Glastonbury 2023: Could Billy Joel and Grace Jones make an appearance?

Virgin Radio

23 Jun 2023, 15:35

Cryptic messages from the Glastonbury Free Press have sparked rumours across the festival that the two musical legends could show up.

The posters with the phrases "Are you ready for the Piano Man?" and "Pull up to the bumper!" were first spotted moments after the gates first opened on Wednesday (21st June).

These pieces of information are perhaps less mysterious than they may first appear, as festival goers were quick to realise that they were both references to popular songs.

The first being a reference to Billy Joel's 1973 soft rock single of the same name and the second being the title of Grace Jones' most successful track.

Joel has a long history of performing alongside Sunday night's headliner Sir Elton John, and the two have often performed the fan favourite song together.

Further confirming the buzz around the posters, John's husband spoke to Sky News confirming the Rocket Man will be hosting "four collaborators of his choosing" on the Pyramid Stage.

When pushed further to confirm whether Joel would be making appearance amongst the mystery guests, Furnish said: "Sorry. I am sworn to secrecy."

It would certainly be an opportune time for Crocodile Rock singer to bring out stars of such calibre, as he announced recently that this would be his final ever UK performance.

In regards to Grace Jones, although it would certainly be a great moment in the festival's history to have three huge 80's icons on stage together, many think the "Pull up to the bumper" poster is actually a hint towards next year's headline slot.

Festival organiser, Emily Eavis, has stated that she has already book one of two female headliners for 2024, with the bookies favourite Taylor Swift potentially fulfilling one of those slots. Could the former Bond Girl, Jones, be next on the line up? Signs say, yes!

Elsewhere across the festival, other formerly tbc slots are starting to reveal themselves.

One of the most exciting, not so secret sets to be unveiled is that of Hozier on the Woodsies, formerly John Peel, stage tonight (Friday 23rd June).

This comes amidst announcements of a massive European tour, to promote the Irish crooner's upcoming third album Unreal Unearth.

Also on the Woodsies Stage, Blossoms will once again be appearing with the man behind the meme, Rick Astley.

It is likely the odd pairing will be performing a set of The Smiths covers, such as the case was for their tour together back in 2021.

As for the secret act on the Pyramid Stage, the rumour mill is spinning wildly around anything concerning the keenly positioned The Churnups set. This unknown act are perplexingly placed between Texas and Royal Blood, who will be on just before the Arctic Monkeys headline the Friday night.

This has caused many alarms to be raised as there is no way that a nobody band would allowed to hold a position of such calibre. So lets look at the potential suspects.

Sparking intrigue earlier this month, Dave Grohl shared a heartfelt message to fans, that thanked them for their support, at the first run of shows the band had played since the passing of drummer Taylor Hawkins.

It's the use of "churning up" that has got fans confirming suspicions of The Foos being the true identity of 'The Churnups'. Suspicions that had first been raised a few weeks before the Insta post in this intriguing image shared on Twitter.

Other theories are abound but as the time draws closer, it is almost a certainty that there couldn't be any other pretenders around to claim the slot.