My Glastonbury 2023: Part 3, Never Mind The Strangers.

The Park, tidied by us!

I usually crawl out of my tent at Glastonbury all bleary-eyed and goopy, but this year on Friday morning I awoke at 5.00 fresh as a daisy, bright eyed and bushy tailed and raring to go. That was because I hadn’t had any alcohol at all on Thursday which might be a first for me in all the years I have gone to Glastonbury. The music would begin on the main stages today, but first there was the small matter of our second shift of litter-picking. I didn’t bother with breakfast, so after a quick wash and a cup of tea I got my gloves and litter-picking stick and set off on a brisk walk down Muddy Lane, across the market area and up to the tree in the Greenpeace field where we met our new team leader Millie. 

A rest near Strummerville.

I have been on the recycling team since 2005 and I think Millie is one of the best team leaders we have ever had. She is a brilliant organiser, and also joins in with the work, not just give orders. We soon had Greenpeace spotless and headed up to the Stone Circle field. Here, Millie got us in a line against the hedge and we set off across the field. It was like the start of the Grand National. There were still hundreds of people around the Stones who had been partying all night long, but we picked our way around them and soon had the Stone Circle looking pristine. After that, we made our way through Strummerville which is an area dedicated to Joe Strummer of The Clash who always went to Glastonbury and had a campsite that was legendary. Then worked our way across the top fields, down past the Tipi village, into the Park and up to the Glastonbury sign at the top of the hill. We were so brilliant; all our area was finished by 11.00. Shortly afterwards the office announced that the early morning litter pick was completed all over the site. Millie gave us more meal tickets and we were signed off for the day.

I'm an angel.

After lunch I was keen to hear some music. In the distance I could hear The Master Musicians of Joujouka who were the opening act on the Pyramid Stage. They are a collective of Jbala Sufi trance musicians from the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco who were brought to widespread international attention by Brian Jones in the 1960s. I have seen them before at Worthy Farm, one magical day in about 1980 when Michael Eavis used to hold occasional little gatherings which had no publicity, it was just by word of mouth that people knew what was happening. As I approached the Pyramid Stage the music got louder and louder, but by the time I reached the barrier at the front their set had ended, so sadly I didn’t actually get to see them. As I was here, I thought I would hang about to see what the next act would be. Also, being right at the front there is always a chance of being on the telly, which has happened to me in previous years, such as when I watched Mavis Staples a few years ago 😊. It was really hot by now, so I asked a security man on the other side of the barrier for some water and he gave me a pint of water. I must have drunk gallons of water over the next few days.

The next act was Maisie Peters. I had never heard of her before. It said in the programme she was a versatile singer-songwriter whose second album The Good Witch was released today on Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread label. She was very nice looking and reminded me a bit of Olivia Newton-John and a very confident young lady, strutting around the stage like she owned the place. After a couple of songs though I soon tired of it and began to wonder how she had managed to get on the world-famous Pyramid Stage. Near me somebody was waving this huge flag around which said MAISIE PETERS in great big letters. The cameras kept showing this flag on the big screens, and it dawned on me that her record label had probably made the flag, and her appearance was probably paid for by her management. I decided to head for the Acoustic Stage and hear some real music. (PS, Two weeks later I am thinking that I was a bit harsh on Maisie. I see her album is top of the charts. If it wasn't my kind of music, thousands of other people obviously enjoyed it, so apologies to Maisie.)

Berna, Gretta, Paul, Scilla, Peter, Helen.

Sadly, I had missed Allison Russell who I was looking forward to seeing, but they had put her on too early at 12.10. Martin Stephenson & The Daintees were performing when I arrived. They have been going since the 1980s and are a kind of folk-jazz indie type band with a Celtic flavour. They sounded very good, but I couldn’t possibly tell you what the songs were. Sitting on the grass outside the bar I spotted my friends Peter, Helen, Gretta, Paul, Berna & Scilla. I got to know Peter about ten years ago sitting around the fire in Tom’s field, and since then have become friends with his wife Helen, His friend Paul and wife Gretta, and Gretta’s sister Berna. We were all on the same team this year. Gretta & Berna are Irish and really good fun. Scilla is Helen’s mother, and she is amazing, ten years older than me and still going to festivals, an inspiration.

The Mary Wallopers.

The next band were one of my great discoveries of Glasto 23 The Mary Wallopers. They are an Irish folk band based in Dundalk. If you like music by bands like The Clancy Brothers and The Pogues then you will love the Mary Wallopers. The songs have a lot of humour, but also very political, anti-capitalist and anti-British establishment. I couldn’t tell you what the songs were called, but one song was about a rich man who went to hell. All the lines in the song ended in ium, so the rich man went to hell and ordered a whiskey & sodium, and the devil said, “This isn’t a fecking hotelium”. They were brilliant ! The next act was Seth Lakeman who you may remember I saw In Frome last year. He is a multi-instrumentalist folk singer from Cornwall and one of three notable musician brothers. He played a very nice set of laid-back music which might have gone over the heads of some of this festival crowd. Seth is very busy at the moment because he fitted this Glastonbury appearance in with touring as part of Van Morrison’s band. He played at the Royal Albert Hall with Van only a few days after Glasto. 

Seth Lakeman.

I headed back to base next to get something to eat, also something warm for the evening because I knew it would get cold later, so I missed Newton Faulkner. As I passed the Pyramid Stage Texas were playing, but I wasn’t that impressed. I wasn’t really a fan even in the 1990s when they were at their height. After dinner I put on my Irish rugby shirt for the evening and hurried back down. There was a mystery band announced called The Churn-ups. It turned out to be The Foo Fighters. I listened to a bit of it from the back, but had heard it all before in 2017, and I was keen to see two of my favourite acts. I was quite impressed with Irish singer Gavin James when I caught about 15 minutes of his show. I don’t know much about him. But will listen to more.

Gavin James.

The first act I really wanted to see was Steve Earle who I think is one of the all-time greats. It was surprisingly easy to get right to the front for Steve. He didn’t have his band The Duke’s with him, just himself, guitars and harmonica, but he put on a great show. I was hoping Sharon Shannon would join him for Galway Girl, but that didn’t happen. He paid a very nice tribute to his late son Justin Townes Earle who I saw play on this very stage only a few years ago. It was a great set of songs including some of my favourites such as The Pogues song If I Should Fall From Grace With God, My Old Friend the Blues, Guitar Town, Mr Bojangles by Jerry Jeff Walker, Harlem River Blues by Justin Townes Earle, Galway Girl, Copperhead Road and many others that I can’t remember now. It was a wonderful performance. 

Steve Earle.

My last band of the night was one of my all-time favourite Irish groups The Saw Doctors, all the way from Tuam in County Galway. I have seen them at Glasto quite a few times, but not for several years. I was very tired after a long day, but their infectious happy music energises you. We were dancing and singing along at the top of our voices. They sang some of my favourite songs such as Exhilarating Sadness, Red Cortina, Joyce Country Ceili Band, Share the Darkness, I Useta Lover, Green and Red of Mayo, To Win Just Once, Clare Island, Never Mind the Strangers, Tommy K, That's What She Said Last night, N17, Hay Wrap and some others that I didn’t know the names of. It brought a great day to a close. 

Saw Doctors.

For the second day running I hadn't had a single drink, and I don't think I could have enjoyed myself more even if I had. As we walked back up Muddy Lane I could see The Artic Monkeys playing in the distance, but I wasn’t interested. We were still singing Saw Doctors songs as we made my way back home “Never mind the strangers, 'cause I'll always be your friend, until the end”. I crawled into my sleeping bag and fell fast asleep. Another exciting day at Glastonbury was only a few hours away.

To be continued………………………