Neil Young has published an open letter, confirming his band's non-appearance at this year's Glastonbury, citing "corporate control" as the reason for the refusal to play at "one of my all-time favourite outdoor gigs."
And it seems the famously independently-minded rocker and analogue audio enthusiast has a particular axe to grind with the BBC, the festival's media partner.
"The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury," Young wrote on his website, "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. 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!"
So that's that for Glasto, it seems, presumably for good, as Young concludes, "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."
When Young, now 79, last played the festival in 2009 (above), only parts of his two-hour performance were televised, prompting much criticism from fans. In response, the BBC detailed what sounded like quite painful negotiations over "the last couple of months" about what proportion of the set could be broadcast,
“Neil Young’s career has been conducted on his own terms,” the BBC said at the time. “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.”
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