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The Guardian
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
York Minster hosts controversial metal concert as threatened protests fail to materialise
Protests at one of the most controversial concerts of the year, labelled 'shocking and deeply inappropriate', failed to materialise on Friday evening, as a metal act performed to a cheering crowd of 1,400 people at York Minster. The 800-year-old cathedral hosted a gig by Plague of Angels, which some of the congregation previously called an 'outright insult' to their faith and said they would be protesting if the concert went ahead. The controversy centred around the guitarist Mark Mynett and another band member, who previously played with Cradle of Filth, a band responsible for what Rolling Stone called 'the most controversial shirt in rock history', featuring a topless nun masturbating and the words 'Jesus is a cunt'. Mynett has since apologised for his association with the band, saying the pair 'deeply regret their involvement' with Cradle of Filth. However, in place of placards outside the minster on Friday were lengthy queues as metalheads and Minsterheads alike waited to watch the performance by the English band in collaboration with organist David Pipe and the York string quartet, the Ebor Quartet. Most of the tickets, priced at £20 each, sold out the same day and punters came from as far as Vienna, drawn by what was arguably the kind of marketing that money cannot buy. The concert was held to celebrate the restoration of the minster's 190-year-old organ and is part of the diocese's celebrations of the Royal College of Organists' Play the Organ Year. 'The controversy actually made me book it,' said Beth Henshaw, a lay minister in Sheffield, watching the concert with her husband, Ian, a software engineer. 'I really wanted it to go ahead.' The gig combines the couple's interests somewhat, she said. 'As a Christian, I'm interested in anything that brings people through the doors and opens it up to people who might not have thought about coming before.' Ian interjected: 'Whereas I just like metal.' Beth added: 'The organ is amazing and to see it used for a different purpose is fantastic – Christians are interested in all types of music.' Specialist York Minster police flanked the doors – as they have every day since an arsonist torched the building in 1829, destroying the cathedral's previous organ – but there was no sign of trouble. The affable Reverend Canon Timothy Goode introduced the evening from a stage set up in front of a giant Easter cross, saying the minster had hoped to draw a 'new and different audience'. He said: 'You are a new and different audience, congratulations!' The crowd nodded and clapped their hands as lights shone into the spectacular masonry of the high-vaulted ceiling, while Mynett's metal guitar and the sometimes growling vocals of Anabelle Iratni, a classically trained singer, filled the cavernous space. The performance is one of many held in places of worship across the UK aimed at bringing in younger audiences and opening the doors to people with different music tastes – and to boost funds at a time when many churches face financial ruin. It follows a silent disco at Canterbury Cathedral last year and an event dubbed the 'rave in the nave' in Peterborough, both of which caused rows locally. Those who objected to the Plague of Angels gig took issue with what they saw as the commercialisation of York Minster, one of the most beautiful and historic places of worship in the UK, which has running costs of nearly £4m a year. One parishioner who spoke to the Guardian in January when the concert was announced said their faith was 'not a commodity to be traded for contemporary relevance or ticket sales', and added: 'There must be a line where deference to secular culture stops and the duty to protect the sacred begins. That line has been crossed.' A spokesperson said York Minster was working with the organisers to 'ensure this event aligns with our values, and we are really excited by the opportunities it affords to showcase the minster's musical tradition, building, and the diversity of the people who find a home here'.
The Guardian
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
York Minster congregation outraged over ‘deeply inappropriate' concert
First there was a silent disco at Canterbury cathedral. Then there was the 'rave in the nave' in Peterborough. But York Minster is taking it one step further by hosting a controversial metal band in what parishioners have called an 'outright insult' to their faith. The 800-year-old cathedral is facing an uprising from members of its congregation after announcing a 'shocking and deeply inappropriate' concert by the English rockers Plague of Angels. Churchgoers have expressed outrage that one of the band's guitarists was previously in an extreme-metal group that sold what Rolling Stone described as 'the most controversial shirt in rock history'. The T-shirt featured a topless masturbating nun and the words 'Jesus is a cunt'. 'This is not merely an issue of taste – this is a question of fundamental ethics and respect,' one member of the York Minster congregation told the Guardian, describing the proposed concert as 'an outright insult to the faith it represents'. The gig is the latest example of England's churches hosting somewhat untraditional events to stave off financial crisis and draw younger crowds. Canterbury and Peterborough cathedrals drew criticism from some quarters last year for putting on 'rave in the nave' discos to try to swell their coffers. About 3,500 churches in the UK have closed since 2013, while more than 900 places of worship are on Historic England's 'heritage at risk' register. In Scotland, more than 180 are officially at risk, and the Church of Scotland is considering closing up to 40% of its churches. York Minster, which has running costs of nearly £4m a year, said the Plague of Angels concert had been signed off by its senior executive team. A spokesperson said the cathedral was working with the organisers to 'ensure this event aligns with our values, and we are really excited by the opportunities it affords to showcase the minster's musical tradition, building, and the diversity of the people who find a home here'. The performance, which will be centred around York Minster's newly refurbished 190-year-old organ, is part of the diocese's celebrations of the Royal College of Organists' Play the Organ Year. York Minster said the event – for which tickets cost up to £20 a head – would 'cater to those with different musical tastes and showcase the magnificence of the organ that has played a central role in worship at York Minster for over 1000 years'. A spokesperson added: 'The performers and organisers of this event are acutely aware of the sanctity of the site and will deliver a show that respects the values of York Minster as a site of Christian pilgrimage and worship.' Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion However, parishioners have said they planned to protest outside the cathedral and boycott the minster for good if the gig went ahead on 25 April. One said faith was 'not a commodity to be traded for contemporary relevance or ticket sales', and added: 'There must be a line where deference to secular culture stops and the duty to protect the sacred begins. That line has been crossed.' They said: 'It is difficult to understand how such a decision could be made, and it is even more difficult to accept that those in positions of responsibility appear so willing to disregard the deep offence this causes to many within the Christian community.' Another parishioner said they supported 'artistic expression and musical diversity' but this event was 'inappropriate for a venue of such religious and cultural importance'. They said they would be 'amongst many that intend to protest' should the concert go ahead, and added: 'It is my hope that the spiritual and moral failures that have led to this decision are recognised, that the event subsequently gets cancelled, and that future events align with the dignity and sacred purpose of York Minster.' Plague of Angels were contacted for comment but referred the Guardian to York Minster. The band have performed on the BBC's The One Show last May and also appeared on BBC Radio 2's Good Morning Sunday, presented by Jason Mohammad and the Rev Kate Bottley. Metal bands have taken part in similar performances at churches across the UK in the past year, developing a new genre known as 'organic metal'.
