Neil Young will now perform at Glastonbury Festival saying “an error in the information I received” was the cause of him initially turning down the offer because it was “under corporate control” of the BBC.
The 79-year-old Canadian-born, singer-songwriter, who headlined the festival in 2009, put a message on his website saying: “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.”
Festival organiser Emily Eavis swiftly posted 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.”
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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.
Young last performed at Glastonbury in 2009 as a headline act on the Pyramid stage, but only portions of his two-hour set were broadcast on the BBC.
Young was also booked to play Glastonbury in 1997, but pulled out after cutting his finger while making a ham sandwich just before the start of his European tour, saying at the time: “I’d have eaten the thing in one piece if I’d known that cutting it in half would jeopardise the tour. It’s macaroni and cheese from now on.”
This year’s music acts are yet to be announced but Rod Stewart has been confirmed for the coveted teatime legends slot on the Sunday. – PA/Guardian
