Kneecap announce new song ahead of headline performance at London's Wide Awake
Rap trio Kneecap have announced they will release a new song ahead of their headline performance at London's Wide Awake festival, just two days after one of their members was charged with a terror offence.
The band, made up of Liam O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, thanked the '25,000 legends' who will be attending Friday night's performance in a post on Instagram, while revealing the new song will be released at 1pm.
The band's post read: 'Well well London heads. Some day coming up.
'We've a brand new track landing in our WhatsApp channel at 1pm.
'Kemi Badenoch you might wanna sit down for this one, if you've any seats left.
'Then we're at Wide Awake in Brockwell Park London for a headline show to 25,000 legends tonight.'
British Conservative party leader Badenoch has called for Kneecap to be banned and suggested they should be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up. A number of other politicians have made the same demand.
Last year, Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK government in Belfast High Court after former business secretary Badenoch tried to refuse them a funding award when she was a minister.
In another post, the band showed a short clip of their soundcheck at the Brockwell Park festival.
It comes after O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged over the alleged display of a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November last year, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.
Kneecap are due to perform at Wide Awake on Friday (Brian Lawless/PA)
The band held a surprise gig at the 100 Club on Oxford Street on Thursday, where O hAnnaidh could be seen in videos on social media arriving on stage with tape covering his mouth.
He then joked about being careful what he said before adding he wanted to thank his lawyer.
The rapper said: 'I need to thank my lawyer he's here tonight as well.' Police said they were at the central London venue on Thursday evening to manage visitors to the sold-out event.
The band said on X that the event sold out in 90 seconds, with 2,000 people on the waiting list.
In 2024, the band released an eponymous film, starring Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender, a fictionalised retelling of how the band came together and follows the Belfast group on their mission to save their mother tongue through music.
Formed in 2017, the group are known for their provocative lyrics in both Irish and English languages, and merchandise.
Their best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag.
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Kneecap star arrives at surprise gig with tape over mouth after terror charge
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