The Who have made two bold claims in a recent blog post on the band's site, stating both that its equipment had been sabotaged prior to its Glastonbury performance, and that it had replaced Prince on the lineup.
Where to start?
The Prince revelation, although certainly not confirmed by the Eavis family, certainly merits some investigation. Unfortunately, no one—including the band—offered very much information on the claim. The idea that Prince was potentially a headliner for Glastonbury 2015 is earthshaking, as he's one of two performers who are constantly referenced year-to-year as fans and bookies make stabs at who will play that year's event (the other is Fleetwood Mac). Although booking The Who to headline the biggest UK festival for the first time was appropriate, considering its career is winding down, the possibility that Prince could have been there (but wasn't) would still be a disappointment for fans.
So how about that sabotage accusation?
The incident consisted of someone messing with the connections for the audio equipment, which had all been prepared in advance of the show. It didn't cause too much of a problem because "we're good at plugging things in," but it does add an air of mystery to the performance. The Who didn't have any suspects in mind.
"Was it Mr. (Paul) Weller or Lionel (Richie), no way. Dalai Lama—hmmm....he did steal the show already."
The brief technical difficulty had nothing to do with what guitarist Pete Townshend described as "one of the very worst the band has ever played." Although he was frustrated with the gig for some reason, critics and fans disagreed strongly.
The blog threw out kudos to the fans, claiming that in their excitement they were "not waiting to be entertained; they were part of the entertainment."
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