Brian May doubles down on the reason why Queen “could never” play Glastonbury
Brian May has doubled down on the reason why Queen “could never” play Glastonbury.
The guitarist previously ruled out playing Worthy Farm after clashing with Michael Eavis over the badger cull.
The Glastonbury founder previously called May a “danger to farming” and criticised the guitarist’s opposition to the controversial cull, arguing that the process aims to fight against the impact that bovine tuberculosis can have on infected cattle.
As a result, May insisted that Eavis’ comments would prevent the band from playing at Glastonbury, even if it became a remote possibility.
“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,” he previously said.
“There’s a little bit of a schism there, I wouldn’t do Glastonbury. Unless things changed radically.”
May has now reiterated his stance on performing at the festival, telling The Sun in a new interview: “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.”
Asked if the badger cull row was the reason Queen were unlikely to feature on any future Glastonbury line-ups, Eavis previously said: “Not really but it does have a bearing on it. I have to say, it does have a bearing on it.”
Despite May’s comments, Eavis claimed in the past that the band were “not quite our thing” and said that Queen’s manager had sent him a “hand-written postcard” in an unsuccessful attempt to secure a headline slot for the band.
This year’s festival is due to take place on June 21-25, but so far only Elton John has been revealed as a headliner.
Other rumoured acts that could top the bill so far include Arctic Monkeys, Roxy Music in the legends slot, and Guns ‘N’ Roses (after bassist Duff McKagan appeared to self-confirm the band’s slot last week).
Elsewhere, fans suspect that Red Hot Chili Peppers could be performing at Glastonbury this year after bassist Flea shared a cryptic social media post.
Meanwhile, the festival has announced details of its Emerging Talent Competition for 2023, with slots on the line-up up for grabs.
The post Brian May doubles down on the reason why Queen “could never” play Glastonbury appeared first on NME.
Damian Jones
NME
