Simply the fest

“I like playing at festivals and I like the atmosphere, and I love it when you turn the corner and you see multi coloured tents for miles. It’s a good feeling,” says Morcheeba’s Paul Godfrey. “But I couldn’t be a punter. You just get so ripped off and the toilets are shit and everyone’s out of their brains. In theory, they’re quite good, but they’re obviously so commercial it kind of fucks it a bit really.”

Festival moments are high on today’s topic of conversation, considering the setting. Yup, we’re at Witnness, and Morcheeba are hours away from their Dance Tent stint, a show that was later lauded as one of the highlights of the weekend.

Although not much of a festival bloke himself, Paul has fond memories of one or two particular festival gigs, despite the traffic jams.

“The best and the worst at the same time was when we played at Glastonbury. We headlined the Jazz stage to about 40,000 people and they were all singing ‘Part Of The Process’. I got goosebumps – I wrote these words and these people were all singing them! It was quite an amazing experience. Once, we had Liam Gallagher standing at the side of the stage when we played in Portugal, we were on before Oasis, and he came up and said, ‘Ah love thaat fookin’ song ‘Part Of The Process’. It’s fookin’ brilliant man.’ That Glastonbury gig was a bit of a nightmare though because it took us eight hours to get onto the site and then eight hours to get back home, and we couldn’t get a tour bus because they all get booked like years in advance. It was kind of horrible. We had this great show and then either side of it was really jaded.”

Despite having attended more than his share, he still hasn’t (or rather won’t) indulge in the festival experience as a mere punter.

“I never went to a festival as a punter ’cos it’s like paying to stand in a concentration camp really, isn’t it?” he quips. “And I’ve been to so many festivals as a performer that I have no desire to go in my spare time. I go to gigs though, but festivals aren’t really about the music are they? Sure, it’s the reason that brings everyone together, but it’s more about big crowds of drunk people in a field. I’m actually quite introvert and shy and I don’t mix well in crowds so I usually steer clear.”

However, Paul still has wise words for those who long to frolic in the mud.

“There are a few festival essentials: waders, a personal portaloo and your own supply of clean drugs. That should do the trick.”