Is Glastonbury stars’ use of backing tracks the reason they are all being accused of miming? Dave Grohl and Taylor Swift clashed over the practice and now it could be reason for BBC viewers’ sound quality complaints
Glastonbury has been at the centre of a lip-syncing storm this weekend after stars including Dua Lipa were accused of miming their performances.
Fans have taken aim at artists including Camila Cabello and Coldplay‘s Chris Martin for allegedly not singing their lyrics live on stage at the world-famous festival.
Music lovers took to social media in their droves to comment about the issue, with one posting: ‘Does anyone actually sing at festivals anymore? It’s all miming I swear.’
The BBC, which is broadcasting the festival, has been on the receiving end of a number of complaints from fans who have complained about the sound issues.
But music experts have now revealed the problem could be caused by the use of backing tracks.
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Glastonbury has been at the centre of a lip-syncing storm this weekend after stars including Dua Lipa were accused of miming their performances
Dua Lipa at Glastonbury: Viewers claim she isn’t singing live
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Earlier this month Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and Taylor Swift clashed over the accusation that Swift was not singing live – a claim she swiftly rejected
Dave Grohl insinuates Taylor Swift doesn’t perform live
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Grohl said on stage: ‘We’ve had more than a few eras, and more than a few f***ing errors as well. That’s because we actually play live’
Earlier this month Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and Taylor Swift clashed over the accusation that Swift was not singing live – a claim she swiftly rejected.
‘We like to call our tour the Errors Tour,’ said Grohl on stage.
‘We’ve had more than a few eras, and more than a few f***ing errors as well. That’s because we actually play live.’
The next night Swift made sure to loudly thank her band ‘who’s playing live for you for three and a half hours’.
The pressure of playing to 90,000 fans at Wembley like Swift or 200,000 at Worthy Farm for Glastonbury requires sound engineering on a large scale.
Becky Pell, a sound engineer from Oxfordshire who is on tour with Take That, told The Sunday Times that the ‘vast majority’ of pop artists sing live.
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Paradise! Crowd goes wild as Coldplay take over Glastonbury festival
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Dua Lipa’s almost two-hour headliner performance at Glastonbury involved high-intensity dance routines and running up and down the stage
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When asked by our reporter if she sung her songs live during the performance, Lipa denied that she mimed her setlist
But that it was ‘not practical’ to have the 16 musicians which would appear on a recorded track, performing on stage.
Another sound engineer who has toured with Blondie, claimed to achieve the same effect, stars use extra guitarists or an orchestra on a backing track to ‘thicken the sound out’ – helping to replicate the recorded version of the song.
Vocals may be added too, but these will be in addition to live singing – not instead of.
On studio recorded albums, artists often sing multiple parts or layer their voice, something that can’t be replicated live.
Dua Lipa‘s almost two-hour headliner performance at Glastonbury involved high-intensity dance routines and running up and down the stage.
It is thought she might have needed to pre-record some elements to support her live vocals on some of the more difficult songs.
But rock’n’roll purists such as Grohl have a tendency to look down their noses at artists who rely heavily on backing tracks.
Music lovers took to social media in their droves to comment about the sounds issues
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Pictured: Dua Lipa performed on day three of the festival at Worthy farm
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Another fan complained that fans had paid money only for Lipa to ‘mime the song and not even sing it’
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It is thought Lipa might have needed to pre-record some elements to support her live vocals on some of the more difficult songs
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When Live Aid was held at Wembley in 1985 the sound quality to the crowd of 72,000 varied extensively between bands
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Some artists prefer to go without the heavily regimented use of backing tracks, which they claim take the spontaneity and thrill out of a live performance. Pictured: Freddie Mercury of Queen at Live Aid
Some artists prefer to go without the heavily regimented use of the tracks, which they claim take the spontaneity and thrill out of a live performance.
They don’t use tacks used to help them keep the tempo, known as click tracks, and instead want to let the music ‘breathe’, according to one 66-year-old guitarist who has performed live with David Bowie and Iggy Pop.
But going without any backing track can be a big gamble, resulting in a patchier sound and less consistency.
Live music fans who have been listening for decades have noticed the improvements.
When Live Aid was held at Wembley in 1985 the sound quality to the crowd of 72,000 varied extensively between bands.
One of the most striking examples was Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon who painfully failed on a high note in a rendition of A View to a Kill.
A music fan described the difference in listening to live music between the two eras as ‘like comparing a cassette tape to Spotify’.
