Neil Young pulls out of Glastonbury, blames BBC

(Image credit: Gary Miller/Getty Images)

Neil Young has pulled out of this year's Glastonbury Festival, citing interference by the festival's broadcasting partner, the BBC.

Posting on the Neil Young Archives website, Young says, "The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all-time favourite outdoor gigs. We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in.

"It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being. Thanks for coming to see us the last time! We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be. Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour."

The BBC has been the official broadcast partner of the event since 1997 and has expanded its remit in the years since. The Corporation launched its "Introducing" stage in 2007 and renewed its broadcast rights in 2017. Last year's event was the first to be broadcast globally. Young has played Glastonbury once, in 2009, when he headlined the Pyramid Stage alongside Bruce Springsteen and Blur.

This year's Glastonbury Festival, which will be held at its traditional home at Worthy Farm in Piltdown, Somerset, England, between Jun 25 and June 29, is already sold out. Headliners have not yet been announced, but Rod Stewart will fill the traditional late-afternoon legend slot on the final day of the event. He last played at Glastonbury in 2002.

"I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that I’ll be playing Glastonbury 2025!" said Stewart. "After all these years, I’m proud and ready and more than able to take the stage again to pleasure and titillate my friends at Glastonbury in June. I’ll see you there!”

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Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.