In the absence of a right of reply

There aren't two sides to every story. But then again ...

Radcliffe and Maconie — the weekend breakfast show on 6 Music — isn’t a place you’d expect to offer up a surprising news story, but that’s what happened yesterday when the co-presenters were chatting to Candida Doyle from the band Pulp.

Doyle had been invited on to appear in the show’s First, Last and Everything slot, which is when — inspired by the Barry White song title — R&M’s guest reveals the first record they bought, the last record they bought, and the record that means everything to them.

The chat in between Doyle’s choices had much to do with the comeback album Pulp have just released — their first for 24 years — and the band’s accompanying live appearances. There was talk of various festivals Pulp are booked for, at which point Maconie ventured that “it was a pity you’re not doing Glastonbury”.

“I know. I know,” Doyle replied. “We wanted to, but they weren’t interested.” At which point listeners must have thought, hang on, what? I know I did — so too an incredulous Maconie. “Really? Wow,” he went. Doyle was similarly rueful that there was no chance of appearing at the festival in 2026 because it's one of Glastonbury’s fallow years.

So what is the story behind Glastonbury telling Pulp — sorry, but we don’t want you? On the face of it, it seems astonishing. Pulp? One of the most cherished bands in British pop history? With a genuine national treasure front man in Jarvis Cocker? And — as Doyle pointed out, in a salt-in-the-wound kind of way — on the 30^th anniversary of their legendary Glastonbury performance in 1995?

A live interview with a Pulp band member who’s just spilled these beans is clearly not a place where such an inquiry is possible, but I was still left wondering — what have Glastonbury got to say about this? There was surely no reason to doubt the truth of what Candida Doyle said, but at the same time, it felt like an explanation was called for — that Glastonbury should somehow be given a right of reply. Maybe they had something to tell us that nobody could be aware of.

Another such moment occurs in a fascinating programme I’ve listened to a preview of that’s coming up later this week on the BBC World Service. This is in the World Service’s Heart and Soul slot, which airs on a Friday, and it’s an interview with the remarkable figure of 91-year-old Camille Yarbrough, US singer and civil rights activist, conducted at Yarbrough’s home in Harlem by Emily Webb.

It was 50 years ago, in 1975, that Yarbrough released a song called Take Yo’ Praise, which for more than 20 years did not make a huge impact on the world. Then along came the DJ Fatboy Slim. He got hold of Take Yo’ Praise and in 1998 turned it into Praise You, which became one of the biggest dance anthems of his era, once danced to by a quarter of a million people on Brighton beach.

The interview with Yarbrough covers her life story, and the experiences that led to Take Yo’ Praise. It’s powerful stuff. And we learn how, after Praise You, Yarbrough enjoyed a royalties boost. Then we hear about a phone call between her and Fatboy Slim, in which she says she thanked him for what he’d done for her song. But, she says, he never thanked her back for providing it in the first place. “It was not that kind of a conversation,” Yarbrough recalls. “I wish it had been because it deserved to be.”

That left a slightly sour taste, and certainly didn’t reflect well on Fatboy Slim. As with Candida Doyle, we absolutely believe what Camille Yarbrough says, but at the same time isn’t there a gap here that needs filling? Would Fatboy Slim like to respond? Maybe now take the opportunity to thank Yarbrough? And tell us a bit about his own experience of Take Yo’ Praise and how it led to Praise You?

Not every contention needs a right of reply. The quest for “balance” and “impartiality” all too often leads to tying yourself up in knots. But then there are moments you hear that definitely feel like an omission.

Heart and Soul is on the BBC World Service on Friday 27 June at 11.30am and 10.30pm