Neil Young 'pulls out' of Glastonbury 2025, calling it a "corporate turn-off"

2 January 2025, 11:13

The Harvest Moon singer has revealed he was set to play the top slot at the festival but has ruled himself out due to BBC demands.

Neil Young has appeared to pull out of Glastonbury Festival, because of its involvement with the BBC.

The legendary singer-songwriter took to his official website Neil Young Archives to reveal he'd been set to play the Somerset festival, but that things had changed once he found out how "corporate" it had become.

Referring to his band, he wrote: "The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all time favorite 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."

The 79-year-old musician added: "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!"

Read more:

• Rod Stewart to play Glastonbury 2025 Legends slot
• Nile Rodgers accidentally self-confirms for Glastonbury 2025
• Glastonbury Festival donates record £5.9 million to charitable causes & campaigns in 2024

Though Young didn't go into detail about what was requested of him by the broadcaster, it could surround his coverage of his performance at the festival.

The Harvest Moon singer last played Glastonbury when he topped the bill on the Pyramid Stage in 2009 and only some portions of his two-hour set were shown that year.

After facing some criticism over the scant coverage, the BBC - who has partnered with the festival since 1997 - released a statement at the time which read: "Neil Young's career has been conducted on his own terms. Neil’s management agreed to let TV and radio broadcast five songs as they watched and listened to his performance. They believe in the live event and retaining its mystery and that of their artist."

The line-up for Glastonbury 2025 has yet to be announced and Neil Young was never confirmed as a performer, though he was among those rumoured to headline.

An insider told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column: "Neil and his band The Chrome Hearts are firming up plans for ­European dates next year and Glastonbury is on the cards.

“Neil last performed there in 2009 and his headline set on the Pyramid Stage was incredible.

“He is keen to play a handful of big shows in Europe and his team are keen to get him on the line-up."

So far, Rod Stewart has been confirmed to play the Sunday teatime legends slot at the festival.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Glastonbury Festival (@glastofest)

Read more:

• Who has played the Glastonbury Sunday legends slot over the years?
• How much is a Glastonbury ticket? How the price has changed over the years
• Glastonbury Festival hopefuls react to new queueing system as coach tickets sell out in 30 minutes