Glastonbury 2024: Sleaford Mods unimpressed with crowd at their Woodsies performance

30 June, 2024

Sleaford Mods. Credit: Katja Ogrin/Redferns

Sleaford Mods‘ Glastonbury 2024 performance has won over social media fans, but the band seemed less than impressed at the live crowd.

The duo performed on the Woodsies stage at 9pm tonight (June 29). Opening with their 2023 track ‘UK GRIM’, it was a high-energy set, with a setlist that spanned their 17-year career.

Their fourth Glastonbury appearance went down well on social media, with one Twitter user calling it “brilliantly mental”, and another saying it was “a joy to behold”.

Despite the positive reception online, vocalist Jason Williamson seemed dismayed at the number of punters that showed up to their set, saying: “There’s too many fucking people here,” before adding: “Not at our gig I might add.” Later in the set he told the crowd “We played this stage 10 years ago and it’s still the fucking same. Glastonbury, fuck off.”

The sparse crowd can perhaps be put down to the set’s clash with The Streets on the Other Stage and Orbital playing the Park Stage.

Williamson also seemed to use the performance to address earlier controversy surrounding the bands’ stance on Palestine. In November 2023, they cut a concert short in Madrid after a Palestinian scarf was thrown onto the stage during their performance, leading to criticism on social media. During their Glastonbury set, Williamson adjusted the lyrics of ‘Stick in a Five and Go’ to include the line: “You fucking finger tappy tappy bastard. You fucking big mad bastard. Mr fucking political platform bastard. Mr fucking flag bastard.”

Williamson previously addressed the incident in Madrid on Twitter, writing that he was “horrified by the atrocities committed in Gaza and Israel,” as well as “the atrocities committed elsewhere in the world that are not in the current news cycle.”

“I’m angry about the manipulation of human grief and rage by politicians, the media, agitators, and social media platforms to stoke the fire of separation, dehumanisation, division and hate,” the statement continued.

“In Madrid the show was repeatedly interrupted by someone in the audience shouting and throwing a flag/scarf on stage. I stopped the show to make comment, condemned civilian deaths and called for no more killing.”

Williamson went on to say that “this wasn’t enough and the interruptions continued. I walked off stage after 80 minutes as the cumulative effect was distracting and upsetting.”

He added: “The tweet in the aftermath was an attempt to apologise to those at the show, not comment widely on the ongoing atrocities. I’m as overwhelmed as you are and I don’t have the answers, all I know is we are all human and there needs to be a meaningful ceasefire. The slaughter needs to stop. No more. No more killing. NO MORE.”

The band performed a cover of Pet Shop Boys’ West End Girls during their set — a version they released late last year, with all profits going towards homeless charity Shelter. They also had a banner for UK charity War Child on stage with them.

Earlier this year, Sleaford Mods announced a 10th anniversary reissue of ‘Divide & Exit’. At the time of its release in 2014, NME, gave it a glowing four-star review and hailed the band as one of the few with the edge to “sing songs about the gutter”.

Sleaford Mods’ Glastonbury 2025 setlist was:

‘UK GRIM’
‘Kebab Spider’
‘Jolly Fucker’
‘A Little Ditty’
‘Air Conditioning’
‘Force 10 From Navarone’
‘TCR’
‘Mork n Mindy’
‘B.H.S.’
‘Tiswas’
‘Stick in a Five and Go’
‘Fizzy’
‘West End Girls’ – Pet Shop Boys cover
‘Tarantula Deadly Cargo’
‘Nudge It’
‘Tied Up in Nottz’
‘Jobseeker’
‘Tweet Tweet Tweet’

Still set to come this weekend are performances from SZA, Shania Twain, Janelle Monae, The National, Two Door Cinema Club, Avril Lavigne, Justice, Nia Archives, James Blake, Alvvays, Romy and more.

Camila Cabello’s chaotic set scored a three-star rating, while Dua Lipa’s Friday headlining performance earned her four-stars. IDLES and Fontaines D.C nabbed perfect five-star ratings as did the festival’s first K-pop performers SEVENTEEN.

Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos, rumours and more from Glastonbury 2024. Follow the NME liveblog for all the action as it happens.

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