Arctic Monkeys expected to make Glastonbury despite illness

Arctic Monkeys are expected to play their header acceptable astatine Glastonbury connected Friday, contempt frontman Alex Turner being struck down with laryngitis.

The set cancelled a gig successful Dublin earlier this week, casting uncertainty connected whether they'd beryllium acceptable for the festival.

But Emily Eavis told the BBC she was assured Turner would propulsion through. "He's recovering, I'm definite we're going to beryllium each right," she said.

"We've got a mates of back-up plans if not," she added,

"We've ever got back-up plans for everything."

If the gig goes ahead, it volition beryllium the Sheffield band's 3rd clip astatine the apical of the bill, aft 2008 and 2013.

That puts them successful a prime radical of triple headliners alongside Radiohead, The Cure, Van Morrison and Elvis Costello.

Only Coldplay person gone further, with header appearances successful 2002, 2005, 2011 and 2016.

"Hopefully it gets easier each time, successful presumption of nerves," Arctics drummer Matt Helders told BBC News.

Speaking earlier Turner fell ill, helium said the set were the astir prepared they'd ever been for the festival,

"The archetypal time, obviously, we truly felt the pressure. Then the 2nd time, it was astatine the opening of a circuit - truthful it was fun, but we hadn't been playing successful the lead-up.

"This time, we're connected it. We're successful a bully place, successful the mediate of a tour. We're firing connected each cylinders." (Scroll down to work much of the interrogation with Matt Helders.)

If the set bash person to propulsion out, determination are respective imaginable replacements.

Chief among them are the "mystery band" who've been fixed a slot connected the Pyramid Stage connected Friday evening.

They're billed arsenic The ChurnUps, a radical who person nary societal media footprint oregon euphony connected streaming services.

Fans person speculated that they are really US stone set Foo Fighters, aft frontman Dave Grohl posted a societal media connection successful which helium talked astir "churning up" emotions arsenic the set circuit without precocious drummer Taylor Hawkins for the archetypal time.

Other rumours person included Britpop heroes Pulp and Blur, some erstwhile headliners, who are connected the reunion way this summer.

Quizzed astir the rumours, Eavis remained tight-lipped.

"I wouldn't similar to springiness thing away," she said. "You've got to let the astonishment to happen. It's each astir the surprise."

Eavis was speaking arsenic Glastonbury opened its gates connected Wednesday morning, with 200,000 fans expected to instrumentality successful sets by Sir Elton John, Lana Del Rey, Guns N' Roses, Wizkid and ChristineaAnd the Queens.

Free h2o is disposable passim the site, which is being wholly powered by renewable energy for the archetypal time, successful enactment with its long-standing committedness to sustainability.

The on-stage enactment dilatory got into cogwheel connected Thursday, with DJ sets by Faithless, Mike Skinner, Nia Archives and Ewan McVicar and Arielle Free warming up the dozens of smaller stages that are dotted astir the site.

And 88-year-old festival laminitis Michael Eavis adjacent played a astonishment mid-afternoon acceptable with his set connected The Park Stage, covering aged standards similar My Way, Always On My Mind and Send In The Clowns.

Singer-songwriter Ben Howard volition footwear disconnected the euphony connected the main stages, erstwhile helium opens The Other Stage astatine 11:30 connected Friday morning.

Other artists connected Friday's line-up see Scottish rockers Texas (Pyramid Stage, 16:15), Afrobeats prima Wizkid (Other Stage, 22:30), psychedelic jazz set The Comet Is coming (Park Stage, 1815) and US R&B prima Kelis (West Holts, 22:15).

The set were extended an invitation by Emily Eavis aft Eli spoke to the BBC astir the familial information helium lives with, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and mentioned his imagination of playing the festival.

The BBC volition broadcast afloat sets and highlights from astir the festival connected TV, radio, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds.

This is your 3rd clip connected the Pyramid Stage. Are you looking guardant to it?

It's good! Hopefully it gets easier each time, successful presumption of nerves. Where we are successful the touring cycle, it means we'll beryllium amended astatine playing than we person been before, which is ever good.

And it's 10 years since we past did it, truthful it'll consciousness similar a afloat ellipse celebration.

In erstwhile years, you've had Dizzee Rascal arsenic a peculiar guest, and played with a drawstring quartet. Any surprises this time?

There's a contented of getting a impermanent on, oregon doing thing other peculiar astatine Glastonbury, but I besides deliberation there's a batch to beryllium said astir conscionable doing a truly bully show.

Your caller medium [The Car] has had specified a large reception. The NME made it their medium of the year. How assured were you earlier it was released?

We really sat connected it for a portion earlier it came retired and determination were definite songs that I had a batch of religion in. I knew [There'd Better Be A] Mirrorball was going to beryllium special, and Sculptures Of Anything Goes. We'd spent a batch of clip making definite it was what we wanted. So if astatine that constituent we weren't sure, we'd person felt similar we'd done thing wrong.

Alex said he'd meant to constitute an medium that would acceptable with rockier songs similar Brianstorm and RU Mine. How travel it ended up going a antithetic way?

We often spell successful [to the studio] with that volition because, erstwhile we're playing live, those songs basal retired truthful much. We're like, "That was amusive to play. We should get immoderate much songs that consciousness similar that".

But past it doesn't ever travel people with the songwriting. You tin constitute the riff but it's hard to unit it and inactive beryllium sincere.

Last year, you told Radio 1 that the subtlety of the caller songs makes them "trickier" to play than the older material. How's that been going connected tour?

Recording-wise, the restraint is rather hard - and that spills implicit to unrecorded [shows] too, due to the fact that you tin get a spot excited and privation to amusement disconnected a bit.

But there's moments successful the acceptable wherever I get to scratch that itch, We'll play each the action-packed ones and past it chills retired for a bit. It's a bully balance.

What's your favourite of the caller songs to play?

At the infinitesimal I'd accidental Body Paint, because, speaking of dynamics, that 1 comes to beingness astatine the end. We conscionable benignant of wig retired a small spot and I'm successful power of however agelong it goes and however aggravated it gets. It's bully having a spot much amusive with it.

The acceptable often closes with RU Mine, which is simply a existent workout connected the drums. Do you person to support immoderate vigor successful reserve?

It's comic you notation that due to the fact that we enactment it successful halfway done the acceptable past nighttime and it felt unusual to play it there. A batch of the time, I'm relying connected adrenalin by the extremity of the show, but besides I would conflict if that [song] was the opening - due to the fact that I lukewarm up arsenic it goes on.

Otherwise, there's a information you'll teardrop a muscle...

Exactly. We often play Brianstorm adjacent the opening and I person to effort not to tense up excessively overmuch for that precise reason. I bash effort and bash a small spot of drumming backstage and agelong a bit. But I've ne'er been bully oregon disciplined astir making myself bash that. I privation to beryllium astir everybody.

Final question: Is it existent you bought a pub?

I contributed. It's called Fagan's successful Sheffield and present I'm similar a portion of it. [Matt was 1 of 9 investors who came to the rescue erstwhile it was threatened with closure past year].

I've tried! I privation to larn however to bash the shapes successful a pint of Guinness.