This article first appeared in The Chew Valley Gazette, February 1997 in the paper's 'Denny Island Disc' series (a local celebrity would be asked to talk about the ten records they would choose to have with them if they were marooned on Denny Island - in Chew Valley Lake!).

the promoter - Michael Eavis

This month's Denny Island castaway is Michael Eavis, Somerset's most famous farmer, and promoter of the Glastonbury Festivals. As Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Wells constituency he also tells us why and how he would be be an effective MP for the district.

Van Morrison - Astral Weeks. Van Morrison's bringing out a new album this year and apparently it's going to be very very good, but Astral Weeks is still everybody's favourite I suppose. Van Morrison comes here most years, he's coming this year I hope, I pick him up from the local hotel and I don't do that for anyone else, and we have a chat about it all.

Elvis Presley - Memphis. I've always got one Elvis CD in the twelve CDs in the car, twelve is all it takes, while the others change round. I remember I was milking the cows when the news he'd died came on the radio, and all the cows stopped milking! I like Elvis' ballads more than his rock stuff, "I Can't Help Failing In Love", all the sloppy stuff, "Are You Lonesome Tonight", loads of songs like that. He didn't write his songs, but his delivery was so good.

The Smiths - This Charming Man. They played here in 85 and it was terrific, they were a new band from the north and they hadn't really got anywhere when we booked them, but I just had an inkling they were going to go big time. As the day of the festival approached, they became the main thing. When they came on stage everyone rushed up and joined them, as there was no fencing then. I was on the stage at the time with Morrissey, who was egging the fans on, and I thought My God they're going to eat us alive. After 45 minutes we had to dose it down. That was the last year we did the Pyramid without a fence at the front of it.

Primal Scream - Screamadelica. That's always a favourite, it had the Mercury Award as the album of the year. We've got them coming this year, they're doing a session in the Dance Tent. Bobby Gillespie from Scotland is the front man, singer, who writes all the songs, and he's very talented. They headlined the NME Stage in 94, when they got the Mercury Award, so we were right on the case as they say.

Frank Sinatra - Send In The Clowns. He's not necessarily the nicest of blokes, with not a trace of affinity with what we're doing, but what a song! Probably the best song ever written. We picked up a CD of Frank Sinatra's Christmas carols for £3.99 at Christmas, and when we played it I couldn't believe the quality Such a good voice, quite sensational.

Bob Dylan - Street Legal. Every song on that is good, exceptional. He's never played here. We tried to get him three years ago, and he said it wasn't enough money. I went to London to see him at Finsbury Park and I was really disappointed, I thought I'm glad he didn't turn up! When he delivers he does it well, but when he does it badly, he is really bad!

Ray Charles - The Collection. Ray Charles is absolutely fantastic, I've seen him a couple of times. We were on holiday in Italy once, about five years ago, and saw him in a marquee near Naples. That show was the best live show I've ever seen, he had a thirty piece band with him, he went absolutely ape. The best blues singer of all time. We could have John Lee Hooker this year but he wants too much money - I've been negotiating fees all morning. They start high, it's like selling cows really. Good old farm technique. I go to Taunton Market still, once a week, most Saturdays. It's one of the things we simply have to do in our life, it's thoroughly thoroughly normal, nothing to do with pop stars. We'd go stark raving mad if we didn't go to the market. We're half way to being organic on the farm now. We hope to supply Yeo Valley Farm for their organic yoghurts soon. We haven't used fertilisers or pesticides for about 15 years now.

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon. Pink Floyd hope to he playing here in the year 2000. They've been around as long as we have, or longer. We started in 1970.

Oasis - What's The Story? I know they've been naughty boys and all that, but I'm really keen on them, they're great fun! Noel Gallagher is a terrific songwriter, they're wonderful songs. I've been involved with Oasis for five years and they see me as a wise old man I think, in their lives. They first played here at Glastonbury in 94, and they played on the second stage and they were way way down on the bill, they were not a big deal. I just happened to see them playing and I thought, this is a band that's going to go to the top. In 95 they went on the main stage, and it was their year, when they became a Supergroup. They are the band of the century for me.

Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed. We met up with Mick Jagger at the Q Awards a couple of months ago and Jean rushed over and asked him, when are you going to do Glastonbury, and he said "When they ask me". Well we had asked the manager, but he obviously hadn't told the band about it. I thought they went a bit slack about ten years ago, when they came to Bristol City Football Ground, we walked out it was so boring. But I have seen a video of a show they did about a year ago in America, and it was pretty good.

Some people might be surprised to see you as a Labour candidate rather than as a Green candidate, given the Festival's support for CND and Greenpeace - are you a long term Labour supporter?

I spent two years working in a coal mine when I was a youngster (at New Rock, Stratton on the Fosse), and I come from a long Methodist tradition. It's all very well to be Green, but the Methodist way Is really to get things done, and to have an effect. The Greens are more of a pressure group really, there's not enough time to hang around - they're not going to get elected.

The great desire is to improve the lot of the ordinary folk, but the divisions between the rich and the poor and the general divisiveness of Conservative Party politics over the past 20 years needs to be rectified and the Labour Party is the only party who can do it. We're running our own little bit of socialism in Pilton, by feeding back money into the local community

We did a low cost housing scheme, as well, eight units in local stone. They can never be sold so they will always be available to rent for local people. It has taken five years work, and they were completed last year. The Rural Housing Association tried to get them down to about £32,000 per unit cost, which is very low cost, but we wanted a higher standard and put in the extra money to bring them up to £42,000 by including things like fireplaces, which the RHA said people wouldn't want. When I'm driving by now I look at the chimneys, and usually about 80% have got smoke coming out!

As a candidate, I haven't had any political training, and I'm no Mussolini when it comes to public speaking, but I would claim to be able to get results. I'd particularly look to utilise all the grants that are available from Europe for the benefit of this constituency which are not being pursued properly at the moment. I would do a lot for this district on the basis that we've done a lot already. I'd be disappointed if I couldn't get some alarming results!

interview by Rowland Janes

The politician
The diamond wedding
The sculptress
The keeper
The poacher