Blur close Glastonbury 'in tears'

By Sarah Jane Griffiths
Newsbeat entertainment reporter at Glastonbury

Blur play Girls & Boys in their headline set on Glastonbury's Pyramid stage

To say Glastonbury's Sunday night headliners Blur are enjoying their reunion is a massive understatement.

The band were so excited about their closing set on the Pyramid Stage, they came on around seven minutes early.

And there were actual tears from Damon Albarn as it all got a bit much after an emotional rendition of To The End.

The crowd lapped up Blur classics like Boys and Girls, Coffee and TV, This is a Low and a mass singalong for Tender.

Plus there was not one but two encores which included Song 2, For Tomorrow and The Universal.

They even brought Quadrophenia star Phil Daniels out for Parklife, which sent everyone mad.

Watching Damon's reaction to Blur being back on a big stage together after eight years did not get boring either.

The Prodigy headlined the Other Stage during Blur's set

"I'm pleased we decided to do these gigs now," Damon told the crowd, "it seems like there's been a really, really positive atmosphere here."

Meanwhile, The Prodigy were headlining the Other Stage after a day soaking up the Glastonbury atmosphere. But they told Newsbeat it wasn't a competition.

"We don't look at it as head to head," said Keith Flint. "We don't analyse that," Maxim added. "It doesn't matter who else is on, that's not in our head. We've come to rock the crowd."

But not before they'd had a chance to wander around. Keith told Newsbeat he'd come extra early to squeeze in as many bands as he could, from Bruce Springsteen, to Kasabian to Status Quo (who Graham Coxon, Rob Da Bank and Jo Whiley's mum were also watching).

"I mooched around," he said. "You go out there, everyone's buzzing and all the people I bumped into are just so up for the show.

"You're not going round there to boost your ego at all, you're going out there to be in amongst it.

"I'm actually buzzing to be going up on stage with my Glastonbury dirt on."

He did get recognised though. We spotted him giving his autograph to a couple of police officers on duty backstage.

Glastonbury celebs

Also spotted were Mischa Barton, Pixie Geldof, Bat For Lashes singer Natasha Khan, Natalie Appleton and Carl Barat.

The rumours that Justin Timberlake was on site, though, turned out to be rubbish.

He made me the person I am. He was a friend, the biggest inspiration in my life will.i.am from Black Eyed Peas pays tribute to Michael Jackson

Someone had claimed he was going to perform with Black Eyed Peas but after trekking to see their Jazz World set the crowd found out it wasn't true.

Fans weren't too impressed with will.i.am's constant references to London either. "What's up London?" he asked at least 15 times.

He also paid tribute to the late Michael Jackson with a DJ set in the middle.

"He made me the person I am," he told the crowd. "He was a friend, the biggest inspiration in my life."

He then played out Thriller telling them, 'I'm going to play you the ultimate song of all time'."

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs also dedicated a track to Michael Jackson during a brilliant mid-afternoon set on the Other Stage.

Karen O's crazy jumpsuit attracted a massive crowd, their biggest ever. They got involved with Nick Zinner smashing up his guitar.

"It's mildly expensive," he told Newsbeat shortly afterwards. "I'm not sure it's frequent enough to be a habit. It's more like a dabbling." All very spontaneous. Just a shame it's his only one.

Over in the Dance Village the MJ tributes continued. Calvin Harris was there backstage there wearing a memorabilia jacket from Michael Jackson's History tour, which he revealed he picked up in a Birmingham second hand shop for £5 a few years back.

Bat For Lashes performed at Glastonbury earlier in the day

"It's not like we're going to cover any of his songs or anything, I don't think I'd be able to do that justice.

"But it's kind of like my small tribute to the man. I was very proud of this jacket when I got it."

Meanwhile, two ladies were hand-stitching his stage outfit for the night, a silver tracksuit top.

And after his constant Twitter updates about food, he filled Newsbeat in on what he'd be doing after his set.

"I'm going to get a pie later, I heard the pies are amazing.

"It's like a little holiday, you eat a pie and you have a good time. I've had literally nothing but mini cheddars on my rider.

"I didn't ask for them but I've not eaten them for a couple of years so it's been nice. I've been reliving my childhood."

Find out more about this year's festival at the BBC's official Glastonbury website