Primary School Bangers Glastonbury. Today, I had the pleasure of chatting to James Partridge, the man behind Primary School Bangers. We chatted about Glastonbury, The Royal Variety Show and how Primary School Bangers began.
You have performed at The Royal Variety Show, The Classic Brit Awards and The Edinburgh Fringe. How does Glastonbury differ from those?
With the Royal Variety and Classic Brits, I was actually singing in an ensemble put together by Gareth Malone, the TV choirmaster, about 10 years ago. This was my confidence boost to leave my 9-5 desk job and pursue a career in music! As that experience was in a group, there was definitely a safety net of not necessarily being in the spotlight. There is something a little daunting about being out there on my own, with a piano, in front of a big crowd!
Had you been to Glastonbury before performing there?
Growing up, I was always a Reading Festival person, but I always wished I had gone to Glastonbury. My uncle went every year from the early 80s until around 2010, so he always had great stories of the various bands he had seen. My first Glasto was 2023 as a punter, and the following year, I knew I had to get a performing slot there, so I did my best to make it happen!
What tips would you give to people who are attending Glastonbury for the first time?
The biggest thing I realised is that you simply cannot see everything that you put in your planner. At the smaller festivals, you can hop from stage to stage fairly easily, but if you are leaving 10 minutes to get from Woodsies to the Park at a busy time, then it’s just a write-off! Keep hydrated, wear the right shoes, and if it all gets a bit much, then there are some incredible places to reset and get a bit of headspace. For me, that first year, I wasn’t in an amazing place mentally, so I found some of the South East Corner antics too much. I actually found a bit of space and calm in the Circus area and just sat and watched trapeze acts for a couple of hours!
What makes Glastonbury so special?
It sounds cliche, but Glastonbury really is what you make it. If you are up for a rave and five nights of “oosh”, then you can certainly make that your experience and see the sunrise every morning.
Alternatively, if you want to spend the week moshing to indie bands, then you can or just whittle a spoon for the entire time, then it’s all there. I ended up having an Alexander Technique session randomly last year, which really sorted my back out at the time. The classic festival experience in your mid-30s.
Another thing is the joy that people bring. Glastonbury is situated on ley lines, which really give the energy of the festival something magical. You can be Steve from accounts on Monday and Tuesday, but for five beautiful days, you can become a lobster or a wizard and live your best life.
How did Primary School Bangers start?
I was teaching online during the dark days of lockdown and finding it difficult to sync up my piano with my pupils’ singing on the other end. The sound through my headphones was…creative at best. I thought I would put some backing tracks and singing tips on YouTube, then someone suggested I put a few short clips on TikTok.
I thought it was just for dance moves, so I put a few videos up, hoping for the best. One of my first ten videos was called “My Top 10 Primary School Assembly Bangers”. This went viral across different platforms, and I then started doing TikTok livestreams 4 times a week playing these old tunes, much to my wife’s frustration (there are only so many times you can hear a grown man singing about cauliflowers, I suppose).
I then thought about doing a one-off sing-along once lockdown lifted. The clips I posted from that show kicked off as well, which led me to book more and more shows across the country and annoying venues with emails like: “Would you be up for hosting a night of school assembly sing-alongs?”.
This eventually led me to badgering Theatre and Circus last year, who let me play, and I ended up bringing the school assembly to the Somerset fields!
Where can people see you at this year’s Glastonbury?
Thursday – Summer House in Glebeland 14:20
Friday – Summer House 14:40; Sensation Seekers Stage in Bella’s Field at 17:10; Mavericks Bar 1 am
Saturday – Summer House 15:45
Sunday – Summer House 15:10
Thanks so much, James! See you on the farm!
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