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Forget about Glastonbury Festival, the next big thing coming to Pilton in 2019 is the arrival of the "pope of Methodism" according to Michael Eavis, who sat down with Somerset Live to chat about the non-conformist values that drive the man and the festival.

You'll find the Glastonbury founder at the small and picturesque Pilton Methodist Chapel "every single Sunday", apart from the last Sunday in June, when the lush green fields surrounding it are transformed into one of the biggest music festivals in the world.

And on Wednesday (March 13), wearing his trademark denim shorts as Storm Gareth rolled across the Vale of Avalon, the 83-year-old's eyes sparkled with the enthusiasm and passion of a man a fraction of his age.

Surrounded by walls full of 48 years of Glastonbury posters and memorabilia at the Worthy Farm offices, the dairy farmer talked about how centuries-old Methodist principles have shaped the Michael Eavis and the Glastonbury Festival we see today.

"It's all about non-conformism," he said, "Methodists are non-conformists. They don't go along with the establishment.

"I have recently been made a patron of the New Room in Bristol, which was the first Methodist chapel ever built. Even back then they were taking on the slave trade, which Bristol was built on at the time.

"Non-conformism is something that has definitely shaped me, and I think you can see that reflected in the festival.

"The Methodist principles were written 300 years ago, but they are still very relevant today. Isn't that amazing?"

"It's not about robes and funny hats"

Michael has been following Methodism, a denomination of Christianity which has deep roots in the county, since he was three years old, and was once described by The Daily Telegraph as a man who embodies "the true spirit of old Somerset, with its history of non-conformism".

"It's not about incense and robes and funny hats, the social doctrine of Methodism is the most important thing," Michael said.

"It's about social responsibility and social holiness. It's not so much about God, it's about being good to society."

And the principle of "being good to society" drives everything the festival does, Michael believes, and leads it to give millions of pounds to charities such as Greenpeace and WaterAid every year.

He said: "The most important thing for me is that we give away as much money as we can each year.

"Obviously the festival makes a lot of money, but we give most of it away to good causes, which I am very proud of.

"I'm not the kind of person who buys expensive yachts and goes on holiday in the winter, we are interested in the local community here and we want to do good things."

Glastonbury Festival recently funded the construction of new social housing in Pilton, which Michael has described as "the best thing he has ever done", and a third wave of development is currently under construction in the village.

"It's like the pope is coming to Pilton"

After overseeing another Glastonbury Festival ticket sell-out at Worthy Farm, Michael's sights have now turned to filling the decidedly smaller but no less important Pilton Methodist Church, just a hop and a skip away from the festival gates, for the arrival of a key figure in the denomination.

He said: "There are about 65 million Methodists in the world, but only 30 in Pilton and it would be wonderful to get a few more to learn about the amazing work that the Wesley brothers have done for the British people over the last 300 years or so.

"We have the Secretary of the Methodist Church, and one of its best preachers, Gareth Powell, preaching for us on Easter Sunday at 11am in Pilton Methodist Chapel."

He added: "He's wonderful, he's a big deal. It's like the pope is coming to Pilton! He's like the pope of Methodism. It's that big.

"It would be great to fill the chapel for it, we want to pack the place out."

Along with the festival and his cows, another great passion of Michael's is getting young people involved in Methodism.

"Methodist principles build up self-esteem," he said, "and it's sad to see a lot of kids struggling with that these days.

"They are always worrying about not getting the right job or not doing this or that.

"Self-esteem is really important, you need to feel good about yourself, and then good things happen."

Staying true to his Methodist principles, Michael collects young children in the village every Sunday in his battered red Defender to take them to Sunday School at the chapel.

He said: "We drive through the ford in Pilton on the way there and the water splashes up and they love that. Then we drive through it again on the way back, so they get two splashes every Sunday if they go to church."

A surprise performance

While Michael enjoys belting out the hymns at Pilton Methodist Chapel on a Sunday morning, he also wowed punters at Pilton Working Men's Club with a surprise performance on Friday evening (March 8).

Locals enjoyed his "deep and smooth voice" as he treated the crowd to Songbird by Fleetwood Mac, and Can't Help Falling in Love with You by Elvis.

(Image: Jason Bryant)

"I was pleased with how it went," he said, "the first song was published on the NME website but I think the second one was a lot better!

"I had a chance to warm up by the second song and I was a little less nervous, because there were 60 or 70 people there.

"I do like to think I am quite a good singer. I have been singing all my life at the chapel, that's why I have such a good voice!"

Having already performed at Glastonbury Festival with the likes of Stevie Wonder and Coldplay, is the seasoned singer warming up his vocal chords for another big Pyramid Stage performance?

All will be revealed at the 37th festival in just over three months time.

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