PILTON, England (Reuters) — One of the hottest Glastonbury festivals in memory provided plenty of hits and a few misses for 150,000 revellers, who put a brave face on the England soccer team's abject defeat during the four-day event.

Bare chests and bikinis replaced umbrellas and rubber boots, and the absence of rain meant that music, not mud, was the main talking point on the picturesque dairy farm in southwest England where the annual event is held.

Tents covering every inch of the fields surrounding stages, stalls and fairground-style attractions began to disappear quickly from Sunday night as sun-tanned visitors streamed home.

Their abiding memory may be Stevie Wonder's closing set, which wowed a crowd of some 100,000 people late on Sunday.

The 60-year-old Motown legend showed off his musical prowess throughout and even sang hit "Happy Birthday" to festival founder Michael Eavis on stage to mark the event's 40th anniversary.

Wonder also dedicated his performance to Michael Jackson a year after his death, playing a moving version of the King of Pop's "Human Nature" on his harmonica.

There was a brief distraction from music with England's World Cup soccer match against old foes Germany on Sunday, watched on giant screens by an estimated 80,000 supporters.

But true to the upbeat spirit of the festival, England fans refused to be despondent despite an abject 4-1 defeat.

In addition to Wonder, highlights of 2010 included English rock band Muse, who were joined by U2 guitarist Edge for a rendition of the Irish group's famous hit "Where the Streets Have No Name".

The Saturday set, which followed popular turns by Colombia's Shakira and U.S. disco act Scissor Sisters, helped turn around a festival which started slowly with a performance by Gorillaz that disappointed many listeners.

The group was brought in at the last moment to replace U2 after lead singer Bono had emergency surgery on his back.

"I like Gorillaz, but I thought they were rubbish," said 24-year-old Jessica.

"My favourite was Snoop Dogg. He was amazing."

The U.S. artist was one of several rappers, including home grown Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder, who wowed the crowds, underlining how the festival best known for stadium and indie rock is embracing new genres.

And there was a brief but popular appearance by Australia's Kylie Minogue, who joined Scissor Sisters to huge applause.

She had been scheduled to perform at Glastonbury in 2005 but cancelled when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Eavis said the anniversary edition was a memorable one. The 74-year-old farmer started the event in 1970 when 1,500 people paid a pound each to attend what was then known as the Pilton Pop Festival.

"I've never enjoyed myself so much," he told reporters of the Muse set on Saturday. "I didn't feel tired, I had such a buzz off it, and I was very proud of what I'd created. For four or five hours it was total magic."