25-05-2025
Kneecap are not rebels
Better rebels than Kneecap would've begun their headline set at Wide Awake festival in south London on Friday night with a show of defiance against the British state, a swipe at the occupier in its fortress capital. Perhaps they would've unfurled a great big yellow Hezbollah banner. As it was, Kneecap flashed the message 'FREE PALESTINE' on a screen, showed a montage of criticism the band had received from Sharon Osborne and some Fox News pundits and the shadow home secretary Chris Philp, and walked on stage to 'It's been ages,' one of their less popular songs. The moment demanded more.
Kneecap had done a small set at the 100 Club on Oxford Street on Thursday evening, but Wide Awake was their first real show since one of the group's members, Mo Chara, was charged on Wednesday with terrorism offences by the Metropolitan Police.
