The Best Glastonbury 2025 Sets to Watch on BBC iPlayer

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A lot has been said about Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set, so I won’t rehash it here.

But a few thoughts have been circling in my head:

• Bob Vylan was deemed by the BBC to be a ‘high-risk act’ along with six others performing that weekend. Kneecap must have been one. Who were the other five? And what criteria puts an artist within that bracket?

• The BBC has said that going forward, ‘high risk’ music acts would not be broadcast or streamed live. Surely a slight tape delay is a better option, considering that a lack of tape delay contributed to this event in the first place?

• Only three months ago the BBC won a TV BAFTA for their Glastonbury coverage. This scandal would have been bad news for the BBC at any time, but it feels particularly ill-timed considering the BBC and the Government are about to kick off negotiations for the future of the licence fee and BBC funding itself. The BBC has pushed for more money.

• How much harder has that become in the last week?

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GLASTONBURY SETS WORTH WATCHING

Here are my personal picks, from either being in the crowd, or catching up on iPlayer.

🎤 SELF ESTEEM 🎤 - A tour-de-force from The Park stage. The set is a bit buried on iPlayer, but it is there if you look for it. You can also watch her perform one of her best songs, ‘The Deep Blue Okay’ on iPlayer.

✂️ SCISSOR SISTERS ✂️ - ‘Take Your Mama,’ ‘Let’s Have A Kiki’ and ‘Filthy/Gorgeous,’ Need I say more? Ian McKellan’s surprise cameo (45:55 mins in) is a real highlight, leading to chants of “OH IAN MCKELLAN!!!” from the audience.

🎶 RAYE 🎶 - Couldn’t get over how brilliantly Raye sang from The Pyramid despite complaining about how tired her voice was. The best bit was her performance of ‘I Know You’re Hurting’ (which is anout 31 minutes in.)

💬 KAE TEMPEST 💬 - I hadn’t ever seen Kae Tempest live and was simply blown away by their talent, ambition and passion. It is a set that just gets better and better.

✈️ PULP ✈️ - Come for ‘Common People.’ Stay for Jarvis Cocker throwing a cup of teabags into the audience for no reason. Unexpectedly seeing the Red Arrows passing during was simply one of the best experiences I have ever had at a gig.

🐺 WOLF ALICE 🐺 - They didn’t fall into the trap of playing too many new songs from their album that isn’t out yet. Their cover of Fleetwood Mac was also superb.

I asked on social media for your recommendations and I heard back CMAT, FUTURE ISLANDS, EN VOGUE, and ALANIS MORISSETTE.

Remember, you only have around 25 days until they are bumped off iPlayer.

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