'Prime ministers and pop music don't go together': Glastonbury performers criticise political interference

Glastonbury 2025 is in full swing, with artists including Charli XCX, The 1975, Olivia Rodrigo, Neil Young, Rod Stewart, and Alanis Morissette among the stars set to entertain the masses this year.

But politicians who won't even be setting foot on Worthy Farm in Somerset have been making their thoughts known about this year's line-up - in particular the Irish-language rappers Kneecap, who are on the bill on Saturday.

The trio made a huge Glastonbury debut last year - impressing the likes of Noel Gallagher, who turned out for a set. But the path to a bigger stage this time round has made headlines for different reasons.

Outspoken on the war in Gaza, Liam O'Hanna, or Liam Og O hAnnaidh, appeared in court earlier this month charged with a terror offence, for allegedly displaying a flag in support of the proscribed group Hezbollah at a Kneecap gig in London last November.

He is due back in court in August. On social media, he denied support for Hezbollah after the charge was announced, but the trio have held firm on their support for Palestinians.

Removed from the bills of some festivals in the run-up to Glastonbury, there were calls from some for them to be taken off here, too - including from the prime minister.

When asked by The Sun, Sir Keir Starmer said it was not "appropriate", and he did not think they should play.

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In an interview with The Guardian as the festival got under way, O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was asked if he regretted what was depicted in a video of the alleged offence that circulated on social media.

"It's a joke," he replied. "I'm a character. Shit is thrown on stage all the time. If I'm supposed to know every f****** thing that's thrown on stage, I'd be in Mensa."

He told the newspaper he did not know every proscribed organisation, saying he had enough to think about when he is on stage.

"I'm thinking about my next lyric, my next joke, the next drop of a beat."

Dilemma for the BBC

For the BBC, which broadcasts a lot of the main sets live, it poses a dilemma.

When asked if it would be showing Kneecap's set live, a spokesperson said artists were booked by festival organisers and their own plans would ensure editorial guidelines are met.

"Whilst the BBC doesn't ban artists, our plans will ensure that our programming will meet our editorial guidelines," they said. "Decisions about our output will be made in the lead up to the festival."

Which means it's unlikely they'll be streaming Kneecap live - but some of their set at least may be made available later.

To those who object to them being allowed a stage here at all, it's still allowing the band a very prominent platform.

But Glastonbury has always leaned left, featuring acts unafraid to share their political views - and hosting former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on stage in 2019.

Festival founder Michael Eavis told the Glastonbury Free Press that people have always come to the festival for these reasons - and made his views clear: "People that don't agree with the politics of the event can go somewhere else."

Singer and activist Billy Bragg, who organises the Left Field stage each year, said Glastonbury has always been political.

"When I first came here in 1984, it was a CND (Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament) festival, and everybody was in opposition, or every young person, was opposed to Margaret Thatcher's policies. And whatever issues - CND, the miners, gay rights, they came, it's always been that.

"So I don't know why everyone's saying this year it's a bit political. It's always been political. I suppose the prime minister saying who can and who can't play might have something to do with it."

Bragg said he was "proud" of Glastonbury organisers for "standing up to it" and ignoring the noise.

Accusations of 'corporate control'

Politics and pop have always been intertwined for older acts such as Neil Young, who headlines the Pyramid Stage on Saturday - and we know the BBC won't be showing this one live, but perhaps for different reasons.

Before his headline slot was confirmed, Young, who began his career in the 1960s with the band Buffalo Springfield, said he had initially turned down the offer to perform, saying the festival was "under corporate control" of the broadcaster.

Earlier this week, the corporation confirmed it would not show the set live "at the artist's request".

Singer-songwriter John Fogerty, one of the founders of US blues rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, is also on the bill this year - and said songwriters should talk about what's going on in the world around them, "certainly if they have a point of view and they'd like to share it".

There's a balance, he added. "I was happy to write Proud Mary, which is sort of Americana, you know, sort of love song to America, really.

"But I wrote Fortunate Son right in the middle of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. And that has a place too. People need to feel free to write more music like that."

With Donald Trump back in power, the US is in "political turmoil", Fogerty said. "It's almost, you know, I should go sit down somewhere and write a song about this - and then you go, oh my goodness, I already did."

For fans at Glastonbury, music as ever is the focus here - and the feeling from most is that politicians should stay out of it.

"The prime minister and pop music don't really go together," said Bragg. "I don't think anybody, leader of the opposition either, should say who can and who can't play at a festival."