© Provided by The GuardianPhotograph: Andrew Hasson/Alamy
Bill Harkin, the designer of Glastonbury's Pyramid stage, which became one of the world's greatest platforms for popular music, has died aged 83. The news was announced on the Glastonbury website by organiser Michael Eavis, who did not reveal the cause of death.
The iconic stage set was first erected in 1971, after Harkin, who had trained as an architect and set designer, saw a vision of it in a dream. "I was standing to the rear of an open-air stage next to a drum riser, looking towards the audience that someone was addressing," he later wrote. "There were two beams of light forming a pyramid in the sky with some buildings on the horizon . I took the morning off work and started in the studio with the notes and the rough sketch."
© Photograph: Andrew Hasson/AlamyBill Harkin, designer of the Glastonbury festival's Pyramid stage, with the original scale model he made.
He and promoter Andrew Kerr met with Michael Eavis and proposed a return of the Glastonbury festival, which had first been staged by Eavis on his Somerset farm in 1970. "I liked the idea but was slightly wary of the reality, although was captivated by their childlike excitement," Eavis wrote in his tribute. "[Harkin's] enthusiasm and dedication led to what we have now."
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The first Pyramid stage was built from scaffolding and plastic sheeting. The Glastonbury website states: "It was believed that a pyramid is a very powerful shape: the apex projects energy upwards while energy from the stars and sun are drawn down. The original Pyramid resembled a diamond transmitting pure vibrations into the night."
© Provided by The GuardianU2 perform on the iconic Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury festival site at Worthy Farm, Pilton in 2011. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
It was upgraded in 1981, and remained until 1994 when it burned down. The festival continued for some years without it, but the Pyramid stage returned in 2000. Four times the size of Harkin's original, the permanent structure is built from four kilometres of steel tubing, and has since played host to artists including David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, U2 and Beyoncé.
Harkin was born and raised in Liverpool, and studied art: "Painting and 3D construction studies at Hope Street, with the occasional lunchtime Beatles gig for one shilling at the Cavern," he later wrote. He then studied architecture, but "the tedium of the course work was more than I could take, I was much more excited by the theatre", and became a set designer.
Following his success with the Pyramid stage, Harkin formed his own architecture and event design business, with clients including the Eden Project.
The Glastonbury festival, last staged in 2019, has been cancelled two years in a row due to coronavirus, and is looking to return in 2022. "In spite of our efforts to move heaven and earth, it has become clear that we simply will not be able to make the festival happen this year," co-organiser Emily Eavis said in January. "We are so sorry to let you all down."