Solstice guitarist Andy Glass never expected to be playing for Queen Elizabeth II. His band emerged as the spliff-wielding hippie wing of the early 80s British prog revival, and had followed a fairly wayward path ever since. Yet there they were, in 2007, performing in front of the reigning monarch on a makeshift stage at the opening of Milton Keynes football team MK Dons’ brand new stadium, while jazz singer Cleo Laine waited to follow them.
“We’re essentially a Milton Keynes band and they wanted some local representation,” says Glass, whose Hawkwind-roadie ponytail and chilled stoner’s drawl match his band’s laidback but exploratory music. “God knows why they picked us though. But we were invited, and I thought, ‘Yep, definitely.’”
