Glastonbury 2014: Kaiser Chiefs kick off with surprise set on The Other Stage

A 'frantic start' to the musical extravaganza

The Kaiser Chiefs perform on The Other Stage, on the first official date of the Glastonbury Festival of Music and Performing Arts on Worthy Farm in Somerset

The rain stopped for just long enough this morning for Kaiser Chiefs to kick off Glastonbury Festival 2014 with a short, sharp blast of anthemic rock.

Sticking two fingers up at the sky the band’s front man Ricky Wilson dived out into the crowd to get the three-day festival of music off to a frantic start. As he charged up and down the stage to “I Predict a Riot” security had to hold him back before he called the crowd to help him banish the rain, which has been coming down in sharp bursts since Thursday afternoon.

The Other Stage seemed near capacity with mud-splattered festival goers eager for distraction from the rain, before the clouds broke briefly and Kaiser Chiefs launched into a rundown of their clap-along hits.

The bleary eyed crowed then enjoyed a series of singalongs to “Everyday I Love You Less and Less” and “Angry Mob”, firing them up for a long weekend of music ahead.

Meanwhile on the Pyramid Stage the oddly named Turtle Island - a 17-piece Japanese orchestra - started the fun with a relaxed set of tribal punk tunes, to a much smaller crowd.

Also performing on the Pyramid Stage later today will be Elbow, Lily Allen and Rudimental, while acts on other stages include Haim, MIA and Jurassic 5.