Neil Young performs his headline set at Glastonbury to a ‘sparse’ crowd after making major U-turn and allowing performance to be broadcast on BBC

Neil Young took to the stage at Glastonbury on Saturday night but was faced with a sparse crowd compared to other performers.

The music legend, 79, performed his set on the Pyramid stage with his band the Chrome Hearts, opening with Sugar Mountain.

Despite not having a packed out audience, Neil’s fans gradually grew in size as his set continued with classic hits such as Harvest Moon.  

Festival goers at Glastonbury took to social media to comment on the crowd size, with one writing: ‘Pyramid stage field isn’t even 1/4 full by looks of it? Shame cos Neil Young is sounding pretty decent.’ 

Another posted: ‘I’m quite fascinated by what size crowd Neil Young has attracted at #Glastonbury but the aerial shots are so dark, you can’t get any perspective.’

Neil made a dramatic U-turn and allowed his Glastonbury set to be aired on the BBC.

Neil Young took to the stage at Glastonbury on Saturday night but was faced with a sparse crowd compared to other performers

The music legend, 79, performed his set on the Pyramid stage with his band the Chrome Hearts, opening with Sugar Mountain 

Despite not having a packed out audience, Neil’s fans gradually grew in size as his set continued with classic hits such as Harvest Moon

He is one of the festival’s major headliners this year, joining a star-studded line-up that includes Sir Rod Stewart and Nile Rodgers.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Neil had requested his performance not be broadcast live on TV.

However, in a surprise move, the BBC confirmed yesterday that his set would be shown afterall.

A BBC spokesperson 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.’

It was aired live on iPlayer’s Pyramid Stage stream at 10pm, as well as BBC Two and Radio 2.

Neil had been left out of the live schedule due to ongoing negations with the BBC.

The BBC schedule of live sets was released to the public earlier this month which includes other Saturday headliners such as Charli XCX and Doechii.

And just days ago, it was claimed Neil was still ‘wrangling’ with the broadcasting corporation, and insiders suspect he will only allow for just a handful of his songs to be shown.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Neil had requested his performance not be broadcast live on TV

He is one of the festival’s major headliners this year, joining a star-studded line-up that includes Sir Rod Stewart and Nile Rodgers

Back in January, the rock star finally agreed to play at Glastonbury Festival after initially turning down the offer because it was ‘under corporate control’ of the BBC

A BBC spokeswoman told the Mirror at the time: ‘We aim to bring audiences as many performances as possible from the Pyramid Stage, and our schedules and plans continue to be finalised, right up to and during the festival.’

MailOnline contacted BBC and Neil’s representatives for comment.

Back in January, the rock star finally agreed to play at Glastonbury Festival after initially turning down the offer because it was ‘under corporate control’ of the BBC.

The singer and his new live band The Chrome Hearts were thought to be in the running for the huge music event which takes place at Worthy Farm.

But Neil issued a bombshell statement on New Year’s Day accusing the festival of being controlled by the BBC, appearing to dash fans’ hopes.

A statement posted on Neil Young’s website at the time said: ‘Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury Festival, which I always have loved.

‘Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing. Hope to see you there.’

Neil issued a bombshell statement on New Year’s Day accusing the festival of being controlled by the BBC, appearing to dash fans’ hopes he would perform

Neil took to the stage as pop star Charli XCX performed to thousands on the Other Stage at the music festival

Neil’s most recent performance at Glastonbury in 2009 was broadcast on the BBC. But only portions of it were actually televised due to Young’s team objecting

Neil had previously said in an open letter on the Neil Young Archives this week: ‘The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all time favourite outdoor gigs.

‘We were told the BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way that we were not interested in. It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.

‘We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be. Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour.’

The BBC has aired sets from the music festival across its various television and radio stations for years.

Neil’s most recent performance at Glastonbury in 2009 was broadcast on the BBC. But only portions of it were actually televised due to Young’s team objecting.

In response to criticism from his fans, the BBC said it had ‘spent the last couple of months’ negotiating with his management about how much of his set they could broadcast.

‘Neil Young’s career has been conducted on his own terms,’ the broadcaster said at the time.

‘Neil’s management agreed to let TV and radio broadcast five songs as they watched and listened to his performance. They believe in the live event and retaining its mystery and that of their artist.’

He previously said: ‘We were told the BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way that we were not interested in’ 

The singer was also booked to appear at the 1997 festival, but had to pull out after cutting his finger while making a ham sandwich.

Neil’s new band features Micah Nelson on guitar, Spooner Oldham on organ, Corey McCormick on bass and Anthony LoGerfo on drums.

Announcing his return to the Pyramid Stage, Glastonbury promoter Emily Eavis hinted at frantic negotiations behind the scenes as she wrote: ‘What a start to the year! Neil Young is an artist who’s very close to our hearts at Glastonbury.

‘He does things his own way and that’s why we love him… We can’t wait to welcome him back here to headline the Pyramid in June.’