Mark Ronson's Verdict

On Amy Winehouse, The Zutons and performing with Lily Allen at Glasto

30 June 2008 - Mark Ronson played twice at this year's Glastonbury festival, his own guest star-studded slot and he turned up at The Zutons' show on The Other Stage on Sunday evening, to play guitar on their track Valerie.

The band's frontman Dave McCabe paid tribute to the cover version by Ronson and Amy Winehouse, saying: "And guesting on this song, the person who actually made this song what it is, Mark Ronson."

Lily Allen guests

Mark Ronson had played his own show a bit earlier in the evening, with special guests including Daniel Merriweather, Candi Payne and a certain pink haired singer.

"I basically have been asking Lily for about two years to come up and do a show with us," she said. "She is such a Glastonbury kid, this is her twentieth year, and she just said, 'Yeah I'll stay and come'. So what if I had to pay for her chopper to fly her into Glastonbury on Thursday with her Louis Vuitton luggage, but the fact she stayed was brilliant."

Ronson went on to say it was very special for a number of reasons.

"We never played Littlest Things together and to do Oh My God, it was just a nice moment," said Ronson. "On a slightly sad note her grandmother died in the night, and I called her and said, 'If you don't wanna do it, I would never in a millon years ask you to do it.' And then she called me an hour later and said, 'My Grandmother would be so p*ssed if I didn't do it tonight'."

"It's a new Glastonbury" - Mark Ronson

The Winehouse 'punch'

Amy Winehouse managed to make headlines after her performance on Saturday night on the Pyramid Stage ended with her throwing a punch at a punter who apparently tried to grab her, in the front of the crowd.

Ronson says he has never been on the receiving end of one of Winehouse's punches, but he recognised it.
He said: "I remember that slap, like the one you used to get from your sister at the dinner table, with your Mom not looking. No I saw her peforming, she is back on form she was great."

The new Glastonbury

Ronson was also quick to state that this year's festival was a resounding success despite what people like Noel Gallagher might think.

He said: "Noel Gallagher has had a lot of issues with people performing, he said he didn't want hip hop at Glastonbury, he didn't want trumpets at Glastonbury. But here we are doing our jazz funk, it's a new Glastonbury."


Ruth Barnes