Morrissey to open for U2 at Glastonbury festival

The first time he played the world's biggest and best-loved music festival in 1984, the set had to be cut short as fans stormed the stage.

Twenty-seven years later, and still with a devoted fanbase, Morrissey will return to Glastonbury, playing the festival's opening night (Friday 24 June), warming up for headline act U2.

Fellow Mancunians Elbow are also on the bill, organisers announced as they released the full lineup, playing the Pyramid stage before Glastonbury stalwarts Coldplay headline on the Saturday evening.

Festival organiser Emily Eavis said this year will be one of Glastonbury's most exciting offerings. "To get all of these incredible artists is really quite a feat," she said. "I think this is one of most eclectic lineups yet."

Elbow will raise the crowd with their "lovely, celebratory and uplifting" music, she said, while Queens of the Stone Age – who are going head-to-head on the Other Stage against Beyoncé on the Sunday evening – will go some way to keeping everyone happy. "That will be fantastic because they will appeal to very different people," she added.

There are also acts geared toward Glastonbury's older fans. Sunday will see Don McLean play the Pyramid stage in the afternoon, followed later by Paul Simon. Blues legend BB King will play the same stage on Friday, while Jimmy Cliff and Kool and the Gang will feature on West Holts.

Simon is expected to play a range of hits, said Eavis. "Everyone should check out Paul Simon. He's going to do a total mix of his songs, so it will be like a greatest hits set."

American band Fleet Foxes will play the Other Stage before Mumford & Sons on Friday, while White Lies will warm up for the Chemical Brothers on Saturday.

There will also be acts appealing to urban music fans, with rising British rap star Tinie Tempah taking to the Pyramid stage on Saturday and US R&B singer Cee Lo Green at West Holts on Friday, while dance fans can take their pick from Chase and Status, DJ Shadow and Robyn, with Annie Mac and John Digweed also playing DJ sets.

Up-and-coming artists include Anna Calvi, James Blake, Jessie J, Warpaint and the Vaccines.

Festival founder Michael Eavis could barely contain his glee at getting Morrissey back to Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, where the festival takes place. Morrissey last played Glastonbury in 2004.

"When the Smiths played in 1984 it changed everything for us. We had just been about hippy bands until then and when they performed it was like a bolt of lightning," he said. "There were no fences in those days – we thought fences were wicked – and when the crowd started invading the stage we had to close the set. It got everyone talking about us."

Coldplay's performance on the Saturday evening will be "the climax of their career", while U2's headline set on Friday will have no shortage of "razzmatazz", he promised. "It is going to be an enormous set for Coldplay and I think U2 will be one of the biggest moments of the summer. They might have been on a long tour, but our wait to get them at Glastonbury has been even longer," he said.

Glastonbury's night-time playgrounds, such as Shangri La and Trash City, will have more venues, with the festival also creating a new performance "bull-ring" from donated lock timbers.

Last year, the festival's 40th anniversary, was blessed with memorable performances and uninterrupted sunshine, but Eavis is confident it can be bettered. "I think we have the best headliners we've ever had, and if we get the sunshine I think it will be even better than last year."