Archive June 29, 2025

The BBC has responded to Bob Vylan’s performances on Saturday in a statement.

On the West Holts Stage at the festival, rappers Bobby Vylan and Bobby Vylan chanted “Death, death to the IDF.” Many viewers were upset over the footage because Health Secretary Wes Streeting branded it “appalling” after the scenes were broadcast live on BBC iPlayer.

A BBC spokesperson responded in a statement following the incident. They claimed that some of the comments made on Bob Vylan’s set were “deeply offensive.” A warning was posted on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language used during this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage. No intention is being made to provide the performance on demand.

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Sir Rod Stewart, a legend of music and set to play at the Glastonbury Festival’s Pyramid Stage this weekend for the Legends set, revealed shocking news about his retirement from music.

Glastonbury 2025 has officially kicked off and music lovers around the world are in a frenzy to catch their favourite artists. Considered to be the holy grail of music festivals in the UK, this year’s Glasto is choc-a-bloc with music acts and massive headliners.

One of the most eagerly anticipated headliners during this year’s festival is none other than rock legend Sir Rod Stewart. All set to dazzle the crowd on Sunday, June 29, the rock icon will be closing the five-day musical bonanza, much to the excitement of fans.

The 80-year-old rockstar, who last performed on the Pyramid Stage 23 years ago, has been chosen as this year’s Legend’s slot headliner for Worthy Farm in Somerset’s renowned grounds.

Stewart is making history as the first artist to have both headlined Glastonbury and received the legends billing, having previously shared top billing at the festival in 2002 with Coldplay and Stereophonics. Sir Rod is stepping into the shoes of music greats like Elton John, Dolly Parton, Barry Gibb, Shania Twain, and Kylie Minogue who have previously shouldered the Legends mantle.

READ MORE: Glastonbury Festival 2025 Friday headliners, set times and how to watchREAD MORE: BBC won’t televise Neil Young Glastonbury set and gives four-word explanation

However, his emergence from the festival’s top spot has also produced some notable headline-grabbing moments.

Back in 2023, the singer had made a shocking statement about retiring which catapulted fans of the icon into despair. During an interview alongside Boy George whilst promoting their then-upcoming tour together, Stewart had told the BBC: “I’m not retiring. But I want to move on. I had great success with The Great American Songbook, all-American standards, and I’ve just done a swing album with Jools Holland, which is going to come out next year, so I want to go in that direction.”

He continued, “I just want to leave the rock ‘n ‘roll stuff behind… maybe for a while.”

However, soon after the interview made headlines, the legend took to social media platform X (previously Twitter ) and clarified his statements, saying: “I shall never retire! I was put on this earth to be a singer and will keep doing so for as long as the good lord lets me.”

He continued, “In a series of tweets, I’ve mentioned that my newest passion is big band/swing music, and I’m very eager to share it with you when we wrap up this greatest hits tour.”

“Over the past six decades, I have written and sung songs that I have never turned my back on. They resemble my kids. I made them out of love. I’ll always return to them, just like I did after the 26-million album-selling Great American Songbook series, I shall say.

The rocker concluded, “I look forward to seeing you on the road with all the hits, and I can’t wait to introduce you to my new swing album next year.”

However, the singer once more made an appearance to hang up the microphone in 2024, at least during his extensive world tours.

In an Instagram post, Rod wrote: “This will be the end of large-scale world tours for me, but I have no desire to retire. I love what I do and I do what I love. I’m fit, have a full head of hair and can run 100 metres in 18 seconds at the jolly old age of 79.”

He continued, “I’d like to move on to a smaller, more intimate tour of the year after next with the Great American Songbook and Swing Fever.” I might not, though. The unclear Sir Rod Stewart

However, it seems as though everything works out as planned as Sir Rod continued to provide Glasto 2025’s audience with the performance of his lifetime.

The rocker, who is currently leading the lineup this year, said in a statement that he is “proud, ready, and more than capable of delighting and titillating my friends at Glastonbury.”

After being approached by Emily and Michael Eavis, the Maggie May singer jumped at the chance to play the prestigious teatime slot, which is frequently reserved for the elite of music. However, Sir Rod has revealed that accepting this coveted position carries a significant financial risk.

The music legend disclosed that accepting a performance at Glastonbury’s legendary slot will cost him a cool $300, 000 (£237, 780), which he first revealed on talkSPORT Breakfast earlier this year. When questioned about how quickly he accepted the offer, he responded, “Immediately. It’s a great honor.

Then he admitted, “It will cost me a fortune to do it: $300, 0000.” I need to bring all of my band back from America, and Glastonbury won’t, of course. However, I would have done it if it had cost me $1 million. It’s a great honor to do this. It is truly the greatest honor.

In another appearance, this time on the Sidetracked podcast, Sir Rod shared: “Believe it or not, my kids, three of them, all bought their own tickets, because Glastonbury give nothing away. Nothing. Everybody asks me for tickets. All the time. Everywhere. People just come out of the woodwork. ‘Oh, you haven’t spoken to me for 25 years. Any chance I could have a ticket?'”.

The rock aficionados are also having a bad time with the money, though. As he prepares for his iconic performance at Glastonbury, Sir Rod Stewart is never-feying in his health.

Having battled multiple severe health issues previously — including thyroid and prostate cancer — the celebrated musician is taking drastic steps to ensure he’s in prime condition for his big performance.

Roman Kemp claims Simon Rimmer, the presenter and chef behind Sunday Brunch, made the worst pie he’s ever had, but it wasn’t the star’s cooking that caused the problem.

TV host Roman Kemp has opened up about his less-than-pleasant culinary experience on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, where he was served a fish pie by chef Simon Rimmer.

On their podcast Introducing About, singer Tom Grennan, 30, chews the fat with… Roman, 32, was forced to admit that Simon’s dish during the program was the most disappointing pie he’s ever had, calling it the “worst bit of fish pie” he had ever had.

Eating fish pie at dawn turned out to be the only reason he was off, explaining that despite his affection for both Simon and Tim Lovejoy, Sunday Brunch was the only option. You stay there a long time. Love Tim and love Simon, but it’s too early for a long show.

When asked for his thoughts on the dish while still reeling from the early hour, Kemp openly admitted, “It was 8am and I’m trying to stomach this fish pie and they came over and said “What do you think?” I detested this, and I admitted that I didn’t like it.

Roman’s startling admission comes after viewers praised a new addition to Sunday Brunch’s presenter lineup.

While usually the dynamic duo of Simon and Tim Lovejoy steer the ship, the latter has recently taken a brief hiatus, ushering in TV favourite Vicky Pattison to fill his shoes.

Announcing her stint on the show, an excited Vicky shared on Instagram: “I HAVE SOME EXCITING NEWS! ! ! !”.

The much-loved presenter said, “This week, it is an absolute honor for me to be wearing a slightly different hat as a long-time friend of @sundaybrunchc4! While @timlovejoy_official enjoys a much-deserved break, my good friend @rimmersimon will be my co-host. “!.

She continued, “I am buzzing like an old fridge to chat to all of our gorgeous guests, eat some delicious food, and hopefully give anyone watching and nursing a hangover a little light comedy reprieve.”

Vicky’s arrival on Sunday Brunch greeted viewers with joy. While chatting with the guests, one fan said, “Joke about Vicki any way you want, but it’s nice to have some female perspective and co-presentation on the sofa.”

Another viewer quickly responded with “What a breath of fresh air @VickyPattison is #SundayBrunch,” and another praised the change, saying that “I honestly don’t think Tim should go, but having Vicki is a nice change from two bald blokes being bloke and exciting only really by any footie talk #sundaybrunch.”