Kneecap play Glastonbury set amid terrorism charge as police investigate crowd chants

Australia Broadcast Center

7 hours ago

British authorities are reviewing footage of several performances at the Glastonbury Festival after two musical acts led their audiences in controversial chants.
Elsewhere at Worthy Farm and on televisions across the UK, fans enjoyed surprise performances and the conclusion of a will they, won't they debate on broadcasting permissions.
Here's what you may have missed.
In the days leading up to Glastonbury, politicians and music industry bosses called on organisers to pull Irish hip-hop group Kneecap from the line-up.
That was in response to band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, whose stage name is Mo Chara, being charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the band's appearance was "not appropriate".
In response, Kneecap led chants of "F*** Keir Starmer" when they took the West Holts stage on Saturday.
"The prime minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer," Mo Chara told the crowd, wearing a keffiyeh scarf associated with Palestinians.
At least 30,000 people, hundreds of them with Palestinian flags, crammed in front of West Holts stage in blazing sunshine to watch the trio, causing organisers to close the area.
After opening their set with Better Way to Live, another of the group's members — Móglaí Bap, otherwise known as Naoise Ó Cairealláin — said Mo Chara would be back in court for a "trumped up terrorism charge".
Mo Chara told the crowd the situation over the lawsuit was stressful, but it was minimal compared to what the Palestinians were going through every day.
Kneecap, whose third member has the stage name DJ Próvaí, have said they do not support Hamas or Hezbollah.
Mo Chara said on Friday the group were "playing characters" on stage, and it was up to the audience to interpret their messages.
Also during the set, Mo Chara accused Israel of committing war crimes, saying: "There's no hiding it."
A livestream of Kneecap's set reportedly pulled more than 1 million viewers on TikTok, after the BBC chose not to include it in its live broadcast of Glastonbury.
Earlier, punk duo Bob Vylan led the crowd in a chant calling for "death to the IDF" on the same stage.
The BBC has said it will not make Bob Vylan's performance available to watch on demand.
Avon and Somerset Police said officers would assess video evidence of acts on the West Holts stage "to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation".
For those who checked the Pyramid Stage's Saturday line-up, a particular listing caused a stir.
In the third-from-the-top slot, a mysterious act was listed under the made-up name of 'Patchwork'.
In the past, placeholder names have promised huge acts — ChurnUps in 2023 turned out to be the Foo Fighters, for example.
Ahead of the performance, the rumour mill threw out theories that it could be Robbie Williams, Haim and Mumford and Sons.
By the time 6.15pm rolled around, crowds that had diligently waited were rewarded with Britpop band Pulp.
It was a fitting performance, with the band having headlined Glastonbury exactly 30 years and four days prior, when their famous track Common People was soaring in music charts.
"Hi, my name is Jarvis, hello," the band's frontman Jarvis Cocker began.
"This is Pulp. Sorry to the people who were expecting Patchwork. Did you know it was us?"
Their set hit all the classic notes, ticking off Sorted For E's & Wizz, OU (Gone, Gone) and Disco 2000.
For Acrylic Afternoons, Cocker said he was going to visit the crowd, and lobbed a cupful of teabags into the audience.
"Share 'em," he said.
As the clock ran down on their set, Pulp launched into their iconic hit, Common People.
The song's crescendo was underscored with a flyover by the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows.
In the headliner slot for the Pyramid Stage on Saturday was Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts.
After much ado over Young's refusal to allow BBC to broadcast his Glastonbury performance, the Canadian-American singer had a last-minute change of heart.
Young had been at odds with the British broadcaster for months, at one time threatening to pull out of the festival entirely because it was under the "corporate control" of the BBC and "not for me like it used to be".
But on Saturday, the BBC announced it had been given permission to show his set live after all.
"How you doing out there? How are you doing at the back? And how about you people with your TVs in the bedroom?" Young joked during the set.
At the same time Neil Young and the Pyramid Stage were Rockin' In the Free World, Charli xcx was closing out the Other Stage.
Her set started with a frayed, neon lime curtain emblazoned with 'brat' sent up in flames.
While it first appeared to signal the end of the singer's brat era, graphics later flashed across the screens, declaring "brat is forever <3".
Charli dedicated most of her time on stage to running through her brat hits, as water rained down over her set and screens flashed overhead.
Gracie Abrams, who performed her own set at Glastonbury on Friday, was brought out as the Apple Girl.
Surprise sets are to be expected at Glastonbury, but usually the artist is at least in the know ahead of time.
That wasn't the case for Skepta, who pulled together a set list on just a few hours' notice.
The British grime rapper was asked to step in to fill a vacancy on the Other Stage left by alt-metal band Deftones, who cancelled due to illness.
Lucky for organisers, Skepta was already in the area after performing a DJ set on the Glade stage on Friday night.
"Let's go! No crew, no production but am ready to shut Glastonbury down," he said, stepping onstage for the second time of the festival.
"Victory lap time. Pre-Big Smoke 2025!"
A good portion of his crowd may have been made up of fans waiting for a front-row spot for Charli xcx's set, but Skepta still managed to inject energy into the audience.
In an effort to bridge the apparent divide, Skepta later acknowledged the contrasting audience demographics on X, writing: "We love Charli XCX".
ABC/Reuters