Did Taylor Swift turn down Glastonbury? 5 stars who said no to festival, including Fleetwood Mac and Queen

It’s been a long two years, but Glastonbury 2022 is back in full swing.

Over 200,000 fans have set up camp at Worthy Farm and are looking forward to performances from headliners including Sir Paul McCartney, Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar.

Two of the main acts have moved forward from the 2020 lineup, but one is missing - Taylor Swift.

Here’s everything you need to know about why the famous pop star isn’t headlining this year.

Did Taylor Swift turn down Glastonbury?

Taylor Swift was originally meant to headline Glastonbury 2020, along with Sir Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar, however the festival was cancelled due to Covid-19.

It was expected the Shake It Off star would feature in the 2022 lineup, with her due to play on Sunday, in between Kendrick Lamar and Diana Ross.

Swift was reportedly asked to headline at Glastonbury 2022 but the star turned this down as “‘the timing isn’t right.”

A source told the Sun: “Of course, she would absolutely love to headline at some point. It is still on her bucket list but performing isn’t her priority right now.

“She has old albums which she is still working on re-recording and getting those finished is her priority.”

Swift has been working hard at re-recording all of her first five albums, which has been keeping her busy.

What other famous artists have not played Glastonbury?

Performing at Glastonbury is often a defining moment in many artist’s careers, but there are plenty that have turned the festival down.

Here are five famous artists that have not played Glastonbury:

Led Zeppelin

The iconic rock band never got a chance to rock the Pyramid Stage.

The band was rumoured to play in 2020 before the lineup was announced, but it is unlikely they will ever get to Worthy Farm.

Led Zeppelin haven’t performed live since reuniting to perform at the Ahmet Ertegun concert at the O2 Arena in 2007.

Queen

Queen is one of the UK’s most famous bands, with over 300 million albums sold.

So, why have they never headlined Glastonbury?

In an interview with the BBC in 2019, Brian May explained why the band would not play at Worthy Farm.

May explained: “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.

“There’s a little bit of a schism there, I wouldn’t do Glastonbury. Unless things changed radically.”

Kate Bush

There have been rumours that Kate Bush might perform at Glastonbury this year.

Bush’s single “Running Up That Hill” has broken records by topping the UK charts a whopping 37 years after it was released.

The song, which was first enjoyed by audiences in 1985, played an important role in the latest season of Netflix’s Stranger Things.

However, it seems unlikely Bush will take to the stage, she hasn’t performed live since 2014.

Speaking to BBC 6 Music about her 2014 performance she explained it made her feel “nervous every night.”

Fleetwood Mac

Another band that was rumoured to be on the 2020 lineup, Fleetwood Mac, have never played at Glastonbury.

It seems every year the band are expected to be in the lineup, but never make an appearance.

Festival founder Michael Eavis addressed this in 2018 when speaking at Glastonbury’s Acoustic Stage.

Eavis said: “I can’t afford them at the moment! They’ll have to bring their price down because we can’t afford it. But they said the other day that they really want to do it and if they don’t do it before they die they’ll go to hell.”

Elton John

Elton John has never played Glastonbury, but rumours always surround as to whether he will surprise fans at the secret set.

Speaking to the BBC in 2016, the star explained that he had “never been asked” to do the festival.

John said: “I haven’t been asked, no.

“I mean, they may have asked - but no-one’s ever told me.”