Must Watch reviews Glastonbury: 50 Years and Counting

Wednesday 22 June 2022, 10:06

Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.

This week, Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan review Glastonbury: 50 Years and Counting.

BBC One shares a story-driven explanation of the curation of Glastonbury and how the festival has evolved over time.

Hayley says "My favourite bit was Michael Eavis saying he plays Lola by The Kinks to his cows while they are being milked"

I thought this was a great documentary in the way it was put together, and the way it went right back to the beginning. We heard from Michael Eavis, the man whose farm the festival is held on, telling us why he started it and what he was trying to do. And because I don’t care about Glastonbury, and I'm allergic to all music festivals, I was completely unaware of all the charity involvement and the political angle the festival has. But that was Michael Eavis’ biggest thing: it was a way of taking this captive audience and trying to change their way of thinking about the environment and politics, or at least make them aware of issues that might have passed them by.

I also liked watching (from afar) how the festival has changed over the decades, and how they felt it needed to change in order to be more inclusive, and better reflect what was happening in culture outside of white indie bands. It was enlightening to see it all boiled down like that, to see how the outside world affects something as big as Glastonbury.

My favourite bit was Michael Eavis saying he plays Lola by The Kinks to his cows while they are being milked. I have never met the man, but now I think he's wonderful.

It's a must watch, but absolutely none of this made me want to go there. I hope everyone has a wonderful time and continues to never, ever invite me.

Scott says "I think it is a good 100-minute watch, whether you have been once, been many times or haven’t been at all"

It is a Must Watch from me. Every person who goes to Glastonbury has their own unique experience, so a documentary that tries to capture everything that is great about the festival would be impossible to capture.

So instead, the documentary mostly focuses on the social and political causes Michael and Emily have always believed in and how their views have shaped the unique ethos and values Glastonbury is known for. One of the interesting things about Michael is he is a Methodist. He often doesn’t agree with some of the acts taking place on his land, but he is allows it anyway because he believes the festival should be a reflection our culture.

He also started out as an ordinary cow farmer but had a vision of this festival and took absolutely huge financial risks to make the festival happen.

This documentary also surprisingly looks at the low points in the festival’s history, such as that when the super fence stopping non-ticketed visitors went went up, the atmosphere that made the festival so great kind of evaporated.

So, I think it is a really interesting social history looking at how Glastonbury has reflected society through the festival, but also how the festival has made changes to reflect our culture. I think it is a good 100-minute watch, whether you have been once, been many times or haven’t been at all.