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Who will replace Foo Fighters at Glastonbury 2015? From Florence and the Machine to Taylor Swift - we assess the possibilities

Dave Grohl breaking his leg has opened up the Friday slot to another band

Jess Denham
Wednesday 17 June 2015 12:20 BST
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Foo Fighters were booked to headline Glastonbury 2015 on Friday night but cancelled after Dave Grohl broke his leg
Foo Fighters were booked to headline Glastonbury 2015 on Friday night but cancelled after Dave Grohl broke his leg (Getty Images)

Dave Grohl has gone and broken his leg, so it's a sad farewell to the Foo Fighters at Glastonbury next week and a big hello to the yet-to-be-announced new headliner.

The frontman fell off stage in Sweden last weekend and despite bravely continuing with that gig, the rockers have now cancelled their upcoming shows on doctor's orders.

This leaves a gaping dark hole on the Pyramid Stage for Friday 26 June so, while we're waiting for official news on a Foos replacement, let's take a lot at the strongest contenders to make a last minute dash to Worthy Farm.

Florence + the Machine

Florence Welch and her crew are the obvious choice as they were down to perform just before the Foos. Her new album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful went to number one earlier this month and the band are known for their energetic and dramatic live shows.

Giving Florence top billing would be far less of a headache for Emily Eavis and she'd have some sympathy for Grohl too after breaking her foot at Coachella in April.

Blur

The Brit-poppers are fresh off the back of their Isle of Wight Festival headline show last weekend and are playing London's Hyde Park this week but the Glastonbury date is currently free in their diaries. After their great Pyramid Stage set in 2009, the Eavises may well have their eye on Damon Albarn and co.

The Strokes

(PA)

Julian Casablancas and his New York rockers are in the UK ready to play London's Hyde Park on Thursday so could potentially stick around and nab the Foos' set-time, especially as their calendar looks clear until September afterwards.

Taylor Swift

Should Glastonbury bosses announce that the Queen of Pop will be taking over from the Foos, there will inevitably be a backlash from those wanting to see a rock act. If there were online petitions against Kanye West on Saturday, it doesn't really bear thinking about. Taylor plays British Summertime the night after the "blank space" (we know, we're hilarious) so will be in the UK, but we're unconvinced that she'll be invited.

Kings of Leon

These boys are experienced headliners and rocked Glastonbury before in 2008. Logistically it seems possible that they could fill in as there is no gig listed for that night on their website. However, they are on the line-up for Milwaukee's Summerfest the night before so a lot of beer would be needed to beat the jet lag.

Kanye West

Yes we know he's already booked to headline Glastonbury on the Saturday night. But doing two nights in a row didn't stop him before - he stepped in when Drake had to pull out of last year's O2 Wireless Festival meaning the crowds got a double dose of Yeezus.

Other rumours

The internet is keen for Fleetwood Mac to take up the baton after their hit headline slot at the Isle of Wight Festival last Sunday. Unfortunately they have a London O2 Arena gig scheduled for the same night - ditching one group of fans to play for another may not go down too well.

Muse is a no-go as Matt Bellamy's group are headlining Sweden's Bravalla Festival on the same night and Ed Sheeran just isn't going to happen either. The "Thinking Out Loud" singer is playing a string of shows in San Francisco before returning to the UK for his three Wembley Stadium gigs next month.

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