The mother of all British festivals Glastonbury, has built a peculiar place in the British nation's heart. Curated since 1970 by the self-confessed still hippie Michael Eavis and held on his farm in the country's rural south-west. Over the years it has extended far beyond a traditional musical context, in financially supporting environmental causes and becoming widely recognised as a pantheon of alternative contemporary arts.

It's still the musical side however for which the festival is most recognised and - as became apparent following the announcement of a headline appearance for rapper and self-proclaimed "CEO of hip-hop" Jay-Z - it's perhaps least bohemian tentacle.

Fans used to seeing the likes of The Arctic Monkeys topping the bill were clearly underwhelmed. Ticket sales - which the year before had been concluded within two hours of being made available - were at best sluggish. It took the ever reliable outer monologue of Oasis, muse Noel Gallagher, to provide the most controversial assessment of the rapper's suitability, bluntly stating: "I'm not having hip-hop at Glastonbury".

Gallagher's statement may read like that of a man radically out of time but to briefly add some context, hip-hop is far more ingrained in pop culture in Britain than being a bona fide urban lifestyle. Whilst Jay-Z's global celebrity status is unquestionable, despite its critical acclaim as a return to form, UK sales of the American Gangster album have been relatively modest. His bemused response to the controversy was undoubtedly justified - after all rappers headline festivals across the globe - but Britain's pugnacious sense of cultural isolation was evidently lost on him.

In the end, of course he had the final say. Sandwiched between more traditional Worthy Farm head-liners Kings of Leon and The Verve and with Beyonce Knowles in the wings, the set opened with a profane video montage of Gallagher's diss - "Sorry, but Jay-Z, I'm not fucking having him at Glastonbury" - to which, by way of introduction the subject, meekly responded with "My name is Jay-Z and I'm pretty fucking awesome".