Lewis Capaldi, Elton John and Cate Blanchett: Glastonbury 2023's best bits
A run-down on all of the talking points from Glastonbury 2023.
Provided you haven't been living under a rock, you'll know that Glastonbury took place across the pond over the weekend.Â
The UK music festival always delivers some of the best headliners and plenty of stand-out moments â and this year was no different.Â
From the most-talked-about performances to the most-viral videos, we have compiled all of the best bits from Glastonbury 2023.
Lewis Capaldiâs Saturday performance really tugged at the heartstrings. Even if you werenât keeping up with Glastonbury, itâs impossible to have missed the many touching videos of the moment the crowd helped the singer finish his final song.
The Glaswegian powered through an emotional set on Glastonburyâs Pyramid Stage as he steadily lost his voice, revealing at the end of his performance that he plans to take some more time off.
Earlier this month, the 26-year-old singer cancelled all his other commitments in June ahead of the festival to allow himself time to ârest and recoverâ.
He closed his Glastonbury set with his Grammy-nominated track Someone You Loved, telling the crowd âI love you allâ and became emotional as they chanted back the lyrics to him when he was struggling to sing some of the notes.
We love you Lewis Capaldi â¤ď¸
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) June 24, 2023
Glastonbury crowds are the best. pic.twitter.com/x6ZnIIgRpP
Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett brought some extra star power to Glastonbury on Friday as she joined US pop-rock duo Sparks for a performance of their recent track The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte.
The star, who also features in the music video, joined Ron and Russell Mael on stage, while wearing the same yellow suit and red earphones from the video.
The Mael brothers previously said of working with the actress: âWe met Cate Blanchett in Paris at the Cesar Awards last year, little knowing that a year later, one of the great actors of our time (and a splendid person!) would graciously consent to lending her bootie-shaking skills to the first video from our new album, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte.
âDreams really do come true. We will sleep well tonight knowing that forever we can say we co-starred in a film with Cate Blanchett!â.
Give Cate Blanchett another Oscar for performing at Glastonbury pic.twitter.com/whMCmB7za6
— Liv Marks (@OliviaLilyMarks) June 23, 2023
On Saturday, Rick Astley opened the Pyramid Stage, performing a Harry Styles cover and also showing off his drumming skills as he made his debut at the festival.
The Never Gonna Give You Up hitmaker has gained a legion of new fans in recent years thanks to the Rickrolling phenomenon. While he called the Glastonbury revellers the âloveliest crowdâ, Astley joked that even his debut performance at the festival could not make him âcoolâ.
But after performing a Harry Styles cover and taking to the drums to play AC/DCâs Highway To Hell, we beg to differ. The crowd loved every minute and Astley also later joined Indie band Blossoms to play a back catalogue of songs by The Smiths, with fans on social media describing the set as a âgenuinely magic experienceâ.
Rick Astley on drum duty covering AC/DC #Glastonbury pic.twitter.com/O0JI7zdSot
— Jay (@JibbaJabb) June 24, 2023
Singer Lana Del Ray was 30 minutes late for her headline slot on Glastonbury's Other stage on Saturday night, all because of her hair.
After eventually appearing on stage, she told the crowd "I was so f****** late that I am about to rush this set.
"If they cut power, they cut power. I'm super f****** sorry, my hair takes so long to do."
The power was indeed cut when her time on stage was up, but this led to another powerful singalong from the crowd. While she had no mic, Lana Del Ray coordinated the crowd and got them to finish her set with her song, Video Games.
After her mic was cut due to going over time, Lana Del Rey coordinates singing âVideo Gamesâ with the crowd at Glastonbury! pic.twitter.com/tGCXT6OhkY
— Lana Del Rey Online (@LanaDReyOnline) June 24, 2023
Flying the flag for the Irish, Dublin singer CMAT wowed the crowd on Sunday with a stellar performance. The gig marked CMATâs biggest set to date. The singer, whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, gathered a large crowd and after the performance, she described Glastonbury as âthe best place in the worldâ.Â
A glowing review from detailed a truly iconic performance, including âa snatch of ballroom dancing with her bandmates; sliding into the splits on Peter Bogdanovich [and] a slow-tease removal of her tasselled sequin jacketâ.
thank you @glastonbury . this is the best place in the world . â¤ď¸ pic.twitter.com/3DMFCMmlsu
— cmat (@cmatbaby) June 25, 2023
On the Pyramid stage on Saturday, Guns Nâ Roses rocked through their extensive catalogue during a two-hour-plus set playing tracks including Live And Let Die, Knocking On Heavenâs Door, Sweet Child Oâ Mine and November Rain.
Crowds exploded as guitarist Slash struck up the famous opening riff to their 1987 hit song Welcome To The Jungle, the 57-year-old later jumped off a stage block and shredded his strings furiously.
Switching up the lyrics, Axl Rose sang: âDo you know where you are? Youâre in the jungle, Glastonbury!â The lead singer later invited Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl onstage to help them close out the show with an explosive performance of Paradise City.
Finally, Elton John treated fans to a very special show as the star surprised the crowd with a number of unexpected musical guests during what was billed as his final UK gig.
He told the Glastonbury crowd: âItâs a very special and emotional night for me because it might be my last show ever in England, so I had better play well and I had better entertain you, youâve been standing there so long and I really appreciate all the outfits and everything.âÂ
Instead of collaborators such as Dua Lipa and Britney Spears, the singer was joined by friends and musicians he admires, starting with Jacob Lusk of Gabriels, who joined him for Are You Ready For Love?
He was joined by US singer Stephen Sanchez to perform Sanchezâs song Until I Found You, while The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers came out for Tiny Dancer.
His final guest was Japanese-British singer Rina Sawayama, who performed Donât Go Breaking My Heart.
Before finishing, the 76-year-old paid tribute to the late George Michael on what would have been his 60th birthday.
âOne of Britainâs most fantastic singers and songwriters was George Michael. He was my friend, he was an inspiration, and today would have been his 60th birthday, so I want to dedicate this song to his memory,â he said.Â
âAll the music he left us with is so gorgeous. This is for you George.âÂ
