Every artist dreams of playing the world’s greatest festival, but what’s it actually like? Artists returning this year, including Fatboy Slim and Self Esteem, look back at their first shows
You can tell it’s 1984 by my shirt. I’d just played the Jobs for a Change festival, in the middle of London, easy to get to by tube. But Glastonbury was like being on an island. You had to deal with the weather, the food and the toilets. It was also mainly populated by Bristolians. I performed once solo, but also got up on the Pyramid stage with [country and western singer] Hank Wangford to do (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66. The original Pyramid was made from corrugated iron and doubled as a cowshed. I remember it being swampy backstage. There were no bars, you had to bring in your own beer. Keith Allen and [Scottish poet] Jock Scott blagged their way in, pretending to be a Belgian film crew, and sold cans of Red Stripe for 50p.
