Rumours have been circulating for several weeks that the rock trio from south Wales will play alongside top acts including Rod Stewart and Coldplay by organiser Michael Eavis.

Organiser Michael Eavis has secured some of the nation's best acts

The event, which begins in the Somerset town on Thursday 27 June, is already sold out.

Last week, the Super Furry Animals pulled out because they could not find a sound engineer to replace their own, who cannot attend the gig due to family commitments.

But the line-up for the festival, which was cancelled last year, remained very strong.

Roger Waters, The Charlatans, Badly Drawn Boy, Spiritualized, Air and Garbage are amongst the other big-hitters who will play at the festival.

Mis-teeq, Elbow, Belle and Sebastian, Ash, Faithless, Nelly Furtado, Doves, Bush and Groove Armada will also be performing.

Gruff will not be taking either guitar to the festival

The Stereophonics are also said to have lined up a special secret gig at Bristol Academy on the same weekend of the festival.

That event, on Friday 28 June, is expected to be filmed for inclusion on a possible live album, which could be released later this year.

The band will perform at a special Formula One charity concert near the Silverstone track on Saturday 6 July - the day before the British Grand Prix.

Disappointed animals

The Super Furry Animals said they were disappointed to pull out, but told BBC News Online they did not want to risk disappointing fans.

"We had no time to rehearse with a new engineer as the band are in and out of the studio," said spokesman Alun Llwyd.

"Our sound engineer has been with us for six years, so he knows how we work.

"They simply could not play a show with a brand new sound manager - it would have been a nightmare for those listening to it.

"If there was any way round this, we would have done so."

A support slot with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Dublin on 25 June has also been cancelled, leaving the band with festival dates in Finland and Spain.

In the meantime, the band will continue with their recording plans this summer.