MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
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Political debate returns amid the usual musical cornucopia
WILL STONE sees Glastonbury reaffirm its radical credentials
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ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
A LOUNGE-LADEN set by the Arctic Monkeys, with frontman Alex Turner going all Scott Walkery on us, or the diesel-fuelled biker metal of Guns N’ Roses might not have been everyone’s idea of a good night out.
Both delivered in their own right, with the former’s highly stylised performance and the latter proving that the killer combo of singer Axl Rose, whose voice worked wonders on Knocking On Heaven’s Door, and guitarist Slash, who nailed it after launching into the famed Sweet Child O’ Mine riff following a virtuoso guitar solo, are a force to be reckoned with.
But Glastonbury festival’s best moments are rarely confined to the quality of its heralded headliners.
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