Damon Albarn calls on Glastonbury crowd to vote during Bombay Bicycle Club appearance

Damon Albarn made a surprise appearance during Bombay Bicycle Club‘s Glastonbury set this afternoon, where he delivered an impassioned speech about the importance of voting.

The Blur icon joined the London group onstage to perform ‘Tender’ by his own band, as well as ‘Heaven’ – which featured on Bombay Bicycle Club’s 2023 album My Big Day.

The performance of that first track saw Damon encourage the Glastonbury goers to use their vote ahead of next week’s General Election, where all signs are pointing to an overwhelming Labour Party victory against the Conservatives.

“Three things. You have to show me how you feel about it,” he said mid-song.

“Palestine. Do you feel that’s an unfair war? The importance of voting next week. Now I don’t blame you for being ambivalent about that, but it’s still really important. Thirdly, maybe it’s time we stopped putting octogenarians in charge of the world.”

Speaking to Sky News beforehand, Bombay Bicycle Club also admitted that the performance had been an last-minute decision, with an hour-long rehearsal beforehand.

“We were never expecting to have him on the record or to be playing a show with him, but… we just kind of asked, and he was really up for it,” they said.

“You don’t ask, you don’t get.”

The band’s guitarist Jamie MacColl had previously confirmed to Radio X that they would be joined during their Other Stage set by a featured guest from that album.

The reputable Glastonbury rumours Twitter/X account @secretglasto then fuelled the fire of the rumours, tweeting that the special guest “could make Bombay Bicycle Club’s set go by in a Blur.”

Elsewhere at Glastonbury 2024, Tame Impala‘s Kevin Parker will also play a secret set at the festival tonight.

You can check back here for all of Rolling Stone UK’s Glastonbury content over the weekend.