Photo: WENN
The average age of Pyramid Stage performers at Glastonbury has been steadily rising over the past 20 years - and this year, it's reached 43.
Back in 1995, when the festival was headlined by Oasis, Pulp and The Cure, the average age of main stage Glastonbury acts was just 29. Two decades on, and all three of those acts (or members thereof, at least) are still headlining festivals - and pulling the average age up with them.
Though there are several acts performing on the Pyramid Stage over the weeekend who are in their early 20s - George Ezra, Hozier, James Bay - the likes of The Who, Paul Weller, Lionel Richie, Motorhead and even Pharrell Williams mean that this year's average age has continued the upward trend of the past several years.
The average age of Pyramid stage performers over the last 20 years according to The Telegraph is below.
Year Average age
1995 29.6
1997 33.8
1998 37.3
1999 34.2
2000 36.5
2002 37.5
2003 34.9
2004 34.5
2005 36.1
2007 32.0
2008 37.3
2009 44.7
2010 44.2
2011 37.7
2013 38.0
2014 37.6
2015 43.0
And it's not just Glastonbury that have seen this steady increase in age of its performers - research carried out by Spotify's director of economics Will Page showed that the average age of headline acts at nine major British festivals has risen by about ten years since 1996.
The Economist suggests, as a possible reason for this trend, "Big record labels are less willing than in the past to take risks or nurture new talent." Bestival's Rob da Bank says it's a "more cut-throat industry" than it was in the past, while festival director Rob Challice says new music "moves so much faster than ten years ago."
It might also have something to do with festival bookers' unwillingness to take risks - many felt, for example, that Florence + The Machine should have been headlining Glastonbury in the first place, rather than The Who, who are in their 70s.
