Italian
Musician Neil Young has reversed his decision to pull out of playing Glastonbury and will now perform at the June music festival after saying the event was under the BBC’s “corporate control”.
The Canadian-American singer, 79, had written on his website Tuesday to explain that he and his new band, the Chrome Hearts, booked a slot at Worthy Farm this year but that they would no longer be playing as the BBC, a partner of Glastonbury, “wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in.”
“The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all-time favorite outdoor gigs,” Young said. “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.”
However, in a new post on Friday, the star said he had changed his mind upon the discovery of “an error in the information received”. He rocker wrote: “Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury Festival, which I always have loved. Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing. Hope to see you there!”
Glastonbury organizer Emily Eavis welcomed Young’s decision, saying on Instagram: “What a start to the year! Neil Young is an artist who’s very close to our hearts at Glastonbury. He does things his own way and that’s why we love him. We can’t wait to welcome him back here to headline the Pyramid in June.”
The BBC has been a partner of the festival since 1997, airing all performances, including the coveted headline spots. The corporation took over broadcasting the event from Channel 4 and since then, its coverage has boomed via the BBC’s radio stations, website and streaming service iPlayer, making Glastonbury available to those not so fortunate to get a ticket. The BBC and Glastonbury Festival did not respond to requests for comment from The Hollywood Reporter.
Young, who headlined the Pyramid stage in 2009, had not yet been confirmed for the June 27-29 fest, though his Chrome Hearts were rumored to play. The only other confirmed star so far is Rod Stewart, set to play the Legends slot.
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