Greg James has mocked Neil Young’s Glastonbury 2025 U-turn, which saw him reverse his decision to pull out of the festival.
The singer-songwriter made headlines earlier this week when he shared a statement with his fans, confirming that he was due to perform at Glastonbury later this year, but had pulled out due to creative differences.
Write on your website Archives de Neil Young On Tuesday (December 31), he said: “The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my favorite outdoor concerts of all time. We were told that the BBC were now partners with Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way that we weren’t interested in doing.
“It looks like Glastonbury is now under corporate control and that’s not how I remember it,” he continued. “Thanks for coming to see us last time!” We won’t be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it’s a no-no from the company, and not for me like it was before. Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour.
Then a few days later, after sharing the update, the songwriting icon announced that he had changed his mind again and would be performing on the site as originally planned.
Now BBC Radio 1 presenter Greg James has mimicked Young’s statement with his own jokey take on his breakfast show on Instagram ahead of his return tomorrow (January 6).
“The R1 Breakfast show team and I couldn’t wait to start another year of broadcasting and deliver a bunch of silly stuff to help you get through the first few hours, it’s one of my favorite gigs of all time,” he began.
“We were told that the BBC was now a partner and that they wanted us to do a lot of things in a way that we weren’t interested in doing. It seems that Radio 1 is now under corporate control and that’s not how I remember it. Thanks for listening these past few years!
“We won’t be able to continue our work to annoy the world’s biggest stars and celebrate our incredible listeners, like Owen who accidentally broke 10,000 eggs, or Alice who flew to Paris to try to get away with Olympians in the summer. This also means that we will no longer hold funerals for ducks.
“Radio 1 is a turning point for the company, and not for me like before. Instead, I hope to see you on one of my many podcasts.
Then, just like Young, James followed up with a statement that revisited his words.
“Due to an error in the information received, I decided not to do the breakfast show, which I have always loved. Luckily, the radio show is now back on my itinerary and we look forward to being there when you need some morning fun! I hope to see you there! he added.
James continued: “I’m looking forward to management’s reaction to a Neil Young Glastonbury joke. Perhaps I inadvertently ruined my first day back. But it made me laugh, so that’s good at least.
The upcoming slot will mark a return to the venue for Young, who previously headlined the Pyramid Stage in 2009. That appearance came despite him being scheduled to do so 12 years earlier, only to be forced to withdraw due to injury.
It hasn’t been clarified what exactly the “error in information” refers to, and further details about what to expect from Young’s next set remain unknown.
Other rumored headliners include Olivia Rodrigo, Sam Fender, The 1975, Taylor Swift and Stevie Wonder. The full festival lineup is usually shared in March.
Last November, tickets for Glastonbury 2025 sold out in just 32 minutes, with the festival using a new ticket queuing system.
For those still looking for tickets, resale tickets are usually available in the spring, and the full lineup is usually available shortly before. However, these resale options also tend to sell quickly. It was reported towards the end of 2024 that coach and ticket resale lots sold out in just 18 minutes and general resale tickets sold out in 22 minutes for the 2025 edition.
The next episode will be the last before Glastonbury takes a fallow year in 2026. Visit here for more information on how to get Glastonbury tickets, pricing information and much more.
The 2024 festival headlined Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA, with other memorable sets from Shania Twain, Little Simz, Fontaines DC and IDLES.
