The Killers brought the curtain down on Glastonbury’s penultimate day with a memorable performance featuring stunning guest appearances.
Shock showings from the Pet Shop Boys and revered former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, combined with The Killers extensive back catalogue, ensured Saturday closed with a fitting sense of occasion.
Any doubts about the US rock band’s suitability for such a key slot were dispelled as the evening finished with their biggest hit, Mr Brightside, which sent the audience into a frenzy.
The Killers, consisting of front man Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr, departed the stage to rapturous applause.
Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe of the Pet Shop Boys were shock guest stars and they performed their cover of Elvis Presley’s You Are Always On My Mind, before joining Flowers for a rendition of Killers favourite Human.
Noise levels were ratcheted up further as Flowers introduced “guitar hero” Marr.
The pair covered Smiths song This Charming Man, with Flowers standing in for Morrissey.
Earlier, The Killers got their set off to a fast start, walking onto the Pyramid Stage to Frank Sinatra’s Luck Be A Lady, before launching into a rendition of their hit Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine.
It was followed by another fan favourite, Somebody Told Me. Flowers, nodding to the band’s Las Vegas base, thanked the crowd for “betting on us”.
“I’ve got a feeling it will pay off”, he said.
Earlier, former Oasis star Liam Gallagher had performed on the same stage, treating fans to a mix of his solo work with beloved tracks from his old band.
The rocker sang versions of Rock N Roll Star, Slide Away and Wonderwall, before dedicating Champagne Supernova to the late Prodigy front man Keith Flint, who died earlier this year.
Gallagher took a couple of veiled jabs at estranged brother Noel, who he has a strained relationship with following Oasis’ acrimonious split in 2009.
Before performing Wonderwall, perhaps the band’s best-known song, he said “Apparently this is shit as well”, a possible reference to Noel’s comments that he does not “particularly like” the song.
Pop superstar Janet Jackson took to the Pyramid Stage before Gallagher, delighting the crowd with a string of hits including What Have You Done For Me Lately, Control and Rhythm Nation.
Some fans watching at home complained of the sound quality and accused Jackson, a member of the Jackson family including her brother and King Of Pop Michael, of miming.
However the sizeable crowd in attendance seemed happy enough, singing along as multiple Grammy winner Jackson worked through hit after hit.
Away from the main stage, former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr garnered acclaim for his slot on the Other Stage, while Scottish newcomer Lewis Capaldi was well-received at the same spot.
Glastonbury continues until Sunday, when British rock group The Cure will headline.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article