Orbital's 1994 Glastonbury set helped bring dance music onto the festival's major stages.
The English electronic duo, formed by brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll, played a headline-level set on 25 June 1994. Their performance was broadcast as part of Channel 4's expanded festival coverage, allowing a large television audience to see a live electronic act presented alongside established rock and pop performers.
Orbital's use of sequencers, samplers and live mixing gave the performance an improvisational feel. Their trademark head-mounted torches also made the set visually distinctive, contributing to its lasting reputation as a landmark Glastonbury appearance.
The performance did not single-handedly invent dance music at the festival: sound systems and rave culture had already been present in the site's traveller and informal areas. Its importance was that it provided a high-profile mainstream showcase. Later appearances by acts such as the Chemical Brothers and Underworld helped cement dance music's place at Glastonbury.