Duran Duran refuse to play Glastonbury unless they can headline

Duran Duran have said they will not play at Glastonbury unless they are one of the headliners.

The new wave synthpop band have sold over 100 million records, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and won Grammy and Brit Awards, but they have never played at the Worthy Farm festival.

In a new interview with The Sunday Times, frontman Simon Le Bon has discussed the reason that they have never played on the Pyramid Stage or on any of the other Glastonbury stages.

“Well, we want to – but not in a disco tent at 3pm, which is what we were offered,” he said. “We want the right slot… We shouldn’t be below anybody on the bill. So, we’ll hold out because we’re a headline act – that’s all there is to it.”

In 2023, the band expressed similar sentiments when speaking to NME about the chances of them playing Glastonbury. “I’d love to [do it] – we just need to get the right slot, that’s all,” Le Bon said.

“We have had the chance to do it before, but it wasn’t playing the main stage and I think we’d like to be doing that for sure,” he added. “I’m sure we’re in negotiations [with Glastonbury], and if not, we will be.”

Duran Duran’s last live dates in the UK were in October 2025, when they headlined major indoor arenas – Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena and Manchester’s Co-op Live. They headlined the closing night of Latitude 2024, and also played at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.

2026 is a fallow year for Glastonbury, but it will return in 2027 from June 23 to 27. Tickets will go on sale in November this year and music fans are required to register before tickets go on sale.

No names have been announced for the festival yet, but Sam Fender, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift are among the bookies’ favourites to top the bill. There is also speculation that The Rolling Stones could return to Worthy Farm next year, with Keith Richards recently hinting that they will be hitting the road in 2027.

Duran Duran released their new single ‘Free To Love’ in April, reuniting them with Chic’s Nile Rodgers, with whom they have worked since the chart-topping ‘The Reflex’ in 1984. They are also set to play a huge show at BST Hyde Park on July 5, with Scissor Sisters also on the bill.