When Florence and the Machine were elevated last week to the top of the bill at the Glastonbury festival, a pressing concern in the music industry seemed to have been answered: here was a female performer headlining a major festival, appeasing critics who complained that British festivals were such a male-dominated zone.
But does the unexpected upgrade - after injury caused Foo Fighters to pull out - in fact underline a continuing failure in the vision of music promoters, who stand accused of believing that only big-name male rock stars can sell tickets in big numbers? After all, it is 16 years since a band with a female lead - Skunk Anansie - last took a headline spot on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury.
Figures collated by the Observer this weekend suggest there is a way to go before women operate on a level festival field. Across Britain's major summer music events, only three predominantly female acts - apart from Florence and the Machine - are booked at the top of the bill. This compares with 50 acts of similar status that are male-led.
At festivals from the Isle of Wight to Latitude, Creamfields, V, Bestival, Reading and Leeds, T in the Park and Womad, the key female acts are Portishead, featuring singer and lyricist Beth Gibbons, Fleetwood Mac, featuring Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie, and Patti Smith. Festivalgoers searching for another woman at the top of a bill must wait for August and the Green Man festival in the Brecon Beacons or Wilderness in Oxfordshire -- to see St Vincent or Bjork respectively.
