It looks as though Neil Young fans hoping to catch his Glastonbury headline set on the BBC might be left disappointed.
The Heart of Gold hitmaker, 79, is mysteriously missing from the BBC’s initial coverage schedule for this weekend, with the Worthy Farm festival’s gates opening tomorrow.
While the BBC mentions coverage for all the other headliners, Neil’s name is nowhere to be seen, despite him being billed to headline the Pyramid Stage on Saturday evening.
An article outlining BBC One’s coverage says it will be covering all other Pyramid Stage headliners, but where mention of Neil’s set should be is Charli XCX’s set, taking place on The Other Stage.
The 1975’s set – likely with Matty Healy’s wild antics – will be broadcast on iPlayer and BBC One from 10.30pm on the Friday. Sir Rod Stewart will be on iPlayer and BBC One from 7.15pm on Sunday, while Olivia Rodrigo’s set will be on iPlayer and BBC One from 10pm later that evening.
On the Saturday though, the BBC are going off piste.
They will be broadcasting Prada hitmaker Raye’s Pyramid Stage performance, which comes just before Neil’s headline slot.
But the schedule does not currently mention Neil once.
Instead, it appears Charli XCX’s set – happening at the same time as Neil’s but on Glastonbury’s second stage, The Other Stage – will be broadcast.
The BBC schedule states: ‘Lauren Laverne and Jo Whiley introduce the unstoppable Raye, who takes to the Pyramid Stage as the penultimate artist on the Saturday night bill on BBC One and iPlayer from 9pm and then bring all the action from Saturday night on BBC Two and iPlayer from 10.10pm.’
It then adds: ‘Jack Saunders is live at Worthy Farm on iPlayer and BBC One from 10.30pm as Charli XCX returns to headline the Other Stage in one of the most hyped sets of the weekend.
‘You can look back on all the big performances of day two on iPlayer and BBC Two from midnight.’
This comes as The Mirror reports that the rock veteran is ‘still wrangling’ with the BBC about coverage with just days to go until Neil takes to the Pyramid Stage.
‘Whether they will be live or part of an edited highlights package is still unclear,’ the publication reports.
The outlet adds that insiders suspect he will agree to letting just a handful of songs go out on TV or BBC iPlayer.
A BBC spokesperson told Metro: ‘We aim to bring audiences as many performances as possible from the Pyramid Stage, and our schedules and plans continue to be finalised, right up to and during the festival.’
In January this year, Neil caused a stir when he announced out of the blue that he will not be playing Glastonbury this year.
Young took to his website to reveal that after BBC demands, he and his band were no longer interested in performing at Worthy Farm.
‘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,’ he said in a statement.
‘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 open letter concluded.
However, he then did a U-turn, announcing he would be headlining after all following an ‘error’ in information.
In a blog post, he wrote: ‘Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not 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! LOVE Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts’
This isn’t the first time Neil and the BBC have negotiated over his Glastonbury coverage.
In 2009, the singer headlined the festival – alongside Bruce Springsteen and Blur – and performed a two-hour set; however, a shortened version was shown in the end.
The BBC said at the time: ‘Neil Young’s career has been conducted on his own terms.
‘They believe in the live event and retaining its mystery and that of their artist. They have decided to make one song available online over the weekend to give a flavour of his set. That’s Rockin’ in the Free World and that’s their decision.
‘You probably won’t find too many Neil Young performances available freely on TV or online.’
Metro has contacted the BBC, Glastonbury and Neil Young for comment.
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