Michael Eavis: Difference between revisions
imported>Citation bot Added date. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Abductive | Category:People educated at Wells Cathedral School | #UCB_Category 20/22 |
imported>Martinevans123 |
||
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
| image = Coldplay Glasto24 290624 (224) (53838030769) (cropped).jpg | | image = Coldplay Glasto24 290624 (224) (53838030769) (cropped).jpg | ||
| caption = Eavis in June 2024 | | caption = Eavis in June 2024 | ||
| birth_name = | | birth_name = Athelston Joseph Michael Eavis | ||
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1935|10|17}} | | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1935|10|17}} | ||
| birth_place = [[Pilton, Somerset]], England, UK | | birth_place = [[Pilton, Somerset]], England, UK | ||
| Line 22: | Line 22: | ||
| children = 5, including [[Emily Eavis]] | | children = 5, including [[Emily Eavis]] | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Sir | '''Sir Athelston Joseph Michael Eavis''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}} (born 17 October 1935) is an English dairy farmer and the co-creator of the [[Glastonbury Festival]], which takes place at his farm in [[Pilton, Somerset]]. | ||
== Personal life == | == Personal life == | ||
| Line 36: | Line 36: | ||
In 1969, Eavis and his second wife Jean visited the [[Bath Festival of Blues]]. Inspired by seeing the performance of [[Led Zeppelin]], Eavis hosted the Pilton Pop Folk & Blues Festival in 1970. The following year a free festival, Glastonbury Fayre, was organised by [[Andrew Kerr (festival co-founder)|Andrew Kerr]] and associates. It later developed into Glastonbury Festival.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/andrew-kerr-writer-and-festival-organiser-the-man-who-helped-make-glastonbury-festival-a-stunning-9783179.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311131614/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/andrew-kerr-writer-and-festival-organiser-the-man-who-helped-make-glastonbury-festival-a-stunning-9783179.html |archive-date=11 March 2016|url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Andrew Kerr, writer and festival organiser: The man who helped make Glastonbury Festival a stunning success|last=Williamson|first=Marcus|date=8 October 2014|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|accessdate=29 August 2020}}</ref> | In 1969, Eavis and his second wife Jean visited the [[Bath Festival of Blues]]. Inspired by seeing the performance of [[Led Zeppelin]], Eavis hosted the Pilton Pop Folk & Blues Festival in 1970. The following year a free festival, Glastonbury Fayre, was organised by [[Andrew Kerr (festival co-founder)|Andrew Kerr]] and associates. It later developed into Glastonbury Festival.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/andrew-kerr-writer-and-festival-organiser-the-man-who-helped-make-glastonbury-festival-a-stunning-9783179.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311131614/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/andrew-kerr-writer-and-festival-organiser-the-man-who-helped-make-glastonbury-festival-a-stunning-9783179.html |archive-date=11 March 2016|url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Andrew Kerr, writer and festival organiser: The man who helped make Glastonbury Festival a stunning success|last=Williamson|first=Marcus|date=8 October 2014|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|accessdate=29 August 2020}}</ref> | ||
In 2010, [[Glastonbury Festival 2010|the festival's 40th year]], | In 2010, [[Glastonbury Festival 2010|the festival's 40th year]], Eavis appeared on the main stage at the festival with headline artist [[Stevie Wonder]], to sing the chorus of the latter's "[[Happy Birthday (Stevie Wonder song)|Happy Birthday]]". | ||
== Political activity == | == Political activity == | ||
| Line 52: | Line 52: | ||
== Charitable work == | == Charitable work == | ||
<!-- [[File:Michael Eavis 2021.jpg|thumb|upright|Michael Eavis in 2021]] image needed? --> | <!-- [[File:Michael Eavis 2021.jpg|thumb|upright|Michael Eavis in 2021]] image needed? --> | ||
[[File:Michael Eavis' Wellington Boots.jpg|thumb|right|A pair of Eavis's [[Wellington boots]] on display at the [[Museum of English Rural Life]] in [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]]]] | |||
Eavis has apportioned profits from his Glastonbury Festival to support charitable causes, including local projects such as the restoration of the [[Tithe Barn, Pilton]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset/glastonbury2003/04/tithe_barn.shtml|title=Michael Eavis talks|work=BBC Somerset|publisher=BBC|access-date=2 November 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/news/+12thcenturytithe/index.html|title=12th Century Tithe Barn Restored with the Help of the Festival|date=29 April 2009|publisher=Glastonbury Festival|access-date=2 November 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204151544/http://archive.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/news/+12thcenturytithe/index.html|archive-date=4 December 2008}}</ref> In November 2008, during an appearance on the [[BBC Radio 4]] programme ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'', Eavis stated that the Festival could never lose its licence due to the contribution it makes to the local economy.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7757380.stm | title=Glastonbury licence 'is assured' | date= 30 November 2008 |work= [[BBC News]] | access-date= 30 November 2008}}</ref> | Eavis has apportioned profits from his Glastonbury Festival to support charitable causes, including local projects such as the restoration of the [[Tithe Barn, Pilton]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset/glastonbury2003/04/tithe_barn.shtml|title=Michael Eavis talks|work=BBC Somerset|publisher=BBC|access-date=2 November 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/news/+12thcenturytithe/index.html|title=12th Century Tithe Barn Restored with the Help of the Festival|date=29 April 2009|publisher=Glastonbury Festival|access-date=2 November 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204151544/http://archive.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/news/+12thcenturytithe/index.html|archive-date=4 December 2008}}</ref> In November 2008, during an appearance on the [[BBC Radio 4]] programme ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'', Eavis stated that the Festival could never lose its licence due to the contribution it makes to the local economy.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7757380.stm | title=Glastonbury licence 'is assured' | date= 30 November 2008 |work= [[BBC News]] | access-date= 30 November 2008}}</ref> | ||
| Line 59: | Line 60: | ||
== Honours and tributes == | == Honours and tributes == | ||
Eavis holds honorary degrees from the [[University of Bath]] (Doctor of Arts ''honoris causa'', 2004)<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael Eavis – Honorary Graduates – December 2004|url=http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/archive/2004/12/10/hon04-eavis.html|publisher=University of Bath|access-date=2 July 2014}}</ref> and the [[University of Bristol]] (Master of Arts ''honoris causa'', 2006).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cms/go/hon-degree/Feb/feb-eavis.html |title=Bristol University | Public and Ceremonial Events Office | Honorary degrees |publisher=University of Bristol |date=5 June 2014 |access-date=29 June 2014}}</ref> In the [[2007 Queen's Birthday Honours]], he was appointed [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) for services to music.<ref name="londgazette">{{London Gazette |issue=58358 |date=16 June 2007 |supp=y |page=7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Alex |date=19 June 2022 |title=Michael and Emily Eavis: The father-daughter driving force behind Glastonbury |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/michael-emily-eavis-father-daughter-230100410.html |access-date=25 June 2023 |website=[[Yahoo News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/DO8fIF8K5b4BtUv8c0oQHppVKM4/appointments | title=Athelston Joseph Michael EAVIS personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6758183.stm |title=Rushdie and Eavis lead honours |work=BBC News |date=15 June 2007}}</ref> He was appointed [[Knight Bachelor]] in the [[2024 New Year Honours]] for services to music and charity.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=64269 |date=30 December 2023 |page=N2 |supp=y}}</ref> | |||
Eavis holds honorary degrees from the [[University of Bath]] (Doctor of Arts ''honoris causa'', 2004)<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael Eavis – Honorary Graduates – December 2004|url=http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/archive/2004/12/10/hon04-eavis.html|publisher=University of Bath|access-date=2 July 2014}}</ref> and the [[University of Bristol]] (Master of Arts ''honoris causa'', 2006).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cms/go/hon-degree/Feb/feb-eavis.html |title=Bristol University | Public and Ceremonial Events Office | Honorary degrees |publisher=University of Bristol |date=5 June 2014 |access-date=29 June 2014}}</ref> In the [[2007 Queen's Birthday Honours]], he was appointed [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) for services to music.<ref name=londgazette /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6758183.stm |title=Rushdie and Eavis lead honours |work=BBC News |date=15 June 2007}}</ref> He was appointed [[Knight Bachelor]] in the [[2024 New Year Honours]] for services to music and charity.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=64269 |date=30 December 2023 |page=N2 |supp=y}}</ref> | |||
In 2009 Eavis was nominated by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410_1894289_1894264,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503144919/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410_1894289_1894264,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 May 2009|title=Time magazine Eavis Listing|magazine=Time|access-date=11 June 2009 | date=30 April 2009}}</ref> In 2012, he was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from the [[University for the Creative Arts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/news/2012/july/honorary-degrees-2012|title=UCA – News|access-date=1 August 2014|archive-date=19 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519114152/http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/news/2012/july/honorary-degrees-2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> | In 2009 Eavis was nominated by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410_1894289_1894264,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503144919/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410_1894289_1894264,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 May 2009|title=Time magazine Eavis Listing|magazine=Time|access-date=11 June 2009 | date=30 April 2009}}</ref> In 2012, he was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from the [[University for the Creative Arts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/news/2012/july/honorary-degrees-2012|title=UCA – News|access-date=1 August 2014|archive-date=19 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519114152/http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/news/2012/july/honorary-degrees-2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> | ||
Latest revision as of 09:40, 30 June 2025
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Main otherScript error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Template:Wikidata image Sir Athelston Joseph Michael Eavis Template:Post-nominals (born 17 October 1935) is an English dairy farmer and the co-creator of the Glastonbury Festival, which takes place at his farm in Pilton, Somerset.
Personal life
Eavis was born in Pilton, Somerset[1] on 17 October 1935,[2] and grew up at Worthy Farm in the village. His father was a dairy farmer and also a Methodist local preacher, and his mother a school teacher. Eavis was educated at Wells Cathedral School, followed by the Thames Nautical Training College in Greenhithe, Kent, after which he joined the Union-Castle Line, part of the British Merchant Navy, as a trainee midshipman. His plan was to spend twenty years at sea, and return with a pension to help subsidise the income from the family farm.
After his father died when Eavis was 19, he inherited the family farm of Template:Convert and 60 cows.[3] He worked at Mendip Colliery at Nettlebridge or New Rock colliery at Stratton-on-the-Fosse on the Somerset Coalfield for a couple of years to help supplement the income from the farm.[4][5]
Eavis and his first wife Ruth had three children, Juliet, Rebecca and Jane, but divorced in 1964.[3] He next married Jean Hayball, with whom he had a son, Patrick, and a daughter, Emily. Jean died of cancer in 1999, and Eavis has since married his third wife, Liz.[3] In common with his parents and second wife, Eavis remains a practising Methodist,[6] although he has also stated that he is "not really bothered" about the existence of God.[7] He is a teetotaler and does not smoke.[3]
Glastonbury Festival
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".
In 1969, Eavis and his second wife Jean visited the Bath Festival of Blues. Inspired by seeing the performance of Led Zeppelin, Eavis hosted the Pilton Pop Folk & Blues Festival in 1970. The following year a free festival, Glastonbury Fayre, was organised by Andrew Kerr and associates. It later developed into Glastonbury Festival.[8]
In 2010, the festival's 40th year, Eavis appeared on the main stage at the festival with headline artist Stevie Wonder, to sing the chorus of the latter's "Happy Birthday".
Political activity
Eavis has credited a number of influences for his political views, including traditions of nonconformity in his family, as well as his time as a miner, during which he was a member of the National Union of Mineworkers.[4] During the early 1980s he was involved in establishing a local branch of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and subsequently agreed to make the Glastonbury Festival a fundraiser for CND, as it was from 1981 to 1987.[9][10]
After recovering from stomach cancer, Eavis stood as a candidate for the Labour Party in the 1997 general election in Wells, polling 10,204 votes.[11] In 2004, however, he suggested that disillusioned Labour voters should switch their vote to the Green Party in protest at the Iraq War,[12] though he returned to supporting the Labour Party in 2010.[13]
In 2005, Eavis was quoted in The Guardian as being a supporter of hunting. "I don't hunt myself, but I support the people who want to hunt. With all that's going on in the world, it was outrageous to ban it."[14] In 2006, he was appointed as President of the Somerset Chamber of commerce and Industry.[15]
In 2011, Eavis was quoted as lamenting the decline in political activity associated with the Glastonbury Festival.[16] He was guest editor of the Western Daily Press newspaper on Glastonbury's 'fallow' weekend, 23 June 2012.[17]
Eavis invited Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to appear at the 2017 festival, introducing the Run the Jewels' set. Eavis supported Corbyn's anti-nuclear and anti-austerity policies, saying "he's got something new and precious, and people are excited about it. He really is the hero of the hour."[18]
Charitable work
Eavis has apportioned profits from his Glastonbury Festival to support charitable causes, including local projects such as the restoration of the Tithe Barn, Pilton.[19][20] In November 2008, during an appearance on the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs, Eavis stated that the Festival could never lose its licence due to the contribution it makes to the local economy.[21]
In 2009, Eavis starred in a short film to promote Somerset, commissioned by Inward Investment Agency Into Somerset.[22]
Eavis served as vice-president (alongside Rebecca Pow MP) of Somerset Wildlife Trust until June 2018: he stepped down following an online petition criticising his support for badger culling. In response to the petition, Eavis claimed that signatories "probably live in Kensington" and had "never seen a badger".[23]
Honours and tributes
Eavis holds honorary degrees from the University of Bath (Doctor of Arts honoris causa, 2004)[24] and the University of Bristol (Master of Arts honoris causa, 2006).[25] In the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to music.[26][27][28][29] He was appointed Knight Bachelor in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to music and charity.[30]
In 2009 Eavis was nominated by Time magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.[31] In 2012, he was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from the University for the Creative Arts.[32]
In 2015 train operator First Great Western named High Speed Train powercar 43026 Michael Eavis.[33] After this was withdrawn, 802013 was named after him in April 2019.[34]
Eavis was awarded the Freedom of the Town of Glastonbury on 3 May 2022.[35]
In early 2024 Eavis was knighted at Windsor Castle, by the Princess Royal, for services to music and charity.[36]
See also
- Max Yasgur, American farmer who hosted the Woodstock Festival in 1969
References
External links
Template:Glastonbury Festival Template:Historic rock festival Template:Authority control
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Template:London Gazette
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Template:London Gazette
- ↑ Template:Cite magazine
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Train to Glastonbury named after festival founder Michael Eavis. NME, 23 April 2015
- ↑ Wrong IET set at Castle Cary for Glastonbury event founder naming The Railway Magazine issue 1418, May 2019. Page 106
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- Pages with script errors
- Pages with broken file links
- 1935 births
- Living people
- British Merchant Navy officers
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- 21st-century English farmers
- English Methodists
- Glastonbury Festival
- Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates
- People educated at Wells Cathedral School
- People from Mendip District
- Dairy farmers
- Music promoters
- English patrons of music
- Knights Bachelor