Music, Style & Culture

Glastonbury 2011: Bellowhead

They talk us through fashioning wellies out of Tesco carrier bags

The latest instalment in our Get To Know Everyone At Glastonbury series comes from festival veterans Bellowhead. They talk us through fashioning wellington boots out of Tesco carrier bags and why they'll be looking out for Mumford & Sons in the VIP section.

Hello, who are you and what role do you play in the band?
Andy: My name’s Andy Mellon and I’m the trumpet player in Bellowhead
Rachael: I'm Rachael McShane and I play cello and fiddle in the band.

How many times have you performed at Glastonbury?
R:This year will be our second time at the festival.

What's your Festival postcard moment?
A: My festival postcard moment was playing at Sines festival in Portugal. We were looked after so well and even managed to get a little surfing in.
R: One of the most memorable festivals was Regina Festival in Canada a couple of years ago. There was a huge storm in the afternoon and everything had to shut down but they reopened in time for our gig despite the pouring rain. I loved the fact the crowd were so great despite the weather and it was fun to watch them all dancing about with their brollys.

Who will you be looking out for in the backstage area?
A: I’ve got a couple of pals who play with Mumford and Sons, so will be trying to hook up with them.
R: The Hidden Orchestra...I've heard they're hard to find.

How do you plan your festival set?
A: We have a game of tequila ping-pong and whoever loses has to design and write out setlists for everyone.
R: It's always tricky to write a setlist to please the other 10 members of the band so usually a few of us come up with a set list and then at the next festival it's someone else's turn. We usually keep it pretty up-beat, danceable and sing-alongable at festivals though.

What makes Glastonbury special?
R: There's always such a great atmosphere at the festival, there's so much to do and see and it always has a friendly vibe to it. It's even great to watch on tv.
A: The diversity of acts, the scale of it and the mud wrestling.

What's your worst festival memory?
A: A particularly wet 2007 festival season
R: Mmm...probably getting my car stuck in the mud at 3am trying to leave Glastonbury a few years back. A nice man with a Land Rover came and towed me out though.

Have you ever worn fancy dress at a festival? If so, what did you dress up as?
R: I don't think we've ever done a festival in fancy dress but we probably should. We love dressing up. We played at the Southbank Centre in drag once...that was good fun.
A: Not fancy dress as such but I’ve often turned up to a festival without suitable footwear and have had to fashion wellies out of the closest thing to hand – normally a couple of Tesco carrier bags.

How do you deal with Glastonbury weather?
R: I've actually been out and bought a new rain coat today! I'll also be bringing wellies, flip flops and sun cream.

Which festival, in your opinion, is sporting the best line up this year?
R: I think Glastonbury is looking great this year but often it's the acts you don't know and discover at a festival that make it special.
A: The line-up for Glastonbury looks great, but I’m also excited about Womad.

Finally, where else can we see you play this summer?
R: We'll also be at Cornbury, Larmer Tree, Lattitude, Truck, Port Eliot, Chagstock, Womad, Cambridge, Wickham, Summer Sundae, Green Man, V Festivals and Shrewsbury.

Bellowhead play the Leftfield stage at 9pm at Glastonbury tonight (Sunday 26th June)