Brian May doubles down on reason why Queen will never play Glastonbury
Don't expect to see them at Worthy Farm
Last updated 27th Jan 2023
Guitar legend Brian May has once again confirmed that Queen + Adam Lambert will never perform at Glastonbury.
Queen have never stepped foot on Worthy Farm in Somerset as Brian May is strongly opposed to badger culling, and in 2018 he called Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis “a danger to farming.”
Dairy farmer Michael Eavis had previously stated he was in favour of the badger cull "in certain circumstances" when there is a potential “heavy loss of dairy cattle".
Appearing the red carpet at the premiere of Cirque du Soleil’s Kurios: Cabinet Of Curiosities at London’s Royal Albert Hall recently, Brian May was asked whether Queen + Adam Lambert would play Glastonbury 2023.
Emphatic in his response, May said: “Would I ever do it? No. As the man who runs it advocates killing badgers for no good reason and I could never level with that.
“Have they tried to book us? I think the feeling is mutual so I think they understand how I feel.”
The comments echo in an interview with the BBC in 2019, when May said: “We won’t (play Glastonbury) and there are a lot of reasons for that.
“One of them is that Michael Eavis has frequently insulted me, and I don’t particularly enjoy that. What bothers me more is that he’s in favour of the badger cull, which I regard as a tragedy and an unnecessary crime against wildlife.
“There’s a little bit of a schism there, I wouldn’t do Glastonbury. Unless things changed radically.”
Six months prior to May’s comments, Michel Eavis told the BBC that Queen are “not quite” Glastonbury’s “thing.”
Asked if the badger culling issue was a reason why Queen wouldn’t appear on the line-up, Eavis said: “Not really but it does have a bearing on it. I have to say, it does have a bearing on it.”
Sir Elton John is the only confirmed headliner for this year’s event in what will be his last ever UK show on the Sunday night.
Duff McKagan seemingly let slip that Guns N’ Roses are playing Glastonbury in an interview with an American radio station earlier this month.
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