Smiling Richie has Glasto singing
Lionel Richie was the surprise act that stole the show at Glastonbury Festival today, with huge crowds singing and dancing along to his hit performance.
The surprisingly popular show from the soul singer had him grinning in astonishment, telling the audience: “This is unbelievable. I’m intimidated because you know the words better than I do.”
Veterans The Who will close this year’s festival with some classic 60s rock and roll on the Pyramid stage.
It has been a particularly diverse and controversial year for the festival, which has seen a last-minute cancellation from the Foo Fighters, a stage invasion during Kanye West’s headline performance and a visit from Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
The weather has been just as extreme, regularly switching from sunshine to downpours causing a range of injuries from sun stroke to dislocations after campers slipped in the muddy fields.
The unenviable task of cleaning up the 1,000 acre site begins tomorrow with 800 litter pickers hired to help clear the farm, usually home to festival founder Michael Eavis’ herd of prize winning cows.
The 135,000 campers face a congested exit from the Somerset site after packing up their tents and wellies.
Today has also seen highlights from well Alt-J, Paul Weller and FKA Twigs.
Some more casual Voguing, this time from @FKATwigs. Have we missed something today or what!?!? #bbcglasto http://t.co/9cJX3cyuVd
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) June 28, 2015
Richie was left stunned by the huge crowds during his afternoon slot, many wearing hand-made t-shirts and flags in his honour and who erupted during his famous songs, Dancing on the Ceiling, Hello and All Night Long.
He took to the stage just as the sun came out and told the audience: “It has been a long time coming but I finally made it to Glastonbury.”
We're re-watching @LionelRichie on @bbctwo now and it's make us go like this http://t.co/K0ys6zGpUs #bbcglasto
— BBC Radio 2 (@BBCRadio2) June 28, 2015
The Who, which famously starred at Woodstock in 1969, will perform on the world-famous Pyramid stage, which hosted a headline show from Florence and the Machine on Friday night and Kanye West on Saturday night.
Mr Eavis today said he was relieved to hear positive reviews of West’s show, after his daughter Emily received death threats for the booking, but admitted he did not watch the performance himself. West’s expletive-filled performance last night saw a comedian Lee Nelson invade the stage minutes in to his set and the rapper elevated above the crowd.
He made clear what he thought of recent controversy over his unlikely billing, telling the audience: “You are now watching the greatest living rock star on the planet.”
After hearing positive reviews of the show, Eavis said: “Thank God for that, what a relief.”
Asked how prankster Nelson was able to storm the stage, he said: “ I don’t know a thing about it, I wasn’t there.”
But Ms Eavis said she was concerned about the number of people refusing to use toilets following worringly high levels of campers urinating on the fields.
The father and daughter duo revealed this month that they have had “many discussions” about relocating the festival.
The Dalai Lama made his first appearance at the world-famous festival, where crowds spontaneously sang happy birthday to the exiled Tibetan leader ahead of his 80th birthday next week.
Florence and the Machine gave a stunning and theatrical performance on Friday, proving she was capable of the coveted headline slot after being promoted at short notice after the Foo Fighters were forced to pull out when lead singer David Grohl broke his leg.
Celebrities spotted soaking up the diverse Glastonbury atmosphere have included Lewis Hamilton, Cara Delevigne, Chris Martin, Bradley Cooper, Adele and One Direction members Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan.
