Twelve years it took -- in 1997, Neil Young was supposed to headline the Pyramid Stage; an appearance curtailed by a rather messy accident whilst making a ham sandwich. More than a decade later, Glastonbury finally got its date with Canada's Godfather of grunge on Friday night.

With a reputation for perverse setlists -- just because there's tens of thousands of fans anticipating the classics doesn't mean he'll play them -- Young unleashed a blistering, amp-mangling performance which put paid to any fears of obtuse, audience-alienating stubbornness.

It started with post-punk 'Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)' and 'Mansion on the Hill' before fans were treated to a filling-rattling coda to 'Down by the River' as Young corralled his band through a spine-tingling set heavy on Crazy Horse-era material.

Seventies standards like 'Cinnamon Girl' and 'Needle and the Damage Done' were all present and correct, but the biggest cheer of the night -- a hoarse, bellowing, manly cry, no doubt lubricated with cider -- was for 'Rockin' in the Free World,' which Young and band turned into a feedback-stained epic.

He wasn't finished. For an encore, he returned to cover The Beatles' 'A Day in the Life' -- the Beatles as imagined by Sonic Youth, perhaps. Young propped his trusty guitar against an amp and proceeded to bash at it with a mic stand until the strings snapped. Just in case things were getting too comfortable.