Springsteen leads Glastonbury line-up

The line-up for this year's Glastonbury festival, announced on Sunday, looks like a list of worthies from the rock'n'roll hall of fame. After the high-risk decision last year to invite rapper Jay-Z, the organisers have played safe this time with Bruce Springsteen (above left), Neil Young and Status Quo all set to play at the end-of-June Somerset extravaganza.

Also on the list of acts booked are: Lily Allen, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Tom Jones, Blur, Echo and the Bunnymen - and even the Abba tribute band, Bjorn Again.

Festival organiser Emily Eavis, daughter of the festival founder Michael Eavis, acknowledged there would be criticism of the conservative line-up, but said: "Featuring Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen in one weekend was a choice that surprised many. But we had a chance to get both performers and we had to take it."

She was keen to point out that Glastonbury hasn't totally severed its new ties with hip-hop. "There will be performances from Dizzee Rascal, the Streets and N.E.R.D, so we haven't ignored that area of music at all," she said.

Last year's slow ticket sales - which were put down to the choice of Jay-Z as well as the bad weather - are a thing of the past. Tickets for the June 25-28 festival went on sale in October and were sold out by April.

As for the famous Glastonbury mud, the weather forecast promises a weekend of scorching sun.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:

Peter Robinson, founder of music website Popjustice: The top three bands are all heritage acts, which is a bit of a shame. As great as they are, you can't say that their best is yet to come. But this is Glastonbury, you have 100,000 people in a field and you have to find a way of keeping them happy. Bruce Springsteen is one of a handful of artists who has what it takes to headline Glastonbury.

Conor McNicholas, editor of NME, writing in the Guardian: There is a bit of an old vibe going on but equally the lineup is a real triumph of British bands like Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party and there is plenty of new stuff. You could argue Neil Young is a bit of a punt for something on this scale, but I don't think there is any doubt Blur on Sunday will blow everyone away. I don't think having Bruce Springsteen as the headline act rather than a rapper like Jay Z is a sign the festival is backtracking, they are just doing what Glastonbury do.