 Live if he or Coldplay will perform at the festival in 2020, Chris Martin simply said, “No. I did pop up on stage last year and I loved doing so. Then I saw a tweet afterwards, which said ‘you can always rely on him to come on in a tracksuit and ruin everything’.
“So I was like, you know what, a) I should work on my trousers, and b) I shouldn’t be online, and c) maybe just go and watch Glastonbury for a year or so.” Asked if the tweet affected him, he replied: “Sometimes these things hurt me because I’m human.”
The Cure
Four times
Robert Smith led his band through Glastonbury headline slots in 1986, 1990 and 1995, and 2019 marked the first time the band had appeared at Worthy Farm in 24 years.
Glastonbury was just one in a long line of festival appearances for The Cure in 2019 as they also toured Australia.
The Cure’s Glastonbury set included all their major pop hits, plus a selection of deep cuts from their 40-year history, including the classics Boys Don’t Cry, Close to Me, In Between Days and Friday I’m in Love.
Lily Allen
Three times
No stranger to Glastonbury, Lily Allen last played the festival in 2014 when her Pyramid Stage set was cut short because of a delayed start time caused by a thunderstorm over the site leading to a power outage.
Allen was also previously featured on the Pyramid Stage bill in 2007 and 2009, and appeared in 2022 as a special guest during Olivia Rodrigo’s Glastonbury performance. She joined the star for an impassioned performance of ‘F** You’ on The Other Stage last year.
