Tour of the Week - Wu Tang Clan - Tickets Onsale Now
Friday, 15 April 2011
Written by Rob Sleigh
Three years ago, Glastonbury Festival’s organisers announced New York rapper Jay-Z as one of the three Pyramid Stage headliners for their 2008 event. Despite Glastonbury’s long reputation for having one of the most musically diverse line-ups on the UK festival circuit, which has often seen them include hip-hop artists on the bill, the announcement proved somewhat controversial and a large number of people – most famously Noel Gallagher – slated the decision.
By the time Jay-Z’s Saturday night slot rolled around, the Somerset field was chock-a-block with revellers waiting to witness his unsurprisingly popular performance, which included a dismissive nod to Mr Gallagher. It didn’t change Glastonbury as we know it, but it certainly made a few thousand people’s evening. Last year, the festival organisers repeated the move by adding legendary West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg to the Pyramid Stage line-up. Despite only having a modest afternoon slot, compared to Jay-Z’s bill-topping appearance, the result was largely the same and anyone who watched Snoop’s sunny Friday performance will be able to confirm that he was probably one of the most sought-after acts of the weekend.
So, contradictory to the opinions of those that disapproved with Jay-Z’s inclusion in 2008, it would seem that Glastonbury does in fact love hip-hop. Following this week’s line-up announcement, they don’t appear to be ending this new tradition anytime soon. The big Pyramid Stage hip-hop act for 2011 is the one-and-only – or should that be the eight-and-only – Wu Tang Clan. That’s right – sandwiched between blues legend BB King and Northern Ireland indie-rockers Two Door Cinema Club on the Friday afternoon, the NYC rap octet will be taking to the stage at the Worthy Farm event. In addition to this, the group have just announced a series of headlining dates ahead of the festival.
Wu Tang Clan – comprising of members RZA, GZA, Raekwon, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Masta Killa and the late, great Ol’ Dirty Bastard – were formed in New York City in 1992, a year prior to the release of their classic debut ‘Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)’. Although the group have only released five albums to date, which have included their most well-known singles like ‘C.R.E.A.M.’, ‘Protect Ya Neck’ and the 2001 Top 10 hit ‘Gravel Pit’, the Wu Tang name has launched the solo careers of several of its members and has spawned a number of side projects.
In 2004, following a series of widely-publicised legal troubles and drugs-related issues, founding member Ol’ Dirty Bastard collapsed and died in RZA’s recording studio at the age of 35. His death was later found to have been caused by an accidental drug overdose. Initially, ODB’s tragic death threw the future of the Wu Tang Clan into doubt. However, the group returned in 2007 to release their fifth album ‘8 Diagrams’, their first in six years.
June Live Dates
June 11 - London HMV Forum
June 12 - London HMV Forum
June 13 - Birmingham HMV Institute
June 14 - Edinburgh HMV Picture House
June 15 - Manchester Academy 1
June 24 – Glastonbury Festival
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