We spoke to Dan Gillespie-Sells, frontman of dapper, chart-busting pop-rockers The Feeling. Turns out he’s quite the Glasto veteran…
Is this The Feeling’s first time at Glastonbury.
That’s right, yeah.
Have you always wanted to play?
Definitely. It’s quite a special festival for me, because I went a lot when I was younger, with my dad. It was a family event for us.
When did you start going?
I think I was five the first time. So that would’ve been 1983.
Can you remember how it felt to be there?
Oh, it was great. My dad used to work there, so we’d go down three or four days before the Festival started and we’d stay a few days later. We took loads of time off school for it, but my dad always said that Glastonbury was more important than going to school!
Do you remember watching the bands?
Yeah, I remember seeing Don McLean one year, probably when I was about 11. And I remember Donovan. It was all the hippy people then. And I remember one year where dad didn’t really bother with clothes for us after a while, and just had us in bin bags and wellies. That was a particularly muddy one.
What did you dad do at the Festival?
He drove the tractors and just generally helped out. If you did that you got to stay in the workers’ field which was really nice compared to the other bits. They even had showers in there.
How did he become involved?
I think he just found out about the Festival and heard that you could get in for free if you did some work. So he helped out with the tractors and trailers and stuff, because he was good with mechanical stuff. I used to spend a lot of the time hanging out with the traveller kids. All the traveller communities used to get into the Festival for free. I remember all the kids seemed to have their own little motorbikes. I even grew a rat’s tail so that I looked like one of them! That didn’t go down too well at school, but I thought it was cool.
So you loved going?
Totally. My dad had a little camper van and we travelled all over the place in it, going to folk festivals and things. But Glastonbury was definitely the highlight of the summer. It was just so exciting to go there. I did see a lot of music, but I spent a lot of the time just playing with the traveller kids in the makeshift adventure playground that they put up. We had quite a lot of freedom for kids, I think. I’ve got lots of fond memories of it.
And now you’re finally going to play on the Pyramid.
I know, it feels really weird. The amount of bands I’ve seen there. Actually, the first year that I went, when I was five, my dad took me on the cabaret stage during the open mic thing. I remember playing 12 bar blues on a piano.
So you have performed at Glastonbury before?
Sort of! But I didn’t know how to finish the song, so I just carried on going, with the compere trying to stop me. I think that was the first time I ever performed in public.
Have you got plans for The Feeling’s set?
Not really. We don’t really make things gimmicky for the sake of it. We always just put on the best show that we can, full of energy. I think it’s in our nature to entertain, because of our history being a house band in a ski resort.
Will you be camping?
Well, I would’ve stayed and done the whole camping thing, but we’ll be in the middle of supporting Bon Jovi on their stadium tour. We play the Pyramid on the Friday afternoon and then we have to go and play Twickenham on the Saturday. So I’m missing most of Glastonbury, which is a real shame. I would’ve loved to have stayed all weekend and made the most of it. It’s been years since I went last.
Are you bringing your dad?
Actually, I’m trying to get him and my older brother in. We always went together. It’d be nice to invite them along, but I know guest passes are quite tight.
Can he still drive a tractor?
No, I think he’s a bit too old for that sadly. I don’t think he’d fancy driving the litter-picking tractor any more! I tell you, though, you’d find some amazing stuff doing the litter picking; people would leave their tents there or bin bags full of clothes.
Did you work at the Festival too?
Yeah. When I got too old to get in for free, I started helping out as well. My job was to be on the back of the tractor grabbing the litter bags and throwing them into the trailer.
You really are a Glastonbury veteran.
Totally!
Does that mean you’ll be more nervous than usual for this show?
Yeah, I think so. I get nervous at festivals anyway, but it’ll definitely be worse for this one. I’d probably take it really badly if it didn’t go well. Glastonbury was such a big part of my upbringing. I really want it to be amazing.
The Feeling play the Pyramid Stage on Friday 27th June. Their latest album, ‘Join With Us’, is out now. Find out more at www.thefeeling.com
