Record Sales - Tickets for next year's Glastonbury Festival have sold out in record time, according to organisers. Michael and Emily Eavis issued a joint statement confirming all 120,000 remaining tickets had been sold in just one hour and 27 minutes. They said they were "blown away" by the numbers logging on and were "genuinely sorry" that so many had missed out. Ticketing website See Tickets had earlier apologised to customers on Twitter for "technical difficulties". The site, which had been managing the sale of tickets for Glastonbury, wrote that the issues had led to "a very difficult half an hour" before the site stabilised, later adding that it was selling 3,000 tickets a minute.

Prices for the 2014 event had been increased by £10 to £210, plus a booking fee, but festival-goers could pay a deposit of £50 before settling their bill in April. For the first time, coach packages were available three days earlier, with all 15,000 tickets selling out in half an hour.

A statement by the father and daughter Eavis team, Michael and Emily, was posted on the festival's own Twitter feed, saying: "We genuinely try to make the ticket system as fair as it can be, but when demand outstrips supply, it is an unfortunate inevitability that some people will be left disappointed."

No acts have yet been confirmed to play at the festival at Worthy Farm between 26 and 29 June next year, but there is already speculation about who will headline. David Bowie is one of the bookies' favourites, with other rumours including Foo Fighters and Fleetwood Mac.

Take That... - X Factor judge Gary Barlow has revealed details of his first solo studio album in more than 14 years. The Take That band member has also announced a UK arena tour to support the release. His album, titled Since I Saw You Last, features a duet track with Sir Elton John called Face To Face. The star's nine-date UK tour begins on 2 April 2014 at Glasgow's new SSE Hydro venue, with the closing date at Nottingham's Capital FM Arena on 15 April.

Former Take That band member Robbie Williams has also announced the release of his new album of swing songs, with a performance at the London Palladium next month. Williams will also take part in two BBC Children In Need concerts at London's Eventim Apollo, formerly the Hammersmith Apollo, along with Dizzee Rascal.

One Step Beyond - Annie Lennox has described the sexualised imagery of modern pop videos as "dark" and "pornographic". "I'm all for freedom of expression," she told BBC Radio 5 live, "but this is clearly one step beyond, and it's clearly into the realm of porn. How do you stop your kids being exposed to it? It's so powerful. You don't want to see your seven-year-old girls twerking all over the place." The singer has called for pop videos to be rated in the same way as films.

On The Shelf - Morrissey's autobiography is to be published later this month after the former Smiths singer resolved a dispute with his publisher that had threatened to derail the book's release. Last month, the singer claimed "a last-minute content disagreement" with Penguin had led the deal to "collapse". Despite initially saying he was seeking a new publisher, Morrissey has now patched up relations with Penguin. Penguin Classics said Autobiography by Morrissey would come out on 17 October.

(Jim Evans)


Latest Issue. . .

Save
Cookies user preferences
We use cookies to ensure you to get the best experience on our website. If you decline the use of cookies, this website may not function as expected.
Accept all
Decline all
Analytics
Tools used to analyze the data to measure the effectiveness of a website and to understand how it works.
Google Analytics
Accept
Decline
Advertisement
If you accept, the ads on the page will be adapted to your preferences.
Google Ad
Accept
Decline