Brian May says it’s “not impossible” that Queen discuss playing Glastonbury
Queen guitarist Brian May has said that it’s “not impossible” that the band could discuss playing Glastonbury Festival.
Back in 2019, May explained why the band would “never” play the festival, before doubling down on the comments this year.
Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis previously called May a “danger to farming” and criticised the guitarist’s opposition to the controversial badger cull – arguing that the process is a fight against the impact that bovine TB can cause when cattle become infected.
May then said the band will never play Worthy Farm because “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.”
In a new interview with The Guardian, May was asked once again about Glastonbury and whether he and Eavis could settle their differences.
He said: “You can never say never, but it’s a very big matter of principle to me. I am convinced, more than ever, that the badger cull is the greatest crime this country has ever committed against wildlife. It’s completely pointless and the tragedy is immense: you’re talking about nearly half a million native animals killed and it’s not benefited farmers one bit.
“The fact that Michael Eavis supports badger-culling is difficult for me to swallow. I don’t really want to endorse his festival, but it’s not impossible that we could sit down and talk. I’ll talk to anyone – that’s the way we go forward.
Eavis previously admitted that May’s stance on the badger cull “does have a bearing” on why Queen are unlikely to feature on any future line-ups.
In 2018, Eavis’ support of the badger cull also prompted Downton Abbey actor Peter Egan to lead calls for music fans and animal lovers to boycott Glastonbury.
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Will Richards
NME
