Emily Eavis says Jay-Z was one of the most down-to-earth acts to have performed at Glastonbury.
The hip-hop superstar headlined the world-famous festival in 2008 and while the decision caused outrage is some parts, the organiser – daughter of Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis – insists the rapper and wife Beyonce Knowles behaved impeccably, despite their A-list status.
She said: "Often bands come n with ridiculous requests for passes for their entourage, but Jay-Z only asked for 18. Sometimes you get artists asking for Fiji water or special champagne – but no, none of that. They got totally stuck in. He came with the right attitude. That weekend, Jay-Z and Beyonce needed nothing extra."
When she booked Jay-Z, Emily was widely criticised but luckily her decision paid off because his performance was deemed as a huge success.
She said: "I took a massive risk and broke from the mould by booking Jay-Z in 2008. I'd been involved with helping to book bands for years but that year everyone said, 'What the hell is she doing bringing hip-hop to this lovely guitar-based festival? Damn this young upstart woman.'
As soon as you do something a bit different like Jay-Z, that becomes your trademark – all the criticism on me."
Jay-Z's wife Beyonce is set to headline this year's festival, along with U2 and Coldplay.
Glastonbury 2011 takes place from June 24-26 at Worthy Farm in Somerset, South East England.
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