Gallagher: No hip-hop at Glastonbury

Oasis guitarist slams choice of Jay-Z as headliner of massive UK fest, calling inclusion of hip-hop "wrong."

Oasis has reportedly completed its seventh studio album and is waiting to find a label to put it out.

Between now and then, the band's guitarist will likely be inserting his foot into his mouth.

Noel Gallagher told BBC News this week that it was wrong to have Jay-Z headline the storied Glastonbury festival this year, and that the rapper's place atop the bill is the reason that tickets had not sold out this year.

"If it ain't broke don't fix it," Gallagher said. "If you start to break it then people aren't going to go. I'm sorry, but Jay-Z? No chance. Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music, and even when they throw the odd curveball in on a Sunday night, you go 'Kylie Minogue?' I don't know about it. But I'm not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It's wrong."

Hattie Collins, editor of urban music magazine RWD, told the network that Gallagher had "probably never seen Jay-Z live or heard any of his tunes. Hip-hop in a live setting can be fantastic and has just as much right to be there as any other run-of-the-mill indie band. Gone are the days when a guy would turn up with a microphone and grab himself while wandering around mumbling."

The full Glastonbury lineup will be announced on May 1.