Neil Young does U-turn and announces he's now headlining Glastonbury 2025
He has blamed an 'error' for the withdrawal
Last updated 3rd Jan 2025
Neil Young has been officially confirmed as the first headliner of Glastonbury Festival 2025, just three days after he announced he was pulling out.
In a now-deleted New Year’s Eve message to fans on his Neil Young Archives website, the septuagenarian Canadian singer said he was withdrawing from the bill at Glastonbury this summer as he believed the festival was “under corporate control” with the BBC.
“The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all-time favourite outdoor gigs,” Young wrote on Tuesday.
“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.”
In a dramatic turnaround, Neil Young has today (3rd January) confirmed he’s headlining The Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm.
“Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury festival, which I always have loved,” Young wrote. “Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing! Hope to see you there!
“LOVE, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts.”
Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has also confirmed Neil Young’s headline performance.
“What a start to the year!,” Eavis wrote. “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.”
Neil Young previously topped the bill at Glastonbury Festival in 2009 alongside fellow headliners Bruce Springsteen + The E Street Band, and Blur.
The rock icon previously pulled out of Glastonbury way back in 1997 after cutting his finger while making a ham sandwich.
He said 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.”
Rod Stewart is the only other officially confirmed artist playing Glastonbury this summer, and he’ll take the Legends Slot on the Sunday evening.
25 rock stars when they were young, including Neil Young:
Rod Stewart
Roderick David Stewart aged 8 in 1953.
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert Watts – Rolling Stones legend Charlie Watts - aged 2 with his mother Lillian and father Charles in Trafalgar Square in 1943.
Sting
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner – aka Sting – aged 10 at his home in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1961.
Mick Jagger
A school photo of a 9-year-old Mick Jagger in 1951 at Wentworth Junior County Primary School in his home town Dartford
Ronnie Wood
Ronald David Wood (Ronnie Wood) aged 4 in 1951, taken at his home in Whitehorn Avenue, Yiewsley, West London.
Bob Dylan
A childhood photo of Robert Allen Zimmerman – Bob Dylan – aged 2 in 1943.
Iggy Pop
Punk legend James Newell Osterberg Jr. – Iggy Pop – aged 18 months in 1948.
Paul McCartney
Future Beatles icon James Paul McCartney, nowadays known as Paul, aged 8 in Liverpool in 1950.
Janis Joplin
Late-great rock icon Janis Joplin aged 9 in 1952. She died just 18 years later.
David Bowie
A seven-year-old David Jones, soon to be known as David Bowie, in Bromley, London in 1954.
Neil Young
Feted rocker Neil Young as a young boy, aged 11 in 1956.
Jim Morrison
The Doors' Jim Morrison, aged 15, in his high school yearbook photo in 1958.
Bono
A one-year-old Paul David Hewson – future U2 frontman Bono – at his home in Dublin in 1961.
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad – aka Billy Idol – aged 10 in 1965.
Bruce Springsteen
16-year-old Bruce Springsteen in his high school yearbook photo in 1965.
Chrissie Hynde
The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde aged 17 in her high school yearbook in 1968.
Larry Mullen Jr
U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr aged 13 in 1974.
Freddie Mercury
An eight-month-old Farrokh Bulsara – future Queen frontman Freddie Mercury – at his home in Zanzibar.
Debbie Harry
Blondie's Debbie Harry aged 17 in her high school yearbook photo in 1962.
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich, the son of Danish tennis player Torben Ulrich, accompanies his father to Wimbledon in June 1966. Lars was two-and-a-half at the time.
Tina Turner
17-year-old Anna Mae Bullock, rock icon Tina Turner, in her high school yearbook photo in 1956.
Jack Black
Tenacious D rocker and acting legend, Jack Black, aged 16 in 1985.
Tom Petty
17-year-old Tom Petty as seen in his 1967 Gainesville High School yearbook photo. © Alamy
Elvis Presley
The King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley, aged 5 in 1940.
Jimi Hendrix
A three-year-old Johnny Allen Hendrix with his dad Al in late 1945. When he was four in 1946 – a year after the above photo was taken – Johnny was renamed James 'Jimmy' Marshall Hendrix after his dad and Al's late brother Leon Marshall Hendrix.
John Lydon
The Sex Pistols' John Lydon – aka Johnny Rotten – aged 7 in 1964.
Sid Vicious
Simon John Ritchie - aka future Sex Pistols star Sid Vicious - aged 12 in 1969.
Ian Curtis
A five-year-old Ian Curtis in Macclesfield, Cheshire in 1961.
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