The Rolling Stones at Glastonbury after 50 years

                                                                 

                                                                  

Fifty years of the Rolling Stones! This is rock history happening in front of your eyes. Their first appearance at this festival is quite something, but I think the fact they they are still performing is remarkable. 

The longer video originally posted here is now gone as I thought it would. This one is very short, but it is from the Official Rolling Stones channel so I expect it to stay up. I guess it's better than nothing. 

                                                                         

                                                                   

TENS of thousands of cheering revellers watched the Rolling Stones make an energetic Glastonbury festival debut yesterday after more than 50 years in the music business.

"If this is the first time you've ever seen the band, do come again," an almost 70-year-old Mick Jagger told a crowd - most of whom were too young to experience the bulk of the Stones' career.

The band, with Jagger prowling about the main Pyramid Stage - at Worthy Farm in Somerset, southeast England - in a glittering green jacket, began its set with the 1968 classic Jumpin' Jack Flash to a backdrop of fireworks.

Country-style song Factory Girl was given a makeover to become "Glastonbury Girl" and referred to festival traditions including the gumboots often worn against the English mud.

Fans had claimed their spots up to 12 hours ahead of the show, which culminated with bouncing encores of You Can't Always Get What You Want and Satisfaction.

Keith Richards and former band member Mick Taylor each performed showcase tunes.

"The old black magic still crackles," wrote a reviewer for the Observer newspaper.

The young fans agreed. "It was amazing," said Kathy Dixon, 26. "It felt like lots of generations were coming together. It felt very special - almost spiritual."

Walter Hudson, 22, from Oxford, claimed "they look as young as they were in the 1960s'.
"The only place you can see their age is in their skin - their energy is the same."

Glastonbury, the country's most popular celebration of music and performing arts, is now in its 43rd year. Organisers had expanded the viewing area in expectation that a large proportion of the 135,000 festival-goers on the 360ha farm would seek to witness this piece of music history.

Organiser Michael Eavis is said to have spent several years wooing the Stones.

"We've waited a long time for the Stones to play. For them to be here is brilliant," Mr Eavis's recorded voice told the audience as he introduced the band.

The Glastonbury festival started as a hippie gathering of 1500 people in 1970. It now has 58 stages and formal accommodation ranging from pre-assembled tents to glamorous yurts costing several thousand pounds. It sells out months in advance.

British broadcasters reported that Prince Harry, 28, was spotted on Saturday, along with footballer Wayne Rooney, model Kate Moss and other British stars.

The festival concludes overnight with a set from folk band Mumford and Sons.

Richards said before the Stones performed that he was "looking forward to it because it is an iconic gig and it's an iconic band and the two meet at last".

He told BBC radio: "In a way it's kind of weird that at last we've made it to Glastonbury. It's like building Stonehenge, right?"

With thanks to The Australian

                                                             

Check out the line-up – something for everyone!

More here and lots of pictures: Glastonbury 2013: Night of the living dead as Rolling Stones rock the festival

Summary of posts on the Rolling Stones in no particular order:

The Rolling Stones At Their Peak: 1965 Touring Ireland

The Rolling Stones at Villa Nellcôte and "Exile On Main Street"

The Rolling Stones’ Charlie Watts: A very Different Drummer

 

The Rolling Stones at Glastonbury after 50 years

Keith Richards - His Life with the Rolling Stones and His Book

Will the Rolling Stones Stop Rolling? No!

Singer Jordie Lane finds the soul of the Grievous Angel: Gram Parsons

Keith Richards Writes A Story Book For Children

Ronnie Wood: His Art and The Rolling Stones : Update - Australian Tour Dates Cancelled

Film Review: Twenty Feet From Stardom

Arthur Alexander: The Forgotten Songwriter Who Inspired The Beatles, Bob Dylan And The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones To Release Two Heritage Concerts On DVD & Their Australian "On Fire" Tour

Rolling Stones Book To Cost $5,000 (or $10,000)

Behind The Song: The Rolling Stones, “Wild Horses”

Glyn Johns: Defining That Classic-Rock Sound

The Rolling Stones - A New Book

Altamont at 45: The Most Dangerous Rock Concert Ever?

The Rolling Stones: New Tour Announced - Zip Code Updated: Releases from The Vault And A New Album for Keith Richards

'American Pie' Lyrics Sell For $1.2 million In New York


 The Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers: Super Deluxe Edition

Bill Wyman: The Rolling Stones Never Forgave Me For Leaving 

The Rolling Stones To Create Their Own Museum

Don Henley Recruits Mick Jagger And Dolly Parton For Country Album Cass County


Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood’s - "How Can It Be? A Rock & Roll Diary"

The Who Release First Song In 8 Years: Be Lucky 

Bob Dylan Named Greatest Songwriter Ahead Of Lennon and McCartney According To Rolling Stone

Keith Richards ‘Under The Influence’

Keith Richards Says Jagger’s Ego Sent Him Solo

 
 The Rolling Stones’ 'Satisfaction' Was The Result Of A Faulty Amp


Rolling Stones Rehearse Rare Songs For Their South American Tour

A History Of Mick Jagger On Film

'Vinyl' Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese's Mini-series

The Rolling Stones To Create Their Own Museum - #StonesIsm

The Rolling Stones Guide To Business Success And Survival

The Rolling Stones Reveal ‘Totally Stripped’

Rollings Stones’ Keith Richards Is Evolving, Not Ageing


The Rolling Stones’ ‘Havana Moon’ In Cinemas Worldwide

The Rolling Stones: A New Movie About The Making of 'Exile on Main Street'
 
The Rolling Stones:Olé Olé Olé: A Trip Across Latin America

The Rolling Stones: First Music From New Blues Album


Rolling Stones Reclaim Soul On Blue & Lonesome

Is "Medieval" the Flavour of The Month in Film? "The Borgias" and "Pillars of the Earth" - Updated

I don’t watch a lot of television any more simply because I loathe cheap reality shows, news, current affairs and the like. To me they are a waste of time and in any case I can get my news very quickly whenever I want it.

However I like watching old movies, and every now and then there is a good miniseries to be watched – if you are lucky! 


I also like a lot of documentaries.

I have always been keen on the historical movie genre.

                                      

The past few years have yielded “John Adams”, a mini-series about one of the great Founding Fathers of the USA, and of special interest to me have been a couple of mini-series devoted to the Middle Ages or "Mediaeval" period, and the period that followed it - The Renaissance.

We have also had several movies which featured Elizabeth 1 and William Shakespeare. 

I think today's film makers have re-created life in the Middle Ages rather well, and have not overly romanticised the "knight and the damsel in distress" scenario.

I recently re-watched “Ivanhoe” – a great novel – which has also been remade a few times. 

Who could forget Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor in the one movie? I enjoyed it again after the umpteenth viewing.

I was amazed when I learned that they actually built the castle in it especially for this movie!

“The Tudors” and “Game of Thrones” have also been on but I didn’t manage to watch all of the episodes.

More recently I have really enjoyed “Pillars of the Earth”.

 

Set in England I thought it was a great production and this era was beautifully, if not bloodily, re-created. 

The characters were a mix of the usual good and evil – the human condition it seems. 

The actors did an outstanding job in my opinion - all of them.

It centred around the building of a cathedral and the succession of the monarch at the time.

Cast:

Series cast summary:

Ian McShane     
 Waleran Bigod (8 episodes, 2010)

Matthew Macfadyen         
 Philip (8 episodes, 2010)

Eddie Redmayne   
 Jack (8 episodes, 2010)

Hayley Atwell   
 Aliena (8 episodes, 2010)

Sarah Parish   
 Regan Hamleigh (8 episodes, 2010)

Natalia Wörner  
 Ellen (8 episodes, 2010)

Anatole Taubman   
 Remigius (8 episodes, 2010)

John Pielmeier    
 Cuthbert (8 episodes, 2010)

Robert Bathurst    
 Percy Hamleigh (8 episodes, 2010)

Clive Wood   
 King Henry I (8 episodes, 2010)

Sam Claflin   
 Richard (8 episodes, 2010)

Liam Garrigan    
 Alfred (8 episodes, 2010)

David Oakes    
 William Hamleigh (8 episodes, 2010) 

Then there is “The Borgias”.

Now series two is out. I could hardly wait to see it after enjoying the first one so much.

Set in Rome it covers the era of the Borgia Pope, Rodrigo, or Pope Alexander VI during the Renaissance period.

Having been born in Florence, Italy, and enjoying a trip back there several years ago it is hard not to be interested in this period after having seen some of the incredible artistic achievements of this era – see this post.

I sometimes think it was the greatest period of artistic achievement.  

Given that Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Brunelleschi and yes, Machiavelli, to name just a few, lived during this era I feel I can safely say it was just that! 

The de Medicis and the Borgias, who dominated this period in Italy, seemed to display very similar characteristics.

Total and complete ruthlessness, and a lust for power and control that is hard to fathom, as well as incredible brutality.


Struggles between the church, the monarchy and ruling entities are always fascinating.

Murder and poison were de rigueur. Was there anyone you could trust? I doubt it.

The content of these shows is not necessarily happy, but what makes me happy is the production values. And also learning more history in an interesting way.

One can’t help being impressed by the set design, the costume design, the plot and the characterisations.

No matter how hard you try it is difficult to imagine how things really looked in the past if there is no film footage available. And whilst I cannot say for sure, but can only speculate, that these shows are not 100% accurate they are still worth taking the time to watch.

“The Borgias”, in particular, is a visual feast, notwithstanding the blood and violence, and other gruesome scenes which I will not mention now.

It’s also rather nice to see veteran actors such as Ian McShane, Donald Sutherland, Jeremy Irons and others, lead a cast of young and lesser know actors, such as David Oakes, who happens to be in both these shows and has “villain” down pat. 

He is really excellent in both shows.


The "Medieval flavour of the month" is most definitely worth watching!


(Note: Although I have cited Wiki several times I do this with caution. It is a great place to start any investigating but one should be aware that it contains editable text so make sure you check other sites.)

Jeremy Irons ... Rodrigo Borgia

François Arnaud ... Cesare Borgia

Holliday Grainger ... Lucrezia Borgia

Joanne Whalley ... Vanozza Cattaneo

Lotte Verbeek ... Giulia Farnese (now in "Outlander")

David Oakes ... Juan Borgia

                                                                 

                                                                      

                                                                     
                                                                 
And now for Series 3, and things are getting very interesting!

                                                                   
                                                                                    

                                        

                                                                                       

                  
                                                                                  

François Arnaud ... Cesare Borgia

 

Holliday Grainger ... Lucrezia Borgia

Looks like “The Borgias” ends with Season Three. How utterly disappointing.

I think it's definitely one of the best miniseries I have ever watched.
I am sure the younger actors involved will go on to very successful careers in the future!

                                                                    

François Arnaud


Some Mini-Series featured on this blog:

Downton Abbey Producers In Talks To Make A 1930s-set Feature-length Movie

Downton Abbey: Ending After Its Sixth Season?
 
The Real Downton Abbey

‘Downton Abbey’ and History: A Look Back

Texas Rising

Banished

Against The Wind 

The Musketeers

A Fortunate Life

Downton Abbey Becomes Downturn Abbey: Secrets Of Series 6 Revealed

Pride and Prejudice at 20: The Scene That Changed Everything

Cilla Black's Biography On TV   

Dolly Parton: A Biography Movie And A Time Capsule For Her 100th Birthday

Maggie Smith: Michael Coveney’s Biography 

Benedict Cumberbatch And Eddie Redmayne: The Changing Face Of Hollywood

Biopics Now Focus On Key Moments Rather Than A Whole Life


Televison 2016: Some Shows We Can Expect To See

'Vinyl' Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese's Mini-series

Caitriona Balfe: A Role Model After Outlander And Money Monster

How ‘Mr Robot’ Won The Prize For Hacker Realism

 
Tutankhamun: Mini-series About The Most Famous Archaeological Find Of All Time