Why does the Beeb fawn over Glasto?
‘YOU are now watching the greatest living rock star on the planet,’ rapper Kanye West told his audience at Glastonbury, where he was the ‘headline act’ — ie, the star.
No, he wasn’t joking. Having previously compared himself favourably with Jesus Christ, he is given to grandiose claims, as his fans admit.
Known mainly by rock obsessives — or fans of reality star Kim Kardashian, to whom he is married —West might not have been the greatest living rock star in Somerset, let alone on the planet.
The professional pop critics, most of whom write guardedly about West, were cautious in their judgments on his expletive-ridden performance.
‘If you didn’t like West before this, he may well have confirmed all your worst suspicions,’ admitted the Telegraph’s Neil McCormick, adding: ‘If, like me, you are a fan, he was as mad, infuriating, daring, electrifying, ridiculous, original and unwilling to compromise as we perhaps should have expected.’
From a self- confessed fan, that sounds like a thumbs-down.
We all take pride in puncturing pomposity. So, why do we continue to make an exception for rock singers who act like gods?
A West fan, Elliot Mitchell, writes on the online pop site Gigwise: ‘West’s set was nothing short of phenomenal, and firmly established his place as one of the most intriguing artists the world has to offer.’
Intriguing? Surely it’s the devotion of West — and the wet acceptance of WHY did some mothers accompany their daughters to Glastonbury? Because they enjoyed each other’s company and the ambience of the Somerset pop festival, says the better angel of my nature. The other one says it’s because neither has grown up. his fantastic claims by fans — which is intriguing.
Robin Knowles, of Bournemouth University, responded thus to the Gigwise comment:
‘Well, I must have watched a different set because I thought it was abysmal! When he wasn’t rapping he was singing with what sounded to me like an auto-tuner . . .
‘Also, what an absolutely arrogant thing to shout: “You are now watching the most talented rock star on the planet.” Not in my opinion, mate. More like talentless gimp.’
Another comment, from David Jordan, of London, referred to a Hans Christian Andersen fable: ‘ The emperor’s clothes springs to mind!’
The fable is about a foolish emperor duped into buying clothing so fine, say the swindlers, that it is invisible to anyone who is stupid or incompetent.
Not wishing to appear either, his people offer thunderous applause when he exhibits his new garments. Then a small boy points out: ‘But he isn’t wearing anything at all!’
Is West an example of Emperor’s New Clothes Syndrome? He markets himself as the greatest star on the planet, daring his ‘people’ to think otherwise. One day a small boy will find him out.
We can’t expect the BBC to help. Their massive coverage of Glastonbury was, as ever, entirely celebratory, even though it’s a commercial event making an estimated £70 million.
Last year the BBC sent 300 staff. There is no reason to suppose fewer were there this year, though I can find no figures in the BBC’s online puffing of its Somerset presence.
THEY broadcast 30 hours of TV coverage across BBC 1, 2, 3 and 5, as well as 50 hours of coverage across Radio’s 1, 1xtra, 2 and 6 Music. They also streamed 150 separate performances online. The tone of those broadcasts I caught was overwhelmingly positive. While it’s customary for the BBC to patronise those who attend Royal Ascot, the Corporation’s approach to showbiz folk and their fans borders on the reverential.
A sign of the quasi-holy nature of the event was the arrival of the Dalai Lama, a living God who is not averse to modern publicity.
Might he have a bit of Bob Hope about him? It was said of Hope (by Marlon Brando) that ‘he would attend the opening of a gas station in Anaheim (a dowdy LA suburb) if there were at least two photographers present’.
Given the uncomfortable conditions, reeking portable toilets, muddy quagmires and assorted difficulties, I’d like to have heard some justification for the £220 ticket prices and the average £565-a-head spend.
Isn’t there material here for a Panorama special? Maybe, but the BBC relies on Glastonbury coverage to evangelise those who attend the festival on the importance of maintaining the licence fee status quo.
And might a critical documentary on Glastonbury fall into the ‘Jimmy Savile trap’ — the BBC investigation into the DJ’s sexual predation that couldn’t be transmitted because of his importance to the Corporation?