Hello there and welcome to the website for Worthy FM, the on-site radio station for the Glastonbury Festival in the UK.

We only broadcast for one week a year whilst the festival is on, across the festival site on 87.7fm, and live online as well. But on this website you can find out more about who we are, what we do and what we’ve been up to at previous festivals, as well as get in touch with us in various ways.

You can check out the site through the links to the left there, as well as our schedule and Worthy FM Twitter antics. Otherwise, our blog below will keep you up to date with our news as it happens, all year round.

When the lineup for Glastonbury 2011 was announced, I may have been the happiest person ever when I heard that Coldplay would be headlining the Pyramid Stage on Saturday night. I have been listening to Coldplay since they began – naturally I have every album and there isn’t a song I don’t know, so expectations were high.

Chris Martin and co kicked things off with a new song, which I was glad about because it meant I could take the whole spectacle in, but I was taken by surprise by a euphoric rendition of ‘Yellow’.

Many seemed to doubt Coldplay, or not be interested, but as a hardcore fan this went straight over my head. Despite this the crowd seemed more dense for Coldplay (than at Friday’s headliner performance from U2) and when I looked to the back as far as I could see people were speaking.

The band played four new songs, all upbeat, and the crowd reacted warmly, although half way through a new song, Martin forgot the chord sequence, and openly admitted it which drew a laugh from the very contented crowd.

The setlist was a pleasent mix of songs including absolute classics such as ‘In My Place’, ‘Viva La Vida’ and a powerful play through ‘Politik’. Chris Martin started a solo version of ‘Everythings Not Lost’ before the band joined in a theme that was repeated through the night as they jammed and crowded together as a foursome, really demonstrating their chemistry as a group.

The encore included ‘Clocks’, and then the radiant tear-jerking ‘Fix You’, I turned to see grown men crying. I know many people chose to skip Coldplay to explore other venues – Mumford and Sons were doing a secret gig and we found this out just before Coldplay kicked off – but there was no where else in the world I would rather have been for the next two hours, without exaggeration.

At one point, just after ‘Yellow’ about 50 giant colourful balls were released into the crowd, it was quite a sight to see so many bouncing giant beach like balls behind me, lasers shooting through the air and Chris Martin rolling around on stage. When I went to bed last night, I must admit I did pinch myself.

The band finished with a ecstatic performance of their current single ‘Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall’. The whole band was bouncing, and as they did in 2005, they came to the front of the stage and all took a bow. I’ll never forget watching the 2005 performance in my bedroom as 15 year old, and in that moment I knew Glastonbury was the place I needed to be. Watching Coldplay last night bought me full circle, and on a personal level, it was up there with Muse last year, but no offence to Bono, as much as I enjoyed U2, it knocked them out of the field. Literally.

So, Beyonce….

“Suprise, Suprise.” The first words Jarvis Cocker uttered as he took to the park stage yesterday with Pulp’s first performance at the festival in over ten years. In the end the band’s appearance wasn’t the biggest surprise, but the relief in the audience was palpable when cheers erupted as one of the band’s flight cases were rolled on stage.

The set was a good mix of crowd pleasers and album tracks for the die-hard fans, with songs from ‘Different Class’, ‘His n Hers’ and ‘This is Hardcore’. Set highlights include ‘Sorted for Es and Whizz’, which the band first performed on their seminal performance at Glastonbury 1995, and ‘Mis-shapes’, where the crowd’s energy was clear from the very front right up to the top of Pennard’s Hill.

The band’s performance was superb and was enhanced by Cocker’s amazing way with the crowd, which involved frisbee’s (for those in the crowd he could not reach), and the eternal dilemma of how his glasses stay on when he is jumping around on stage (they’re strapped on in case you wondered).

The combined effect of Pulp’s back catalogue, flawless performance, expert working of the crowd, and performing on what is essentially a small stage made for a phonomenal experience. One that definitely will stay with me for a long time as well as the other thirty thousand with me in the park.

Worthy FM’s Del Franklin review’s Morrissey’s performance last night on the Pyramid Stage…

One wonders why on earth Morrissey is booked to play second fiddle on the Glasto Pyramid Stage. It happened before with Muse in 2004. Fast forward seven years and nothing’s changed. Except 2011’s headliners happen to be Irish rock gods U2 making their first appearance at the festival. A tough crowd even for a seasoned veteran like Morrissey.

Morrissey is well aware he’s playing to an audience who mostly want to worship Bono, The Edge and the rest of the chaps. A surprisingly hit-friendly set still left the masses confused. Whoops of delight were saved for well-known classics such as ‘Everyday Is Like Sunday’, ‘Shoplifters Of The World Unite’ and most notably closer ‘This Charming Man’. Three new songs – all potential corkers if a little formulaic – went largely above everyone’s heads. Some of the tunes even left the Morrissey crowd in a state of a bemusement. 1997 number 16 hit ‘Alma Matters’ went down like a lead balloon as did other lesser known singles such as ‘I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris’.

Yet Morrissey soldiered on taking matters with his tongue firmly in his cheek. ‘I’ll sing faster as I know you’re all waiting for U2’ he proclaimed helpfully. The wind, rain and mud didn’t help; the U2 fanatics shifting awkwardly to get nearer front of stage. His band were as tight and professional as ever; playing every note with an abundance of integrity that the songs truly deserve.

Morrissey remains the marmite of alternative rock – you either love him or hate him. A good majority of the crowd looked cold, miserable, wet and bored which is a shame because Morrissey missed a trick. This is simply not the time or place to play obscure songs. A cover of Lou Reed’s ‘Satellite Of Love’ went down slightly better only because the good folk could sing along to the words. Given his vast back catalogue it would’ve been better to churn out an hour’s worth of songs a floating crowd would recognize and able to sing along to. It’s not like he doesn’t have a ready made festival set.

But this is Morrissey who does things his own way. Always has, always will. All in all a little lacklustre and flat. Morrissey is worth more than being U2’s support. A swipe at David Cameron calling the PM a ‘silly twit’ for opposing a new bill against cruelty to circus animals raised a smile on a damp night. Morrissey is still an alternative rock god but this is proof is he’ll never win over the Pyramid Stage crowd. The sooner his people persuade him to headline one of the smaller stages the better.

From a fan’s point of view it was a business as usual but one suspects Morrissey is getting a little bored with the whole live performance thing himself. For the rest just a warm up act for U2. Morrissey deserves much much more.

Today marked a fantastic first for Worthy FM as two of our listeners became engaged – live on air! Simon Adams proposed to longterm girlfriend Carmel Gormley this afternoon during the Kidz Show (daily from 4pm-6pm).

Regular festival goers Simon and Carmel, pictured at Glastonbury last year, below, love live music and Simon thought Glastonbury Festival would be the perfect place to pop the question. When he approached Worthy FM and said he wanted to propose live on air we couldn’t wait to help make his romantic plans a reality.

After professing his love Simon got down on one knee to ask Carmel to marry him and after a tearful moment the bride-to-be said ‘of course I will!’

The couple are looking forward to enjoying the rest of the festival sporting specially made t-shirts, above. If you wern’t listening live them check out the moment a very Worthy proposal was captured on air.

Emmy The Great, aka Emma Lee Moss is a busy lady at Glastonbury this weekend. Not only will she be performing tracks from her first two albums on several different stages, on several different days, but she will be representing WaterAid and collaborating with some pretty big names along the way. Sarah Bennetto caught up with her for the worth FM website…

We know you’re playing on Friday at 2pm on Oxlyers In West, but we hear you’re on site for the whole weekend. Any other mystery happenings planned?

Oof. Loads. On Friday evening we play Strummerville campfire acoustically. Strummerville are really important to us and we’ve been involved with them since they started, so it’s always a homecoming when we play there. On Saturday, I’m chairing a green jobs panel at 1pm on Saturday at the Leftfield Stage, and then at 3pm on the Leftfield I’m singing in Billy Bragg’s big roundup. If I sound blase about that last bit it’s because I’ve written the sentence maybe 40/ 50 times to remove some of the hysterical glee. I’ll also be bombing around the site working on my daily Glastonbury blog for WaterAid, which you can see at www.Wateraid.org/emmy

What was the best ‘unscheduled moment’ you’ve ever discovered while exploring Glastonbury?

I’ve had quite a few! When I first started coming, not as a band, I would always come to late into an evening and realise I was in a Tipi with some strangers I’d met at Lost Vagueness. Now the best moments tend to be musical. In 2009, the year that Florence and the Machine broke, I sat on the top of my tour bus opposite the John Peel stage and watched this endless stream of people singing along to her songs. They had to take the walls of the tent down. I think that must be when she/ people realised how massive her album was going to become. It was emotional just to see that. I love seeing things like that.

What are your ideal tent snacks? Think heat-resistance vs continued freshness vs taste ratio.

Rice cakes. Marmite rice cakes. And cereal bars. Everything else evaporates or turns into something living. Wait, is alcohol a snack? Cans of cocktails are important. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Tell us about your wonderful WaterAid project here at Glastonbury. How did that come about?

I’ve been involved with WaterAid for a few years now. I can’t imagine any developments happening in our world without the basic foundation of clean water; I think what they do is of fundamental importance and urgency. When you play a festival you get extra access to areas and bands, and so when I started playing Glastonbury I asked if I could help them out with any of their festival campaigning (WaterAid are one of the Glasto charity partners). It started out as band interviews or mini documentaries, but this year we’ve streamlined the idea, and I’m taking over their blog! I’m so excited. Nothing could possibly go wrong. I’m taking my laptop out in the mud in a canvas bag. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

What else are you most looking forward to taking a peek at this year?

Wild Beasts, Janelle Monae, Suzanne Vega, Joe Dunthorne’s poetry troupe at the Poetry tent, Summer Camp at Oxlyers, Guillemots, and Billy Bragg.

Here at Worthy FM we like to go the extra mile in the name of broadcast journalism. Sure, we enjoy playing tracks by festival headliners, but we also like to shine a light on the areas of the festival you may be less familiar with.

Today Guy Lloyd and Gez Smith took a trip to Lost Horizons in search of new festival pleasures that they wanted to share with you. If the above photo hasn’t put you off then click below to see a video clip of Guy at the Naked Sauna in Lost Horizons. Fancy a sauna yourself? For more info and prices visit Lost Horizons, near the Park but bewarned – these two enjoyed themselves so much you might see much more of them…

Above: Sienna Miller at Glastonbury Festival last year. Photo courtesy of wikifashion.com

Do you want to be heard on the radio? Do want to become “The Face of Glastonbury 2011”? Then do your best…I want to see the wackiest…most out there…extreme clothing/fashion you got !!

I’m Ollie, and I shall be brining you the ‘Kidz Show’ for two hours every day single day during the festival…alongside this I shall also be presenting you with my own (amazing-if I do say so myself) hourly show every other day (check out our schedule for more info).

Now, as part of my show, I shall be looking into what the magazines and papers love to rant about… this year’s Glasto fashion! I will be exploring the trends, the excessively expensive and the purely extraordinary in this year’s festival fashion icons. So keep a close eye for that Worthy FM logo and that little mic, because I’m coming for you and will be hunting down the best of the best!

Alongside this there will be more fun-leading on from the Kidz Show. Great music! Everything ranging from the classics from this year’s headlines, to some of the new and under the radar acts on some of the smaller stages. Also loads more gossip, interviews and exclusives!

Remember to check the schedule information to find out when I, and the rest of the Worthy team will be bringing you there finding here, at Glastonbury 2011!

The gates are open, some of you started your pilgrimage to the festival DAYS ago and many of you tuned in last night while you we’re waiting in the site carparks. Our team have been reporting throughout the night and chatting to everyone waiting to get on site. Here are a few pictures from around the site entrances this morning…

Andrew from Wells arrived by bike

The queue at Pedestrian Gate B

Skye likes to travel in style with her princess fairy wagon

The festival fields begin to fill up

For more festival photos and videos click here or vist our Worthy FM Flickr or Youtube pages.

News just in, the queueing times to get into the late night areas at Glastonbury this year will now be appearing throughout the night on www.twitter.com/worthyfm

The queueing times are going to be displayed on a number of digital signs around the site between 11pm and 4am, to let people know how long they will have to queue to get into the late night areas during these peak times. However, if you’re on site, you can now check twitter wherever you are on the site to see the latest queueing time on Worthy FM’s Twitter account, updated at the same time as the signs themselves.

Don’t worry if you not taking an internet enabled phone to the festival, as you can get Worthy FM’s tweets texted to your phone for free throughout the week.

Read about how to get tweets sent to your phone as text messages here, and be sure to follow Worthy FM on Twitter now!

Here at Worthy FM our friends and family have shown concern at our stint in the middle of a field. So much so that friend of our presenter Hayleigh decided to give her a comprihensive list of what to bring this year. As many of you are listening to us while you pack your rucksacks, suitcases, bycyles and car boots so here is Carol Cashmore’s guide to your Glastonbury Essentials…

Clothing

• Really comfy boots or robust shoes that have been broken in. It’s a 1000 acre bumpy site and you need to protect your feet for 3 days of walking and dancing.

• Thick, warm socks.

• Sun screen.

• Sun hat or baseball cap - see our Festival Fashion article for more headwear ideas

• Sun glasses.

• Shorts or ¾ length trousers.

All the above sounds optimistic, weather wise, but too much of anything can ruin your festival, including too much sun. 

It can get freezing cold at night so keep toasty by wearing:

• Warm hat for night time.

• Long johns or warm tights.

• Warm, light jacket/fleece for night-time.

• Comfy, loose jeans or trousers –natural fabric.

• WELLIES!!

• Light waterproof jacket

• Camp bed and warm duvet/pillows.

• Tent.

Personal care

• Wet wipes – for those important little places.

• Anti-bacterial hand-wash for after using the loos.

• Flannel/sponge/toothbrush/paste/deodorant and all that stuff – don’t forget to pack contraceptives too!

• Small towel for washing or a hot shower (if you’re lucky…)

• Toilet roll – but campsite crews are giving away free biodegradeable loo roll if you forget

• Antihistamines.

• Paracetamol/Ibuprofen.

• Little bit of shampoo. Your hair will probably be minging by Saturday and washing it under a standpipe or shower is sheer heaven, makes you feel better and wakes you 
up.

• A little bucket for night-time wee wees – hmmm, or hopefully you can hold it till you reach a portaloo!

• Drink loads of water and don’t start on the booze until after 6pm *cough cough* – and remember that no glass is allowed on site!

We hope this helps and don’t forget to check out  the Glastonbury Festival weebsite for their list of what to pack too.