Biffy Clyro paid tribute to Brian Wilson with a Beach Boys cover on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2025 – check out footage below.
The Scottish band took up a huge slot on the festival’s main stage, the penultimate act of the day before headliner The 1975. It was a step up from a similar position they held down in 2011, when they were third from the top on the same stage.
At the conclusion of ‘Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies’, frontman Simon Neil segued into a tender a cappella cover of ‘God Only Knows’, with the Pyramid crowd poignantly joining in. “Rest in peace, Brian,” Neil added. Wilson’s passing was confirmed by his family on June 11 – he was 82.
The singer’s love for Wilson, and for ‘God Only Knows’ in particular, is well established – the song soundtracked the first dance at his wedding and he even has an upper torso tattoo of the song’s title.
God Only Knows @BiffyClyro #Glastonbury2025 pic.twitter.com/KAbvqdYyo1
— Andrew Trendell (@AndrewTrendell) June 27, 2025
Elsewhere, it was a pulverising set from the band, which kicked off with their recently released new single ‘A Little Love’, the first taste of their upcoming album ‘Futique’, which will be out on September 26 (pre-order/pre-save here).
The breezy harmonies of that were then super-charged by the chunky riffs of ‘That Golden Rule’ from 2009’s ‘Only Revolutions’, with Neil calling on the rank of file of the sizeable Pyramid crowd to raise their fists.
“Good afternoon Glastonbury, lovely to see you, we are Biffy Fucking Clyro,” he said. “We’re gonna ask a lot of you tonight, we want some singing, some dancing, some bouncing, some clapping…some shagging. I’m sure you’ve got that part taken care of.”
They took the Pyramid on a tour through their substantial back catalogue, taking in ‘Biblical’ from 2013’s ‘Opposites’ and the pummelling ‘Wolves Of Winter’ from 2016’s ‘Ellipsis’, as well as familiar favourites such as ‘Mountains’ and the epic finale of ‘Many Of Horror’, before being played off by The Beach Boys’ ‘Good Vibrations’.
See some social media reactions to the set here:
Biffy Clyro 100% need to widely be considered as one of the best modern British bands – pumping out banger after banger for decades at this point
— Michael (@mjaustin_) June 27, 2025
Each to their own I know but Biffy Clyro are way more deserving of a headline slot on the Pyramid Stage on a Friday night.
Well over 20 years of albums containing banger after banger. Always guaranteed to put in a fantastic live performance too. #MonTheBiff #Glastonbury🎸
— Squashua (@IAmJoshua_) June 27, 2025
Forgotten how good Biffy Clyro are tbh
One of the best bands live in my opinion 👌 ♥️
Brilliant tonight ♥️#Glastonbury2025— Wendy Ward ❤ (@Wend3211) June 27, 2025
Imagine living in a world where biffy clyro are on before the 1975. #monthebiff #Glastonbury
— Sean Murphy (@seanmurphy1981) June 27, 2025
I’m a huge Foo Fighters fan. My daughter is called Aurora. However, as live music goes, Biffy Clyro are at the very top. Seen a lot of bands, and it’s hard for me to put anyone else I’ve seen above them.
— Max Everson (@Maxelaar) June 27, 2025
Biffy Clyro played:
‘A Little Love’
‘That Golden Rule’
‘Biblical’
‘Mountains’
‘Re-Arrange’
‘Wolves Of Winter’
‘Tiny Indoor Fireworks’
‘Black Chandelier’
‘Instant History’
‘Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies’
‘God Only Knows’
‘Bubbles’
‘Many Of Horror’
Friday at Glastonbury has seen an emotional, redemptive set on the Pyramid from a returning Lewis Capaldi, a surprise set from Lorde where she played her new album ‘Virgin’ in full, alongside gigs from established names such as Franz Ferdinand – who were joined by Peter Capaldi – and Supergrass, as well as breakout sets from CMAT, Lola Young and Wet Leg, among others.
Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more from Glastonbury 2025.
