Were the Stone Roses Demoted for Blur to Headline Coachella’s Second Weekend?
Britain's Stone Roses may be best known for their 1989 modern rock hit "I Wanna Be Adored," but apparently during the first weekend of this year's Coachella Music Festival, they weren't adored quite enough.
The turnout for the band's headlining set last Friday night (April 12) was noticeably thinner than the crowds that turned out for the weekend's other headliners. In fact, fellow reunited '90s Brit-rockers Blur pulled a larger and more enthusiastic crowd. With that the case, the bands have swapped spots for this Friday's fest (April 19), leading some to assume that the Stone Roses had been demoted from the headlining spot.
[Photos: Coachella Staple: The Surprise Guest]
However, Paul Tollet, president of Coachella promoter Goldenvoice, told Rolling Stone that's not the case. It was also planned to have the two acts switch spots over the two weekends all along.
"When the [lineup] poster came out, when we announced the show, each weekend's poster was different," Tollet said. "The first weekend said 'Stone Roses/Blur' and the second weekend said 'Blur/Stone Roses.' This was planned from day one. It was a dual bill and we'd flip-flop them." He added, "There's not a chance I could take a headliner and demote them."
[Photos: Musicians Tear Up Coachella 2013 Weekend 1]
The move will likely have Blur fans singing "woo-hoo" from that band's biggest hit, "Song 2," while the Stone Roses, who hail from Manchester -- the same town as Blur's late, great Brit-pop rivals Oasis -- will still wanna be adored. They'll just be looking for love a little earlier.