Folk legend Neil Young has pulled out of this year’s Glastonbury music festival, accusing it of falling under the “corporate control” of his partner BBC.
The 79-year-old musician, who was once part of the line-up of supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, said he was “looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all-time favorite outdoor events”.
But he also said that “the BBC… wanted us to do a lot of things in a way that we were not interested in” at the festival in southwest England in late June.
“It feels like Glastonbury is under corporate control,” the American-Canadian singer and songwriter claimed in a statement on his website.
“We won’t be playing Glastonbury on this tour, because it’s a corporate change, and for me it’s not the same as it used to be.”
Neither festival organizers nor the BBC responded to AFP requests for comment on Young’s return.
The full official line-up for the world-famous festival has not yet been announced.
But rumors had spread that Young and his group The Chrome Hearts would be taking to the festival stage at Worth Farm in County Somerset.
Young, who last played Glastonbury in 2009, did not give specific details about the BBC’s demands.
In 2009, fans accused the BBC of not broadcasting their entire set.
The broadcaster said at the time that it had spent “months” talking with Young’s team about what they could screen for his show.
The BBC then said, “Neil’s management agreed to broadcast five songs while watching and listening to his performances on TV and radio. They believe in the live event and its mystery and in maintaining the mystique of their artist.”
Tickets for this year’s festival sold out within 35 minutes when they went on sale in November, with standard tickets priced at 373.50 pounds ($471.50).
Raspy-voiced British rock star Rod Stewart will play the iconic stalwarts after more than two decades headlining the festival.
Glastonbury attracted over 200,000 fans in 2024, hosting 3,000 performances across approximately 80 stages. Many of the programs were broadcast by the BBC, which has partnered with the festival since 1997.
Glasto, as the festival is popularly known, was inspired by Britain’s 1960s counter-culture and hippie movements, with its first iteration as the Pilton Festival in 1970.
Glam rockers T. Rex were the first headliners. Since then, it has enjoyed cult status and attracted big names, from David Bowie and Paul McCartney to Stormzy and Elton John, who played their final UK shows there in 2023.
