The 36-year-old 'Bonkers' hitmaker has played the five-day British festival of contemporary performing arts several times since 2008 but he didn't top the bill until two years ago.
- Jul 24, 2021
AceShowbiz - Dizzee Rascal is convinced Glastonbury Festival bosses didn't have the confidence to let him headline the famous festival before 2019.
The "Bonkers" hitmaker has played the British music event several times over the years but he didn't top the bill until two years ago, and he thinks 2010 was a missed opportunity when U2 had to drop out after frontman Bono suffered a back injury.
Appearing on the "JD In The Duffle Bag" Podcast, he recalled, "I should have headlined Glastonbury. I've done Glastonbury since, I think, 2008; [that] might have been the first time I did it."
"I was one from the headline, and then someone dropped out, so they should have moved me up, but then they put on Gorillaz or someone."
Dizzee was on the line-up after the likes of Willie Nelson, Vampire Weekend and Snoop Dogg, and just one spot below headliners U2 that year, but Damon Albarn's virtual band, Gorillaz, were drafted in instead.
Asked about the festival's thinking behind the decision, he said, "It's the confidence, they didn't have the confidence. Even though they'd seen me smashing the s**t out of it, they were just scared. And then Gorillaz came on, and no offence to them, but you're not getting the same thing. You can't put them on after me."
Two years ago, Grime star Wiley, who has feuded with Dizzee in the past, admitted even he thought his rival had done enough to earn a top of the bill slot at Glastonbury.
After Stormzy's headlining performance in 2019, Wiley said, "[Dizzee's] done the most out of any black boy I’ve ever known in England. I've never seen anyone do more than what he’s done. For me, Dizzee is the greatest person I've ever known."
