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Glastonbury festival kicked off by Liam Gallagher Glastonbury festival kicked off by Liam Gallagher
(about 4 hours later)
Liam Gallagher has launched the 2013 Glastonbury Festival with a surprise appearance on The Other Stage. Jake Bugg, Rita Ora and Liam Gallagher have kicked off the action at this year's Glastonbury Festival, as the sun dries up the mud-strewn fields.
The singer, who headlined with his former band Oasis in 2004, squared up to the audience at 11:00 BST and launched into Flick Of The Finger, a recent single with his band Beady Eye. Liam Gallagher's band Beady Eye were the surprise opening act on The Other Stage with a raucous set at 11:00 BST.
Other acts on the bill for Friday include Chic, Sinead O'Connor, Dizzee Rascal and headliners Arctic Monkeys. "It's never too early for a bit of rock'n'roll aggro, is it?" asked Gallagher, as his band launched into Oasis hit Morning Glory.
About 180,000 music fans are attending the festival in Somerset. Other acts playing on Friday include Chic and headliners The Arctic Monkeys.
"It's never too early for a bit of Rock'n'Roll aggro, is it?" asked Gallagher as his band launched into Oasis hit Morning Glory for the gathering of fans keen for an early start to the weekend of live music. After a day of rain, the clouds broke around midday, apparently conjured up by the sun-bleached rock of US sibling trio Haim. By the end of their set, raincoats were being traded for suncream.
Gallagher, who has not been particularly effusive about the festival since his former band headlined nearly ten years ago, told the BBC: "Glastonbury's back in the good books. I just had a bad experience but now it's cool again. About 180,000 fans have gathered at the 900-acre Worthy farm for the festival, which has been largely peaceful so far, with 107 reported crimes and 61 arrests.
Somerset police say there have also been 32 drug related offences reported, 12 of which were for possession of restricted substances.
Liam Gallagher's early morning set was something of a turnaround for the former Oasis frontman, who previously headlined the festival in 1995 and 2004.
The latter appearance was not well-received, and Gallagher later claimed the festival was "full of idiots".
But after Friday's performance, the singer told the BBC "Glastonbury's back in the good books. I just had a bad experience, but now it's cool again.
"It's always been cool, it's just me. I'm full of it.""It's always been cool, it's just me. I'm full of it."
He added that playing such an early starting time on the Friday morning had been something of a surprise.He added that playing such an early starting time on the Friday morning had been something of a surprise.
"Someone just asked us - do you fancy going on at 11 o'clock, and we thought, why not? We've headlined it, we've done all that. It's time to do something different."Someone just asked us - do you fancy going on at 11 o'clock, and we thought, why not? We've headlined it, we've done all that. It's time to do something different.
"I absolutely loved it, I mean it. I thought 11 o'clock could be really ropey but I thought we done well, man.""I absolutely loved it, I mean it. I thought 11 o'clock could be really ropey but I thought we done well, man."
As tradition dictates, the site was drenched with rain on Thursday but forecasters expect the weather to be dry for the rest of the weekend. The main stage features a mixture of rap and rock for the rest of Friday, with Professor Green and Dizzee Rascal cosying up to The Vaccines and the Arctic Monkeys.
It has been largely peaceful so far, with 107 reported crimes and 61 arrests. Professor Green told the BBC he was amazed to be on the line-up.
Somerset police say there have also been 32 drug related offences reported, 12 of which were for possession of restricted substances. "Some little toe-rag from Hackney who samples INXS. It's mental 'innit?"
Other headliners include Mumford and Sons and The Rolling Stones. The 29-year-old, whose hits include Read All About It and the INXS-based I Need You Tonight added: "There's more to me than that, and I think this is the best opportunity to show that to people.
"We're going to put some new music in the set as well as the old, because I think a lot of people that are here won't know my music, bar the singles, so this is a good opportunity to show the musicality of what we do when we play live."
Rumours of "secret appearances" are always rife at Glastonbury, and this year's crop range from the likely (Fatboy Slim and Radiohead's Thom Yorke) to the fanciful (Daft Punk and David Bowie).
Definitely confirmed for the weekend are co-headliners Mumford and Sons and The Rolling Stones.
Speaking to Radio 1's Newsbeat, Stones guitarist Keith Richards said the band had a few reservations about their set.Speaking to Radio 1's Newsbeat, Stones guitarist Keith Richards said the band had a few reservations about their set.
"I think the only pressure we feel is that it is the first time we've done an outdoor show for yonks and English weather," he said."I think the only pressure we feel is that it is the first time we've done an outdoor show for yonks and English weather," he said.
"Throwing in those two equations, yeah there is maybe a little apprehension.""Throwing in those two equations, yeah there is maybe a little apprehension."
On the main Pyramid stage, Friday's music started with the charismatic Congolese act Jupiter Bokondji and Okwess International.
They will be followed by BBC Sound Of 2013 winners Haim, pop star Rita Ora, Hackney rapper Professor Green and rock group The Vaccines.
Rumours of "secret appearances" are always rife at Glastonbury, and this year's crop range from the likely (Fatboy Slim and Radiohead's Thom Yorke) to the fanciful (David Bowie).
Definitely on the bill are veteran entertainers Sir Bruce Forsyth and Kenny Rogers, while Solange Knowles - younger sister to 2011 headliner Beyonce - plays the smaller Park Stage on Friday afternoon.
Although the main music programme only kicked off on Friday, revellers have been gathering on site since Tuesday.
They've been entertained by smaller performances and installations around the 900-acre green field site, including the vaudevillian cabaret area Shangri-La.
Tucked away in the darker confines of the South-East corner, Shangri-La harbours some of the alternative spirit of the original Glastonbury Festival in 1970.
This year's theme is Heaven and Hell - the idea being that Glastonbury's year off in 2012 coincided with the apocalypse, and revellers must now enter the afterlife.
Split into two areas, guests can choose to party in the seven circles of hell - where bars are strewn with bullets and rifle shells, and transgender nurses perform "an enema of the soul" on unwitting volunteers.
If you prefer to spend an evening in heaven, where the sofas are trimmed with fur, and the bars have working fountains, you must first convince an "admin angel" that you are worthy of the honour.
The lucky few will be given a gold wristband… and be forced to remove their wellies, in case they mess up the Glastonbury God's pristine white carpets.
Dressed like a film set, it is one of many distractions from the music.
Others include a giant (and currently mud-strewn) Twister board; and the Block9 nightclub - which has been designed to look like a 50ft tower block with a life-size, flaming tube train bursting out of the fifth floor.
The festival continues until Sunday.