M.I.A reveals Glastonbury break in

M.I.A is well known for her Bad Girls antics and has confessed she once broke into the Glastonbury festival without a ticket.

The 38-year-old London rapper smuggled her way in to the legendary music event when she was a student at Central Saint Martins.

‘I went there with thirty people. When we got there, we had to dig a hole and make a tunnel to get through the fence because nobody had tickets,’ the star – real name Mathangi ‘Maya’ Arulpragasam – cackled, adding that they also forgot to bring a tent.

‘Somebody lent us this piece of plastic. It was a massive sheet that could fit twenty people under. But it wasn’t a tent. It was very open. We just had poles and put the sheet on top like a roof. It was well ghetto. It was like going back to my experiences of living in India or something like that,’ she explained – adding she also struggled with the lack of hygiene that comes with attending a week-long music event.
‘It was disgusting. I stayed in the same outfit for three days. It was gross. You’re in the same thing and everyone is getting off with each other – although I’m totally fine with that,’ she laughed.

M.I.A will be headlining this years’ Lovebox festival on June 19 but advises fans that festivals are the least likely places to find love that will last.

‘It would be like falling in love at a rave. I always thought that was it when I found someone at a rave – that was the thing. But it never was. You would see them the next day and be like: “Wow! You look so… different”.’

Catch M.I.A at: Benicàssim, Hove Festival, Lovebox, Glastonbury. Her fourth studio album, Matangi, is out now.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures 2014 Festival Guide, Friday 2 May 2014]