Getting back to its roots: Glasto rekindles its radical twist

Glastonbury in its early days was a hotbed for the radical youth of Britain. Not only was it a place to celebrate music, drugs, poor quality canvas A-frame tents and men in shorts far to short, it was a place to feel connected to those politicised all around.

Over the years, commercialisation has set in, with ticket prices sky-rocketing almost as quickly as its security fences. The days of free love and most importantly, free music are over. All the hippie clothing of this bygone era we so loved, is now sold at stalls with names such as 'Namaste' and 'Ethfunkal trading' selling dubiously traded shirts from Nepal for £20 a piece.

But this year, it looks like we will get a chance to relive those moments from the 1980s when the festival used to be organised in conjunction with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) - when nuclear apocalypse was all the rage. For this year, the festival is to be joined by a new protest movement - UK Uncut. Loved by the Guardian, students and many, many bloggers, UK Uncut have used a quasi-circus sit-in tactic as a valuable tool of protest to highlight those banks, businesses and shops that are really rather good at getting around paying their taxes. Do check them out, they really are cool.

Their targets have really been an eclectic mix. First it was Vodafone, then Barclays, Fortnum and Mason and now, last of all, U2. The Irish band moved their company to Holland in order to avoid paying taxes. The hypocrisy involved in this act, when Bono goes on and on with his chum Bob Geldof about feeding the world, and making sure everyone is aware that it's the winter solstice, now appears to be making as much money as he can out of the summer solstice instead.

So, Glastonbury becomes political once more. It's a nuanced difference, being once a place where everyone on stage would be shouting 'Free Nelson Mandela' and 'No More Vietnam,' Glasto now awaits the politicised heckling itself.

Oh how the Frankenstein analogy never stays long in the cliche cupboard.

Should we be surprised to see this political moment turned on its head? No. We'd be kidding ourselves to say that Glastonbury is any iota of its former self. We should praise UK Uncut, not just for being a fantastic reminder that banks, corporations and indeed rock bands should be accountable to their citizens, but making us really consider what's behind the paint work of the festival movement in the UK.