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Richard Hawley refuses to play 'meaningless' Glastonbury Richard Hawley refuses to play 'meaningless' Glastonbury
(4 months later)
Rare is the musician who takes a pop at British music's holiest of holy cows, but Richard Hawley has done just that, saying the Glastonbury festival "has become meaningless to me".Rare is the musician who takes a pop at British music's holiest of holy cows, but Richard Hawley has done just that, saying the Glastonbury festival "has become meaningless to me".
Speaking to Gigwise, Hawley said: "I was offered a lot of money to play there and I turned it down because it doesn't have any meaning. All of the political sides of it seem to have been whitewashed and airbrushed over. The Rolling Stones are playing and that just seems weird to me if you think about what it's supposed to be and what it's become."Speaking to Gigwise, Hawley said: "I was offered a lot of money to play there and I turned it down because it doesn't have any meaning. All of the political sides of it seem to have been whitewashed and airbrushed over. The Rolling Stones are playing and that just seems weird to me if you think about what it's supposed to be and what it's become."
However, Hawley explained that his ire wasn't reserved for Glastonbury alone. "It's not just Glastonbury," he said. "I don't like the whole corporate festival thing. I've done V festival with Pulp and as a solo artist, and I hated every minute of it. It's just nasty and not what I'm about – I want something a bit more free and organic. I want the audiences to feel included rather than trapped. They've paid for the privilege to be trapped in a field and marketed to. What the fuck is that all about? I won't be there. I'll probably be in a place I love. I love the British coast – it's fucking awesome."However, Hawley explained that his ire wasn't reserved for Glastonbury alone. "It's not just Glastonbury," he said. "I don't like the whole corporate festival thing. I've done V festival with Pulp and as a solo artist, and I hated every minute of it. It's just nasty and not what I'm about – I want something a bit more free and organic. I want the audiences to feel included rather than trapped. They've paid for the privilege to be trapped in a field and marketed to. What the fuck is that all about? I won't be there. I'll probably be in a place I love. I love the British coast – it's fucking awesome."
Hawley said he would be concentrating on his own outdoor headline shows – at Graves Park in Sheffield on 13 July and Somerset House in London on 14 July. "Playing Somerset House is the venue along with Greenwich Observatory [where] I've always hoped I might get a chance of playing as they are both connected deeply with our country's history," he said.Hawley said he would be concentrating on his own outdoor headline shows – at Graves Park in Sheffield on 13 July and Somerset House in London on 14 July. "Playing Somerset House is the venue along with Greenwich Observatory [where] I've always hoped I might get a chance of playing as they are both connected deeply with our country's history," he said.
"I'm a bit of a history lover, truth be told, so I'm really looking forward to it. You never know, they might let me have a look around the place. Then I can visit the shop and bring my mum a tea towel like a proper tourist.""I'm a bit of a history lover, truth be told, so I'm really looking forward to it. You never know, they might let me have a look around the place. Then I can visit the shop and bring my mum a tea towel like a proper tourist."
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