Neil Young won’t cross picket line; cancels show

Says he’s ‘extremely disappointed to have to choose’ between union, fans

Lisa Poole / AP file

Neil Young decided he wouldn't be "Rockin' in the Free World" at The Forum in Los Angeles on Thursday night, Oct. 30.

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updated 8:24 p.m. ET Oct. 30, 2008

LOS ANGELES - Neil Young decided he wouldn’t be “Rockin’ in the Free World” at The Forum in Los Angeles on Thursday night.

He canceled his concert rather than cross a picket line scheduled to form there during the show.

The 62-year-old rocker-activist says he was told a local faction of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union planned to picket the show.

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Young and his wife are honorary lifetime members of the union, which is striking against The Forum’s owner, Faithful Central Bible Church, because of contract disputes.

Young, whose hits include 1989’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” says he is “extremely disappointed to have to choose between satisfying my fans or backing my brothers and sisters of the IATSE.”