I realised that if I were to delve into the tattered remnants of Reading and Leeds festival memories, which is something I only do under duress and if absolutely necessary, like washing the car, then it isn’t really the performances that stand out. I remember my post-A-level Leeds for the burning lavatories, while as a music journalist at Reading, I recall trying to gently cajole a notoriously prickly member of an indie band into wearing a fake moustache for a photoshoot (he declined).
I can remember seeing bands I wanted to see, and bands I didn’t, and being disappointed and impressed in both scenarios. But I don’t think I have ever gone to a festival with the aim of seeing one act and one act alone.
Rage Against the Machine have had to pull out of their headline slot at next weekend’s Reading and Leeds, and other European shows, owing to “medical guidance” over an injury sustained by singer Zack de la Rocha. They have been replaced by the 1975, to the displeasure of some Rage fans, who, perhaps reasonably, have argued that, genre-wise, the swap is not like for like. After some initial confusion and a change.org petition, some fans have been issued refunds for their tickets.
Morally, though, should fans be entitled to get their money back if a headliner changes? Rage were playing their first UK shows in over a decade and if they are your favourite band, I can see why you might cough up for a day ticket just to see them. Ultimately, though, that’s a risk, because it isn’t a Rage Against the Machine show. It’s a festival, and there are other acts playing, and there is so much more to see and do. You’re paying for that, too. I am old now and therefore would rather have a root canal without anaesthetic than go to Reading or Leeds for the weekend – as it should be – but what a shame, not to be open to more than precisely what you expected to see.
Besides, genre is in such a state of chaos, with most acts borrowing bits from everywhere, that even on the traditionally rock/metal day that Rage were due to top, the lineup is still pretty broad, if not leaning towards pop. It was never going to be Download with Halsey or Bastille or Run the Jewels so high up on the bill. The other acts who pulled out to go to the MTV awards instead, though, are a different story. They should be paying for every one of their disappointed fans’ tickets from their own pockets.
Tom Kerridge: Critics, don’t bite the hand that feeds you
Last week, the chef Tom Kerridge, who owns Britain’s only pub with two Michelin stars, patiently and carefully explained to the Times why he could work to campaign against the shameful rise of child food poverty in the UK (along with Marcus Rashford) while also cooking and selling expensive food in his fancy restaurant.
He likened eating at The Hand and Flowers to a “ride in a Bentley” and gave a breakdown of the cost of good quality ingredients, qualified staff, overheads and VAT. The issue at hand, or at The Hand, is a steak and chips, for which he charges £87. (I’m salivating over the idea of its £26.50 strawberry and salted biscuit souffle, but each to their own.) Kerridge explained that he would be lucky to make a profit of £9 on the dish, most of which would be put back into the business anyway.
There is something snide and disingenuous about critics sneering that his food is expensive, as if that makes him a hypocrite in his campaigning work. The idea that he can’t fight for ordinary people to be able to afford to eat at all, while also having a restaurant that caters to people who can afford to splash out (and given that the rich are only getting richer, that seems like a sound business plan), is nonsense. But if the finger is pointed at Kerridge, then I suppose for a moment it isn’t pointing where it should be: at people for whom an £87 steak is nothing or at people who, like Liz Truss, insist on spending £1,400 of taxpayers’ money on a luxury lunch at a private club owned by a Tory party donor.
Mariah Carey: All she wants for Christmas is it all to herself
One of the many joys of Mariah Carey, and there are so many, is that whenever you think she has reached maximum Mariah, that the Mariah-meter has tipped into the red and is in danger of smashing the glass, she pushes it just that little bit further. Last year, Carey’s legal team filed a petition to trademark the title “Queen of Christmas”, which would mean that only she could use the phrase, arguing that her 1994 megahit All I Want For Christmas Is You means she is synonymous with the festive season.
The petition was made public in July, giving people the chance to object and, by Santa, did some other Queens of Christmas step forward to object. Songwriter Elizabeth Chan, who only releases Christmas-themed songs and albums, has filed a formal objection, while Darlene Love, of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) fame, said that David Letterman gave her the title Queen of Christmas 29 years ago and “at 81 years old I’m NOT changing anything”. If Carey’s petition were to succeed, it might end up being more Grinch-like than fairy at the top of the tree. Still, you can’t get more camp than trying to trademark Christmas.
• Rebecca Nicholson is an Observer columnist
