The pop singers Rick Astley and Sophie Ellis-Bextor and the British grime artist Skepta will complete the line-up at this year’s Glastonbury, the festival’s organisers have announced.
Queens of the Stone Age will also join big names such as Elton John, Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses and Lizzo.
As usual the event will also feature some unannounced slots, including one on the Pyramid Stage billed as “The ChurnUps”. This mystery act will play a coveted early evening slot tonight, Friday, June 23, prompting speculation over their identity.
Some fans are already claiming that The ChurnUps will turn out to be the Sheffield band Pulp — because if you churn something, you are left with pulp. The band have not played at Worthy Farm for more than ten years but begin a UK tour in July.
Other “to be announced” slots in the line-up include two on the Woodsies stage, which used to be named after the late Radio 1 DJ John Peel.
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• Friday at Glastonbury 2023 live - all the latest from Worthy Farm
Elton John will close the Pyramid Stage on Sunday with his last UK show, preceded by Blondie and the rapper Lil Nas X. Yusuf, the folk singer also known as Cat Stevens, will play the legend slot.
Emily Eavis, co-organiser of the festival, told the BBC that getting Elton John was “a massive, massive coup”.
She added: “And he’s really up for it. He’s been on the phone with loads of brilliant ideas and he’s just fired up about it.”
Generation Sex, a punk rock supergroup consisting of Billy Idol and Tony James, of Generation X, and Steve Jones and Paul Cook, of the Sex Pistols, will perform on The Other Stage in the slot between the singer-songwriters Tom Grennan and Maggie Rogers.
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The festival, which is running from Wednesday, June 21 to Sunday, June 25, will also feature Fatboy Slim, Lewis Capaldi and alt-J.
Måneskin, the Italian band that won Eurovision in 2022, and Royal Blood, the rock duo, who were criticised after branding a festival crowd at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend “pathetic” before storming off stage last month, are also in the line-up.
