Ed Harcourt on Glastonbury

Julien Temple (The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle) has been going to Glastonbury for years. Two years ago he amassed hundreds of hours of official documentary and private camcorder footage to make this kaleidoscopic portrait of Britain's best-loved festival. For an insider's view, Making Movies asked singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt, who played Glastonbury in 2002, what he thought of the film.

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What were your first impressions of the film?
It was a visual feast. My first reaction to the film was thinking how incredibly well edited it was. At the beginning, before you saw any pictures, you just heard the sound of someone squelching through mud, and I loved that. The opening talked about the origins of Glastonbury as a religious site in Celtic Britain and the legend of the Holy Grail and it made references to William Blake, and I liked that too. There was almost too much to take in so I'd like to see it again.

Are you familiar with Temple's other films?
Mainly The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle. I noticed how there were references in Glastonbury to his other films; it ends with Bowie's amazing gig, and Bowie of course was in Absolute Beginners, you see snippets of John Lydon and Sid Vicious, there is some great, very poignant footage of Joe Strummer on stage and backstage with his kids, I think he died soon afterwards.

Did it remind you of playing there?
It is almost entirely made up of images and song. Apart from the bands, there are some really extraordinary shots, mainly of mad people who dress up for the weekend. I loved the old guy who walks around as a butler with this one glass of wine on a tray. Is he on drugs? Probably not, he's just doing it for the fun of it. There are so many shots of people off their face and talking bollocks - that was another thing I remember. People talking at you like they have discovered E=Mc2 or the hidden secret to the meaning of the universe.

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