BASTILLE have performed at Glastonbury every three years since 2013 – which means the Pompeii singers were likely for a return this weekend.
But after appearing in 2016, 2019 and 2022, I’m afraid I am going to dash the hopes of fans who have been speculating Dan Smith and his bandmates will be playing a secret set.
In an exclusive chat, Dan, who will instead tour arenas with the band in November, said: “We are not doing any festivals this year.
“I love Glastonbury and I will be there jumping around in every field I can physically get myself to.
“But as a kind of lifelong Glastonbury fan, as much as I love playing there, there’s something slightly more exciting about just getting to go as a fan and enjoy it.”
It’s not all play for Dan though, as the movie-loving singer is on the line-up tomorrow night at the Pilton Palais Cinema, where he will introduce a screening of Wild At Heart.
And Dan won’t hear any criticism of the festival line-up.
He said: “There’s so much variety there.
“I think there’s a tendency to get hung up on where people are on the bill.”
KT throws hall-night party
KT TUNSTALL added some spice to her 50th birthday celebrations by inviting Mel C to join her on stage at the Royal Albert Hall.
But it wasn’t just Sporty who came out for a turn on the mic, with Roger Daltrey, Rick Astley and Natalie Imbruglia performing with KT – while Jools Holland played piano.
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Backstage, the birthday girl was full of excitement and joked, “It was this or a six-pack in the kitchen,” as I wished her good luck before she went on stage.
Fans were treated to a full run- through of her debut album, Eye To The Telescope, which turns 20 this year.
But they got extra bang for their buck when KT performed the title track of the album, which she never released.
“I abandoned it,” KT explained, as she revealed she recorded the song inside the laboratory where her late dad used to work as a physicist.
“I wrote a verse and the chorus . . . 20 years to write a song, bloody hell.”
The track, which will appear on the re-issue on the album when it comes out in October, is lyrically beautiful and tinged with emotion.
For me, the highlight of the night was KT and Sporty’s mash-up of the Spice Girls’ 1997 hit Stop with (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life from Dirty Dancing, which raised the roof of the hall.
Happy birthday, KT.
Now it’s time to crack open that six-pack.
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Lauren’s busted as a fan
REMEMBER MONDAY’s Lauren Byrne had a mega fan-girl moment backstage at the Isle of Wight Festival after bumping into Busted.
The singer said in an exclusive chat: “I was a Busted girl when I was younger and I showed James Bourne a photo of me holding a banner I made for a concert when I was younger.
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“I’d drawn all their faces on and everything.
“He was like, ‘Er… it’s so nice to meet you’.”
Bandmate Charlotte Steele added: “And McFly have aged like a fine wine.
“They were looking very good. I was a Dougie Poynter fan so when we met them . . . I just couldn’t speak to him.”
Elsewhere, I caught up with Olly Murs, who chose to break his strict tour rule of eating clean – by tucking into a massive beef Sunday roast.
Lost in translation
RESEARCH from GetYourGuide has revealed one in three fans can’t understand Liam Gallagher’s thick Manc accent.
It has brought out a “Manctionary” in time for Oasis’ reunion shows.
This will help fans with slang including “scran’s angin”, for when they’ve forked out £12 on a crap burger, and “bobbins”, which translates into “rubbish”.
Brooklyn bites back in Nic pic
MORE shots have been fired in the never-ending saga that has become Brooklyn Beckham’s strained relationship with his family.
According to insiders close to Posh and Becks, the aspiring chef is now being described as “the hostage” by those who know him – as his wife Nicola Peltz stands accused of distancing Brooklyn from his family.
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But Brooklyn has made his feelings clear on how he feels about the nickname, by posting a loved-up snap of actress Nicola on Instagram with the caption: “It’s been five years since I asked this beautiful woman to marry me.
The rest of the Beckham clan clearly don’t agree.
Given brother Cruz is now giving James Blunt a run for his money in the sarcastic online comments department, I look forward to what response he comes up with.
Simz turns up meltdown heat
LITTLE SIMZ is the epitome of cool. But even the most chilled artist in the music industry couldn’t take the heat out of London’s Southbank on Sunday night.
In fact, she encouraged it and sent temperatures soaring as she closed the Meltdown Festival – which she curated – backed by the 42-strong Chineke! Orchestra.
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Launching into Introvert, from her Mercury Prize-winning album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, was a hit with the crowd.
Talking about her own struggle with mental health, which the record focuses on, Simz added: “I encourage anyone who is going through anything right now to stay up, stay strong.”
The Chineke! Orchestra, led by Chris Cameron, provided beautiful, deep soundscapes with Simz taking the chance to conduct during Venom.
The tune of the night came with a mash-up of Lion and Point And Kill, featuring Obongjayar, who strutted on to the stage in fabulous diamond-encrusted sunglasses. Exquisite.
Cashh and Wretch 32 joined her for the more pensive Blood, and she treated her fans to new track Lonely, saying: “It was very much me losing my self-confidence and feeling like I didn’t know how to find that again.”
