Glastonbury Festival: Neil Young confirmed as first headliner after backtracking on offer
Neil Young will headline Glastonbury Festival after initially turning down the offer, saying the music event was “under corporate control” of the BBC.
Co-organiser Emily Eavis confirmed in an Instagram post that Young will return to the Pyramid stage at Worthy Farm as a headline act, the first to be confirmed for this year’s festival.
The Canadian-born singer-songwriter, who previously headlined in 2009, said on Friday 3 January: “Due to an error in the information received, I had decided not to 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.”
In a social media post shared by the festival and Eavis, she said: “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.”
Earlier in the week, the singer had said he would not be performing as he believes the music event is “now under corporate control” of the BBC.
He said in a message on his website: “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 is the exclusive broadcast partner of Glastonbury and has worked closely with the festival since 1997.
The rest of this year’s music acts are yet to be announced but Sir Rod Stewart has been confirmed for the coveted teatime legends slot on the Sunday.
Young, who is married to US actress Daryl Hannah, enjoyed success with the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and was also in the rock band Buffalo Springfield.
He headlined, alongside US star Bruce Springsteen and Britpop band Blur 16 years ago.