Inside the campaign to ban pro-Palestine Irish group Kneecap from Glastonbury
English guitarist Johnny Marr, 61, has spoken out in support of Irish hip-hop band Kneecap, following news of a co-ordinated campaign to oust them from this month's Glastonbury Festival.
Kneecap have been in the headlines since their performance at the Coachella music festival in April, calling for a free Palestine and proclaiming that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza with US backing.
Last month, member Mo Chara was charged with a terror offence by British authorities after he allegedly displayed a Hezbollah flag at a London gig.
'After learning that calls have been made for Kneecap to be censored during their Glastonbury set, I think it's important that I make my own position clear,' Marr, co-founder of The Smiths, said in a message posted on Kneecap's Instagram account on Monday.
'I've played Glastonbury many times, and the festival has always had a political aspect. It was founded as a place of free expression and political activism, and it's a fact that I agreed to play there with The Smiths in 1984 purely because to do so at the time was a political act.
'We are living through very troubling times, but for anyone who's been interested in me or my music over the last 40 years, I feel like my political stance has always been very clear,' Marr added.
'Oppression fears artistic expression. I respect all musicians who use their platform to speak out against injustice, who promote compassion and equality and give voice to the voiceless. I stand with my audience and fellow musicians who call for an immediate end to the atrocities and a free Palestine.'
Marr's message comes days after English DJ Toddla T claimed he had seen a 'private and confidential letter' signed by '30 individuals from within the music industry', who have urged Glastonbury organisers to remove Kneecap from the line-up.
Glastonbury Festival, one of the world's largest music festival, is set to take place from June 25 to 29.
'What we're seeing is a co-ordinated attempt by 30 members of the musical elite, people with systematic influence, to silence the voices of three working-class artists from Belfast. And all of it was done behind closed doors,' Toddla T, who's also performing at the festival, posted on Instagram.
He added that he and 100 others, including English trip-hop group Massive Attack and Northern Irish electronic duo Bicep, have signed a letter in support of Kneecap.
'At the heart of this is not just a dispute over a festival slot. It's about Palestine and the ongoing genocide we're witnessing,' Toddla T added.
'The lives lost, the unbearable images, the children, the parents, the communities being erased, it has pushed many of us to question humanity itself.'
Rapping in the Irish language, the three-member Kneecap are known for their politically charged music and lyrics since their formation in 2017. While they have long been critical of Israel, often flying the Palestinian flag at their shows, it was their Coachella set that grabbed headlines around the world.
'The Palestinians have nowhere to go. It's their home, and they're bombing it from the sky. If you're not calling it a genocide, what are you calling it?' said member Moglai Bap on stage, wearing a keffiyeh.
He went on to lead the audience in a 'free, free Palestine' chant, as the Palestinian flag was displayed across the screens.
The performance led to calls for the group to be banned from performing in the US. Kneecap also split from their booking agency Independent Artist Group soon after.
Television celebrity Sharon Osbourne said the group 'took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements', and called for a revocation of their US work visa.
In response, Kneecap told the BBC: 'Statements aren't aggressive, murdering 20,000 children is, though.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arabian Business
9 hours ago
- Arabian Business
Piers Morgan on Gaza, Israel and Trump: ‘Unacceptable' war must end as global opinion shifts
It wasn't a soundbite or a headline that signalled Piers Morgan's evolving stance on Gaza. It was a shift in tone – a colder assessment, a sharper demand for accountability, and a firmer insistence on facts. In an exclusive interview with Arabian Business, Morgan, never one to back away from controversy, appeared less concerned with provocation, and more concerned with principle. For a man long associated with Western media orthodoxy, Morgan's recent commentary on Israel's military campaign has marked a significant pivot. Though he never explicitly said 'I changed my mind,' the message was clear throughout – the facts have changed, and so has he. 'What they're doing now is unjustified, unacceptable, probably illegal – and it needs to stop,' he says of the Israeli military campaign. This statement represents a marked departure for a media figure whose initial reaction to Hamas' October attack reflected the narrative of Israel's 'right to defend itself.' That shift, from supportive understanding to public criticism, mirrors a broader transformation taking place across Western capitals, newsrooms, and public opinion. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Arabian Business (@arabianbusiness) Morgan's recent visit to Dubai for the Arab Media Forum, his first since documenting the emirate for ITV just before the 2008 financial crash, left him visibly impressed with the region's transformation. 'To be back there after so long and to see just how much has been done since I was there was staggering,' he says with genuine enthusiasm. 'The rate of growth… There's just a real dynamism about the whole Middle East now, which is very infectious with a real can-do mentality, a lot of optimism, a lot of drive, a lot of creative energy.' A collective awakening Morgan's evolution is neither sudden nor isolated. It reflects a gathering momentum steadily challenging the initial consensus that emerged after October 7 th. His platform, which reaches millions through social media, serves as both barometer and catalyst for this changing perception. 'It's not just people like me,' Morgan states. 'It's also leaders of some of Israel's biggest allies – the UK, France, Germany – even former Israeli Prime Ministers now coming out accusing the Israeli government of committing war crimes. This is very serious.' The stark statistics underpinning this shift are grim – over 50,000 Palestinians killed, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, alongside extensive destruction of civilian infrastructure and a humanitarian crisis of historic proportions. These facts have begun to erode what was once near-unanimous Western support for Israel's military response. Morgan identifies early 2024 as his personal turning point. 'I just started getting more and more exercised about what I saw as a failure by the Israeli government to achieve its objective,' he explains. The continued captivity of hostages, mounting civilian casualties, and what Morgan describes as 'no endgame to this war' began to fundamentally alter his assessment. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Arabian Business (@arabianbusiness) The humanitarian blockade imposed on Gaza particularly crystallised his concerns. 'It seemed to be a deliberate, appalling, systematic attempt to starve the Palestinian people. And I don't think you can dress it up as anything else,' he states. What emerges is not a narrative of sudden conversion but a gradual reckoning with accumulating evidence – a process playing out across editorial boards, diplomatic circles, and public discourse throughout the Western world. The information battlefield At a time when information warfare often supersedes physical combat in shaping public perception, Morgan has positioned his platform as a rare space for genuinely adversarial debate on Gaza. His interviews – from Bassem Youssef's viral appearance to confrontations with Israeli officials – have provided a platform where competing narratives can be directly challenged. This approach places him at the heart of an increasingly polarised media landscape. 'Social media has become very toxic, very tribal,' Morgan observes. 'People don't want to hear other views. They don't want to hear any facts that may go against their side.' When asked how he handles the barrage of criticism from all sides, Morgan's response is characteristically defiant. 'I've got the skin of a thousand rhinoceros,' he declares. 'Don't worry about me. It's all just water off a duck's back. I don't care. It's actually very revealing about the people doing it, because a lot of them were praising me, of course, when I was being supportive of Israel's right to defend itself.' Perhaps most significantly, Morgan has made Israel's restrictions on international journalists a central focus of his criticism. 'Let the journalists in. If you've got nothing to hide, let them in,' he says – a statement that reads less like a mere media remark than a challenge to power, a rallying cry for press freedom. This blockade on independent verification has become, in Morgan's view, not just a professional frustration but a central moral issue in the conflict. 'If they don't allow the journalists on the ground, they can just basically pull down on everything,' he explains. Beyond self-defence The language Morgan now uses to describe Israel's military campaign marks perhaps the most striking evidence of his shift. Terms like 'collective punishment' and references to possible 'genocide' have entered his commentary. 'Some of the people in that government absolutely are, in their heads, waging a form of genocide – and that is a crime,' Morgan states unequivocally. This marks a stark contrast with his earlier resistance to such framing, including a 2024 interview with Candace Owens where he said, 'I take issue with people who want to frame it as genocide.' Morgan points specifically to recent statements by Israeli government officials, notably Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's declaration that the mission was no longer about self-defence but about removing all Palestinians from Gaza. 'Whatever way you want to dress it up – it's genocide.' His willingness to revise his views based on evidence embodies a journalistic ethos that is increasingly rare in conflict coverage – one that has made him a target from all sides of the polarised discourse. Trump, Gaza, and realpolitik The geopolitical calculus around Gaza has rarely been more unpredictable. But one figure looms large in Morgan's analysis: Donald Trump. Their long and complex relationship offers Morgan a rare vantage point – one blending familiarity with strategic distance. In his view, Trump is less a symbol of ideology than a lever of consequence – perhaps the only leader with the political muscle, and maybe the ego, to shift the stalemate. 'Trump's the only one who has the muscle to pull the plug on Netanyahu – and he should,' Morgan tells Arabian Business. He envisages a scenario where Trump uses America's influence over Israel to force a resolution. 'I think he should say, you've got to get back to a ceasefire, you've got to get back to negotiating the release of the hostages.' 'Having known Trump a long time, I detect his patience is wearing thin with Netanyahu and the way he has fired back up this war from a ceasefire to a starvation blockade, relentless bombardment, endless civilian deaths.' Beyond tribalism Throughout the interview, Morgan rejects the binary framing that has long dominated discourse on the conflict. 'I don't want people to think I've switched sides,' he insists, 'because that would imply I was on somebody's side to start with – and I wasn't.' This position – critical of both Hamas and the Netanyahu government while expressing concern for civilian populations – represents a nuanced stance, increasingly difficult to maintain in public debate. 'I believe Palestinians should have absolutely the same human rights as you do, as I do, as Israelis do,' he says, framing the conflict fundamentally as a matter of universal rights. Morgan draws parallels to Northern Ireland's peace process and suggests that a resolution requires 'completely fresh leadership.' 'You need Hamas gone, you need Netanyahu gone. You need a new leadership in Israel, new leadership for the Palestinians, new direction from the United States and the concerted help of neighbouring Arab countries.' Looking beyond the immediate conflict, Morgan sees a wasted opportunity for regional cooperation. 'I was also in favour of the Abraham Accords,' he notes thoughtfully. 'And I know that many people in Saudi Arabia, for example, would love to get to a place of normalising relations with Israel, but obviously cannot do so as long as this war in Gaza is raging. Just on that practical level of trying to move the region to a more peaceful place where people can work together for mutual benefit, that cannot happen while this war is raging.' The weight of witness What stands out most in Morgan's current stance is a sense of moral urgency born of witnessing, even if only from a distance – and maybe a little late – the scale of human suffering in Gaza. This is not merely the voice of a media personality adjusting positions but someone grappling with the ethical weight of influence in a moment of historic consequence. 'We're watching the systematic destruction of an entire population,' he states plainly. The observation carries added weight from a figure initially sympathetic to Israel's security imperatives. As his platform continues to offer a rare space for genuine contestation of narratives, Morgan finds himself confronting the intense polarisation defining discourse. 'People were praising me when I supported Israel's right to defend itself,' he notes. 'Now I'm apparently [being called] a Hamas supporter.' This journey, from accepted orthodoxy to controversial dissent, mirrors the path many Western institutions and public figures are taking – from unquestioning support to uncomfortable scrutiny of Israel's conduct. Morgan doesn't need to say 'I changed my mind.' His shift in perspective is written in the evidence he chooses to confront, not avoid. It is a soft call amid the clamour, a reminder that beneath the hardened walls of division, the pulse of empathy still beats, and in the darkest moments, like an olive tree weathering storms for generations, the fragile seeds of peace can quietly take root.
The National
10 hours ago
- The National
Inside the campaign to ban pro-Palestine Irish group Kneecap from Glastonbury
English guitarist Johnny Marr, 61, has spoken out in support of Irish hip-hop band Kneecap, following news of a co-ordinated campaign to oust them from this month's Glastonbury Festival. Kneecap have been in the headlines since their performance at the Coachella music festival in April, calling for a free Palestine and proclaiming that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza with US backing. Last month, member Mo Chara was charged with a terror offence by British authorities after he allegedly displayed a Hezbollah flag at a London gig. 'After learning that calls have been made for Kneecap to be censored during their Glastonbury set, I think it's important that I make my own position clear,' Marr, co-founder of The Smiths, said in a message posted on Kneecap's Instagram account on Monday. 'I've played Glastonbury many times, and the festival has always had a political aspect. It was founded as a place of free expression and political activism, and it's a fact that I agreed to play there with The Smiths in 1984 purely because to do so at the time was a political act. 'We are living through very troubling times, but for anyone who's been interested in me or my music over the last 40 years, I feel like my political stance has always been very clear,' Marr added. 'Oppression fears artistic expression. I respect all musicians who use their platform to speak out against injustice, who promote compassion and equality and give voice to the voiceless. I stand with my audience and fellow musicians who call for an immediate end to the atrocities and a free Palestine.' Marr's message comes days after English DJ Toddla T claimed he had seen a 'private and confidential letter' signed by '30 individuals from within the music industry', who have urged Glastonbury organisers to remove Kneecap from the line-up. Glastonbury Festival, one of the world's largest music festival, is set to take place from June 25 to 29. 'What we're seeing is a co-ordinated attempt by 30 members of the musical elite, people with systematic influence, to silence the voices of three working-class artists from Belfast. And all of it was done behind closed doors,' Toddla T, who's also performing at the festival, posted on Instagram. He added that he and 100 others, including English trip-hop group Massive Attack and Northern Irish electronic duo Bicep, have signed a letter in support of Kneecap. 'At the heart of this is not just a dispute over a festival slot. It's about Palestine and the ongoing genocide we're witnessing,' Toddla T added. 'The lives lost, the unbearable images, the children, the parents, the communities being erased, it has pushed many of us to question humanity itself.' Rapping in the Irish language, the three-member Kneecap are known for their politically charged music and lyrics since their formation in 2017. While they have long been critical of Israel, often flying the Palestinian flag at their shows, it was their Coachella set that grabbed headlines around the world. 'The Palestinians have nowhere to go. It's their home, and they're bombing it from the sky. If you're not calling it a genocide, what are you calling it?' said member Moglai Bap on stage, wearing a keffiyeh. He went on to lead the audience in a 'free, free Palestine' chant, as the Palestinian flag was displayed across the screens. The performance led to calls for the group to be banned from performing in the US. Kneecap also split from their booking agency Independent Artist Group soon after. Television celebrity Sharon Osbourne said the group 'took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements', and called for a revocation of their US work visa. In response, Kneecap told the BBC: 'Statements aren't aggressive, murdering 20,000 children is, though.'
Harpers Bazaar Arabia
15 hours ago
- Harpers Bazaar Arabia
How RAYE and Audemars Piguet Are Rewriting the Rules of Legacy – One Song at a Time
In honour of Audemars Piguet's 150th anniversary, RAYE lends her voice to a story about womanhood, intuition, and the beauty of creative legacy There's something powerful about a woman in full control of her voice. Not just the sound of it, but its purpose. And RAYE, in every sense, is that woman. This summer, the British singer-songwriter – fresh off a record-breaking sweep at the BRIT Awards – joins forces with Grammy-winning producer Mark Ronson to release Suzanne, a track created in celebration of Audemars Piguet 's 150th anniversary. But instead of commemorating the occasion with a product or campaign, the Swiss watchmaker chose to honour the moment with music. And at the heart of that decision? A woman's voice. More than just a collaboration, Suzanne is a love letter to heritage and intuition, rooted in serendipity. The name was first floated during early writing sessions between RAYE and Ronson – without knowing that Suzanne Audemars, a key figure in the brand's founding story, had once existed. The coincidence soon became the song's soul. And what began as a melody evolved into a tribute. 'I love this song and I'm so proud of it,' RAYE shared. 'It feels like everything was meant to be.' In many ways, her journey mirrors that of the Maison she now represents: independent, uncompromising, and shaped by generations of craft. Her artistry is grounded in classical training, but fearless in genre, and is all about telling the truth. On her own terms and in her own voice. Audemars Piguet's choice to centre a woman like RAYE isn't incidental but intentional. Through its APxMusic initiative, the brand continues to explore the creative intersections between sound and watchmaking, supporting artists not for their fame, but for their authenticity. The accompanying short film Syncing Sounds 150, directed by Theodor Guelat, offers an intimate look into the duo's studio process, revealing how two seemingly different creative minds can come together and build something lasting. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Audemars Piguet (@audemarspiguet) The track was unveiled during an immersive evening at 180 Studios in London, where the brand's Le Brassus home was reimagined for the night. RAYE performed live to an intimate crowd, followed by a DJ set from Ronson that kept the night spinning. Their latest offering is a reminder that legacy doesn't have to follow a formula. Sometimes, it can start with a feeling, a name, and a woman brave enough to sing it. Imagery Supplied
