Maximo Park Praise Neil Young

Maximo Park singer Paul Smith has praised Glastonbury headliner Neil Young for a very subtle 'tribute' to Michael Jackson.

Maximo Park were given the honour of breaking new ground at this year's Glastonbury. The group were chosen to open the William Green Stage, becoming the first band to play at this summer's event.

The band invited fans to pick their set list, cramming the show with as many rarities and B-sides as possible. Due to the sheer mass of fans trying to get to the stage Maximo Park's show was delayed, with the group eventually playing a rip roaring set.

Kick starting a terrific weekend, this year's Glastonbury may well go down as a vintage year. The spirits of those present weren't dampened by the rain or even the tragic death of Michael Jackson just as the Worthy Farm gates opened.

Organiser Emily Eavis promised to have a series of tributes to Michael Jackson all round the site, while performers paid tribute in their own way. The Noisettes singer Shingai Shoniwa sang an a capella version of 'Ben', Michael Jackson's early hit.

Now it seems that Neil Young also paid tribute to the sadly deceased singer. Maximo Park frontman Paul Smith claims that he saw Neil Young reference Michael Jackson during his headline performance.

"Yesterday Neil Young capped off the night with I think a little Jacko tribute, to Michael Jackson," Smith told the NME.

"He opened with 'Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)' which is about a fallen rock star. He said 'the king is gone, but he's not forgotten', and while he was singing it he put his hand up in a sort of Jacko pose."

"For me that was a big moment of Glastonbury. Acknowledgment, but a subtle acknowledgment, from Neil Young."

'Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)' has been played in dedication to rock stars before. Kurt Cobain referenced the song in his suicide note, leading to Neil Young dedicating his album 'Sleeps With Angels' to the singer.

Oasis took to covering the song, and dedicated it to Kurt Cobain when playing a show in Seattle in 2000.