Glastonbury organiser defends Jay-Z decision

Organisers of the Glastonbury festival today defended the decision to book hip-hop star Jay-Z to headline the festival.
Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher had criticised the decision and blamed the festival's failure to sell all its tickets on the decision to recruit Jay-Z.
However, writing in today's Independent, co-organiser Emily Eavis said the festival was "delighted" to have secured the services of the hip-hop legend.
Eavis said: "In truth, we felt honoured to have him on board, and believe that he is absolutely the right act for our festival."
"First, we were blown away by selling 100,000 tickets on the first day of sale, especially given that it was a snowy Sunday in April."
"Second, Jay-Z is far from the first hip-hop artist to perform at Glastonbury, as one might assume from some strangely hysterical press reports."
Eavis added that the festival had booked a number of rap artists in the past. She said: "There is no reason why we should not have the greatest living hip-hop artist on at Glastonbury; in fact, he is exactly the sort of act we should have performing."
40-year-old Oasis star Gallagher had previously said it was "wrong" to have a hip-hop headliner at Glastonbury.
He told the BBC: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 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 curve ball 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."
Oasis headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in 1995 and 2004, with the event selling out on both occasions.