Glastonbury cheers `The Boss`, hails `The King`

Glastonbury, June 28: Rock legend Bruce Springsteen topped the bill at Britain`s Glastonbury music festival Saturday but the artists hailed the music of Michael Jackson as inspirational.American rapper Pharrell Williams told the crowd gathered on farmland in southwest England that Jackson had "opened the door for human beings to explore a higher level of musical consciousness".

Many of the 177,000 festivalgoers sported t-shirts bearing the words "Michael Jackson RIP", in homage to `The King of Pop`. British rapper Dizzee Rascal led the crowd in a singalong version of Jackson`s worldwide hit "Thriller" and The Streets covered "Billie Jean". But when darkness fell the festival returned to its more traditional guitar music as, 24 hours after Neil Young graced the main stage, Springsteen and his E Street Band made their first performance at Britain`s biggest music event. In jeans and with shirt sleeves rolled up in characteristic style, `The Boss` launched into his 1978 hit "Badlands" and immediately had the crowd screaming along. Springsteen had revealed that Coldplay star Chris Martin had told him of the unique atmosphere at the festival. "He said it was very special and it`s very close to the English heart," he told the BBC. "I`d read quite a lot about it before. Every year when you get the British music magazines it`s always a big feature so I know it`s a special gig." With reunited Britpop heroes Blur headlining on Sunday, the line-up represents a return to Glastonbury`s rock traditions after a more leftfield excursion last year, when US rapper Jay-Z topped the bill. That move was criticised by some festival goers as well as Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, prompting Jay-Z to hit back by covering Oasis`s hit "Wonderwall" in his set. "I`ll be going to Springsteen and I went to Jay-Z last year," said one fan, 32-year-old John. "It was a great performance but was a one-off. Glastonbury is primarily a rock festival so it`s nice to return to its roots." Three people were sent home from the festival with suspected swine flu on Saturday, but spokesman Christo Hird said the danger of infection was no higher at the event than elsewhere in Britain, which has more than 4,000 cases of the virus. "This was anticipated. There is no more risk here than anywhere. The figure of three in 177,000 people is regarded as very low," he said. Earlier in the day, an unusually coherent Pete Doherty -- the former boyfriend of supermodel Kate Moss -- performed a short but well-received set with the single "Last of the English Roses" receiving the most cheers. "You never know what you`ll get with Pete but he was on form," said Kate Miles, 22. There was high anticipation on one of the festival`s dance stages for up-and-coming London-based band La Roux, whose driving electronic pop had the packed tent dancing non-stop, particularly to chart hit "In for the Kill". The Glastonbury weather continued to defy the doommongers with punters more worried about sunstroke that trench foot under scorching sunshine. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown`s wife Sarah briefly visited the site to promote a motherhood charity. Police said crime was down from last year, with 116 arrests made, mostly for drug-related offences. Bureau Report