Ashcroft throws his hat onto the Pyramid Stage

Richard Ashcroft has heard the rumours about The Verve headlining Glastonbury next year. In fact, he probably started them:

"I think it would be a travesty if we didn’t," he laughed. "Because I think what’s missing from a lot of the headliners is we’re one of the few bands that can jam without sounding like Lynyrd Skynyrd on a bad night, so we can actually take people on a proper journey, rock n roll wise.

"I think that’s what’s great", he continued. "If you can do that on the big stage the big tunes can get 60,000 people singing, but you’ve also got the capacity to change a standard rock gig into something else. I suppose that’s what's been exciting about playing and we’ll be excited about playing then."

Actually, Richard, Glastonbury isn't a "standard rock gig" by any measure, and some might argue that - if any of the spirit of the festival has survived intact - it's the surroundings that supply the transcendence while all the headline band is asked to do is turn up and play some songs for the Mums and Dads to remember their courting days to. The Verve, admittedly, could do that well, but there's still a sense that if the best Eavis can do is Ashcroft and his team to provide the defining, closing moment, it might be better to take another fallow year.