Neil Young in Glastonbury 'sparse crowd' shock and fans have explanation

Neil Young's headliner at Glastonbury Festival failed to attract large crowds when it kicked off on Saturday night, we can reveal.

The iconic singer, best known for songs such as Rockin' In The Free World, Like A Hurricane and Cinnamon Girl, headlined the festival's Pyramid Stage on Saturday night with his band the Chrome Hearts. He opened his set with the song Sugar Mountain, saying "thank you folks" to the crowd as he finished singing.

At the beginning, the crowd at the stage was not as large as expected during a headlining set. But when he began performing his hits including Harvest Moon, more people joined the crowd to watch Neil's set and the crowd gradually grew in size.

READ MORE: Neil Young's Glastonbury performance will air on the BBC in dramatic U-turn

In an image shared by a festival-goer on X, the crowd looked sparse just 10 minutes before Neil's performance. The photo was captioned: "Neil Young on in ten minutes. Pretty sparse ol crowd that.."

Another said: "Probably more of an audience for Charli XCX on the Other stage than there is for Neil Young!" The person who initial posted the photo said: "Yeah. Just came from Skepta there and it was already beyond rammed."

One pointed out: "It is a festival more aimed at young people tbf." Someone wrote: "Pyramid stage field isn't even 1/4 full by looks of it? Shame cos Neil Young is sounding pretty decent."

Some people wrote on social media that they didn't think Neil was a good option for a headliner, with one saying: "I do like Neil Young and his whole song book and history, but is he probably the worst Saturday night pyramid booking at Glasto for a long long time. He's more of a Sunday evening slot imho."

Another said: "Neil Young should absolutely not be a Saturday night Glastonbury headliner. Zero production value and the crowd looks like they're about to fall asleep." Someone else tweeted: "Neil Young might be a legend in his own right, but this #Glastonbury set is not the one. Especially for a Saturday headline."

But some fans shared more positive thoughts online, with one writing: "Wife's favourite on now, Neil Young. She's singing along." Another tweeted: "Neil Young showing every guitarist how it's done!" A fan added: "No words can describe how much I love this man."

One said: "Terrifying people questioning why Neil Young is headlining Glasto. One of the greatest rockstars / song writers in the last 50 years." Another wrote: "God bless Neil Young."

Initially, the BBC said Neil's set would not be shown on TV "at the artist's request" but earlier today, the singer had a change of heart and it was eventually shown on TV. A spokesperson for the BBC said: "We are delighted to confirm that Neil Young's headline set from Glastonbury on Saturday will be broadcast live to audiences across the UK on the BBC."

During his performance, Neil appeared to make a reference at the BBC streaming his set as he said at some point: "Hello to people watching in their bedrooms." Among the songs he performed this evening were Be The Rain, When You Dance I Can Really Love, Cinnamon Girl and Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black), with lyrics that reference Johnny Rotten, the stage name of Sex Pistols' John Lydon. Neil announced last year he would play Glastonbury in 2025, only to retract his decision upon learning of the BBC's involvement, but then later changed his mind.

BBC presenter Colin Paterson explained earlier week: "I asked [event co-organiser] Emily Eavis what was going on and she says she does not believe that Neil Young's set will be broadcast by the BBC. There's been all kinds of backstage wrangling and negotiations, but as things currently stand, Neil Young's headline set on Saturday night will not be broadcast by the BBC. Instead, they'll be showing Charli xcx."

When Neil played Glastonbury in 2009, only five songs were televised. Speaking at the time Mark Cooper, then executive producer of the BBC's Glastonbury coverage, said: "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."

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