Sex, drugs and . . . Pistols get ready to picnic

Hot guitar licks: model Jenny Lee surrounded by flames from fire breathing mechanical horse at the Electric Picnic launch yesterday.
Photograph: Bryan O'Brien

PUNK LEGENDS The Sex Pistols are to headline the Electric Picnic festival - making it the first time the band has played in Ireland.

The Pistols, whose influence was much greater than their musical output, were confirmed for this year's Electric Picnic the day before last year's festival got under way, according to the promoter John Reynolds.

They will headline on the last night of the festival and will feature the original line-up of Johnny Rotten (aka Lydon), Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Glen Matlock, who was replaced by Sid Vicious.

The Sex Pistols broke up in 1978 after a short but tempestuous career which spawned two studio albums, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols and The Great Rock and Roll Swindle, but influenced the course of popular music forever. They reformed for the Filthy Lucre tour in 1996 and have had several tours since.

Though they have never played Ireland before, Lydon's parents are Irish and his autobiography, No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs, details his Irish-Catholic upbringing in north London.

"I think the irony of all this will be when The Sex Pistols get on stage to sing God Save the Queen to 32,000 Irish people," said Reynolds. "That will be a seminal moment."

Another reformed band, My Bloody Valentine, will also play the last night of the Electric Picnic. Their 1991 album, Loveless, was recently judged the best Irish album of all time by a panel of Irish Times music critics. "We have to keep the music critics of The Irish Times happy. That is our role in life," Reynolds joked.

"There are a couple of acts that you go bald-headed to get and My Bloody Valentine were probably the top of that list."

He said that while these bands may be regarded as nostalgic acts by some, they are "very relevant" to the Electric Picnic audience which ranges from 17 to about 40.

"Luckily for the last four years, we have got the audience profile we wanted and we are very particular on the acts that we book," he said.

Other acts confirmed for this year's festival include Scottish pop- rock act Franz Ferdinand, Welsh Motown throwback Duffy, electro-pop band Goldfrapp, Nick Cave's Grinderman side project and Christy Moore (making his first appearance at the festival). The eclectic line-up hosts a jazz and world music stage for the first time this year.

This fifth staging of the Electric Picnic takes place over three days in Stradbally Hall, Co Laois, on August 29th, 30th and 31st. The festival has expanded from a five-acre site to a 600-acre spread and its reputation has blossomed. It was recently voted by Billboard magazine in the US to be the fifth-best music festival in the world.

It has become just as well known for its non-musical diversions.

Along with the perennial Body and Soul Village, art installations, Poetry Tent, International Comedy Club and Fossetts Circus, this year there will be a "cooking stage" featuring Rachel Allen, Dylan McGrath (of Mint restaurant) and Kevin Thornton (of Thornton's restaurant), and a special camping site for families.

Tickets, €240 for a three-day pass, go on sale tomorrow morning. Reynolds said the price was reasonable given the scale of activities on offer.

"There are 183 acts over three days," he said. "We could bring Electric Picnic up to 50,000 or 60,000 and reduce the ticket prices to €190 but we don't want to do that. We think it is extremely good value."

The Breeders, Wilco, the Tindersticks, Underworld and CSS will also play at the event.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times