Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, Paul Weller and comedian Phil Jupitus fill out the bill for the event. Proceeds from the concert will go towards building special hospital units and services for teenagers with cancer.

Tickets are on sale for £25-£135 pounds, and are available through the usual ticketing agencies and online.

The future of the Glastonbury Festival is under threat as organiser Michael Eavis faces prosecution over the number of “gatecrashers” at this summer’s event. At a meeting on October 12, the local licensing authority voted in favour of prosecuting the festival for breach of license with Eavis and the local police force in attendance. This meeting followed extensive follow-up reports after the festival. Reports have suggested that there were as many as 100,000 fence jumpers, which is double the number of the licensed capacity for the festival.

While Glastonbury 2000 passed without any significant incidents, the authorities have said that they cannot turn a blind eye to this kind of breach of licence. If the case goes ahead, it could have severe consequences for Eavis.

Mendip environmental health officer Stephen Anderton told Pollstar: “The most significant breach of any public entertainment licence (PEL) is overcrowding – indoors and outdoors – and the consequent risks in terms of means of escape and crushing. A ‘normal’ breach of PEL results in a fine of £5,000, but a breach in maximum numbers results in the penalty increasing to £20,000 and/or six months imprisonment.”

However, he stressed that while it is not the intention of the council to “kill the festival,” it would send out a dangerous message if it didn’t take the recommendation for prosecution seriously. “Reflecting on the views expressed at the meeting,” said Anderton, “it is clear that members are very supportive of the festival and would like it to continue. But because of the breach of numbers, prosecution is inevitable.”

However, with Eavis’ record and standing in the community, it seems unlikely that he will face jail. A final decision on whether the prosecution will go ahead is expected next month. Some reports have quoted Eavis as saying he feels he is being victimised because of what happened at Roskilde this year.

Eavis was not available for a direct comment; however, Glastonbury spokesperson Dick Vernon told Pollstar: “We acknowledge that there were more people on the site than were wanted and we understand the local authority’s position that they felt the numbers were dangerously high.” He added that it’s business as usual regarding plans for next year’s festival. “We will definitely be putting in an application for a license for 2001 and we will accelerate the process and make sure that we meet the requirements.”

Nevertheless, it has, for many festival fans, become part of Glastonbury folklore to dodge security and get in over the fence. Despite higher ticket prices than ever, the demand for the 80,000 tickets each year is huge, fed by increasingly wide media coverage, and it will be a tough call to deter those who are determined to get in for free.

Ireland

Robbie Williams will play two shows at Dublin’s Landsdowne Road Stadium next summer. Tickets for the concert on July 6, 2001, went on sale October 14 and sold out within hours, so promoter MCD added a second show (July 7) almost immediately. Tickets for the second date were due to go on sale October 19. Williams started his sellout U.K. tour at the Birmingham NEC on October 9.

Spain

AC/DC, the legendary rock band from downunder, has confirmed a visit to Spain on its European tour. The band will arrive at the end of the current tour, and Angus Young and company will hit Madrid and Barcelona on December 10 and 14, respectively. Gay & Co. will promote this short tour that is sure to fill up the Madrid Sports Palace and the St. Jordi Hall in Barcelona. Tickets went on sale October 6.

In related news, a new DVD and video package titled No Bull Live was released October 9, depicting AC/DC’s historic visit to Madrid in 1996, which was filmed in the capital’s bullring.

Japan

For years, the underground club scene in Tokyo was a secret few foreigners knew, much less cared about. But with the worldwide explosion in electronic pop of all shapes and sizes, Tokyo’s underground has finally been recognized as one of the most innovative scenes on the planet, even if most of its finest artists come and go within the blink of an eye. Some of these musicians can be found on the irreplaceable 1994 Virgin compilation, Cosmic Karoshi Monsters, which included mostly avant-garde acts like Hoppy Kamiyama and the inevitable Boredoms.

Since then, there has been a lot of synergy between Tokyo club artists and Western counterparts who seek them out. In an interview with the Japan Times, Tony Herrington, the editor of England’s most forward-looking music magazine, The Wire, and the man who produced Karoshi, said that most of what he hears in the Japanese underground makes Western music sound dull.

In early November, The Wire will be returning the musical favor by bringing a group of underground artists to Japan for a small tour. Adventures in Modern Music: U.K. Alternative Music Selected by The Wire will include Paul Schutze, Simon Hopkins, Philip Jeck, and the Wire Sound System. The headliner will be Talvin Singh, a kind of superstar in London’s Asian underground, who will play an improvised solo tabla set. Japanese DJs will also participate.

In Tokyo (November 2), it will be Kaoru Inoue, considered Japan’s first ambient DJ who has since taken up the mantle of world music. In Osaka (3), it will be the Boredoms’ redoubtable leader, Eye Yamataka.

On a much bigger scale, English techno will be presented in all its over-ground glory at the Electraglide event, which will take place at the huge Makuhari Messe Convention Center in Chiba, about 30 minutes east of Tokyo November 24. The sold-out, all-night rave will feature Underworld, Orbital, Luke Slater, Two Lone Swordsmen, Richie Hawtin, and many more acts and DJs to be announced, including, undoubtedly, some Tokyo underground DJs, who are always invited to these things. After all, when in Rome … .