Our final day of music of 1998’s mudfest started off with medieval songs, sang in a variety of languages inlcuding Latin, Gaelic and Middle English, from all girl group Medieval Babes. I’d been a fan of them for a while, as well as some of their side-projects/splinter groups such as Miranda Sex Garden, and having the chance to see them at Glastonbury was a real treat. They certainly suited an open air stage on the third day of a festival where most of us were probably more mucky than a middle ages peasant ;p

Country artist Steve Earle followed. “Copperhead Road” had been a minor hit in the UK back in 1988 (it reached #45 in the singles chart) and was why I’d heard of him. I liked the track (and had the single at the time) and was quite happy to see him live as he was another artist that I’d never have gone to see at his own gig, which is one of the things that makes music festivals so great – being able to see a load of artists that you wouldn’t usually see live otherwise. He was very good live.

Dust Junkys are one of those bands that can work really well at a festival. They played a mix of hip-hop and rock, which a few British indie bands had been playing around with for a few years. They weren’t a band I owned anything from, but for an early afternoon slot at Glastonbury were well worth the watch,

Space had come a long way since I originally saw them as an opening act at Camden’s Dublin Castle back in January 1996. I’d seen them since headlining The Astoria (January 1997) and they’d continued to grow with a string of massive singles (they reached #4 earlier this year with “The Ballad of Tom Jones”) and their recent second album, “Tin Planet”, had charted at #3 in the album charts. They had impressed both times I’d previously seen them and handled the jump to The Pyramid Stage in front of tens of thousands of people very well.

Next up was legendary crooner Tony Bennett. A big star who made his name back in the 50’s and 60’s. He came on stage in an immaculate suit and tie and apparently played an entire set consisting of songs about the weather! We watched some of his set but also had a wander for food so we’d be able to keep going for the rest of the day.

Following Bennett was another legendary artist, this time someone who made his name in the 60’s in the American folk and protest scene – with his 1964 track  “The Times They Are a-Changin” becoming an anthem for the civil rights and antiwar movements. The one and only Bob Dylan. This was actually the second time I’d seen Dylan live, as he was on the bill at a charity gig in Hyde Park I’d been to back in 1996 (GIG 296). He is one of those iconic figures from the 60’s, but again someone I’d never have otherwise gone to see live had it not been for festival line-ups.

Over on The Other Stage we caught the early evening performance by electronic group Bentley Rhythym Ace – again another great band for festivals with their blend of electro-house.

We moved back to The Pyramid Stage to see off the rest of the night, and close Glastonbury 1998 with two of the bands we’d been really looking forward to. First up was Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds who played a blistering set. This was only the second time I’d seen Nick Cave live (after a fantastic gig back in 1996 on his Murder Ballads tour where Kylie Minogue joined him on stage for their “Where the Wild Roses Grow” duet) and he once again blew away.

This was also the second time I was seeing headliners Pulp, who had released a new album, “This Is Hardcore” earlier in the year. I’d really enjoyed them when I saw them at Wembley Arena back in 1996, but this set headlining Glastonbury was even better. It also made me listen to This Is Hardcore a lot more than I had done before this point as the tracks they played live (and the majority of their set seemed to be from the new album) were brilliant. Pulp were fantastic and whilst I wrote that Tori Amos was probably my faviourite act from Glastonbury ’98 yesterday I think it was probably actually Pulp as this was a truly fantastic set.