Kneecap pack out Glastonbury stage & lead crowd in chants against Keir Starmer as defiant rapper roars ‘I'm a free man'
DEFIANT Kneecap member Mo Chara roared, 'Glastonbury, I'm a free man!' as the Irish rap trio took to the West Holts Stage at the festival.
The Gaelgoir group, who hail from Belfast, have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was
6
Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap performing on the West Holts stage
Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage
6
DJ Provaí on stage during the one hour performance
Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage
6
Tens of thousands attended the Kneecap performance earlier today
Credit: Matt Crossick/Empics/Alamy Live News
News broadcasts criticising the hip hop trio played from the sound system before they
Access to the area around the West Holts Stage was
Member Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f***
O hAnnaidh, 27, wore a keffiyeh during the set, while member JJ O Dochartaigh, who performs under the name DJ Provai, wore his signature tri-coloured balaclava as well as a T-shirt that said: 'We are all Palestine Action' in reference to the soon-to-be banned campaign group.
READ MORE IN SHOWBIZ
Rap punk duo Bob Vylan performed on the stage before Kneecap and led the crowd in chants of 'Free, free Palestine' and 'Death, death to the IDF'.
In the run up to the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, several British politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up and UK prime minister Keir Starmer said their performance would not be 'appropriate'.
Earlier today, the BBC confirmed they would not be live-streaming the set but said the performance is likely to be made available on-demand later.
A BBC spokesperson said: 'As the broadcast partner, the BBC is bringing audiences extensive music coverage from Glastonbury, with artists booked by the festival organisers.
MOST READ ON THE IRISH SUN
'While the BBC doesn't ban artists, our plans ensure that our programming meets our editorial guidelines.
Fury as Glastonbury crowd chants 'death to the IDF' during Bob Vylan set aired live on BBC
'We don't always live-stream every act from the main stages and look to make an on-demand version of Kneecap's performance available on our digital platforms, alongside more than 90 other sets.'
Earlier the band said on Instagram: 'The propaganda wing of the regime has just contacted us….
'They WILL put our set from Glastonbury today on the iPlayer later this evening for your viewing pleasure.'
During their set at Glastonbury today, Mo Chara said: "The BBC editor is going to have some job."
MORE PERFORMANCES
O hAnnaidh, 27, was charged with allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah, while saying 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah' at a gig in November last year.
On June 18th, the rapper was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh at Westminster Magistrates' Court in Free Mo Chara T-shirts.
Also playing on Saturday afternoon were Leeds rock band Kaiser Chiefs and US star Brandi Carlile, who released an album with Elton John earlier in the year.
Irish singer CMAT, who played the Pyramid Stage on Friday, performed a secret set at the BBC Introducing stage on Saturday.
Neil Young, best known for songs such as Rockin' In The Free World, Like A Hurricane and Cinnamon Girl, headlined the Pyramid Stage on Saturday night with his band the Chrome Hearts.
The BBC broadcast Young's set after previously saying it would not be shown 'at the artist's request'.
6
The West Holts stage was shut off before the performance to avoid a crowd crush
Credit: Guy Bell/Alamy Live News
6
The group's much-anticipated appearance at Glastonbury had been criticised by PM Sir Keir Starmer
Credit: Guy Bell/Alamy Live News
6
Groups of fans arrived to form a sea of Irish and Palestinian flags in front of the stage
Credit: Matt Crossick/Empics/Alamy Live News
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Gemini weekly horoscope: What your star sign has in store for June 29
OUR much-loved astrologer Meg sadly died in 2023 but her column will be kept alive by her friend and protégé Maggie Innes. Read on to see what's written in the stars for you today. Advertisement Sign up for the Mystic Meg newsletter. Your info will be used in accordance with our GEMINI MAY 22 - JUNE 21 🔵 Read our Advertisement 1 You start your Venus time with a treasure chest of positive personal feelings. Instead of talking down your true self, even in fun, you can boost yourself up, really start to believe in your own right to succeed. This can highlight love choices, and the kind of work moves that enrich every part of you. Advertisement Even the ones you usually hide. Most read in Fabulous Friends who seem so together may secretly need help. DESTINY DAYS On Monday, get moving, walk a little more, sit a little less. Advertisement Tackle admin backlog on Thursday. Be a rock for a restless workmate on Friday. Horoscope traits What does your star sign mean for you? - The best and worst characteristics of the head of the zodiac - The traits you need to know for the air sign - What does this star sign mean for your personality? - The key traits for the sign include a keen love of food - The traits to be aware of for the sign with a symbol of twins - The best and worst characteristics of the fire sign - What does the seventh star sign mean for your personality? - The key traits for the sign include an interest in the arts - The traits you need to know for the fire sign - What does this star sign mean for your personality? - The best and worst characteristics of the earth sign - The key traits for the sign include loyalty and kindness LUCKY LINKS An all-female musical group. Advertisement Contests linked to flags. Numbers that add up to 101. ASK YOUR NEPTUNE QUESTIONS As the most fragile but also fiercely alive of planets spins into retrograde, you are asking all kinds of difficult questions. Advertisement The theme is who you keep close to you, and why – and what part you could play in the local community, or wider world. Are my friends really my friends? Do I gravitate towards fake confidence or drama over genuine connections? Do I do enough to show special people they matter to me? Advertisement When you answer these questions honestly, you pave the way to a more connected, and fulfilling future. Read more on the Irish Sun Fabulous is the home of horoscopes, with weekly updates on what's in store for your star sign as well as daily predictions. You can also use our series of guides to find out everything from which star sign to
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Glastonbury fans left fuming as show is pulled off air in technical blunder
GLASTONBURY fans have been left fuming as the show is pulled off air in a huge technical blunder. Music enthusiasts wanted to tune into the BBC and their iPlayer streaming service to watch the latest from Worthy Farm. Advertisement 5 The BBC's Glastonbury coverage has been plagued by technical blunders Credit: PA 5 The BBC was forced to apologise on screen as it suffered a huge technical blunder 5 Many viewers complained that they missed out on watching the Scissor Sisters perform (pictured in Denmark) Credit: AP If you wanted to watch the likes of The BBC coverage of the 2025 Glastonbury Festival has been dogged by technical errors. Even at the festival itself, During a set on Advertisement READ MORE ON GLASTO And it's no better online for those watching iPlayer as the main Saturday feed also suffered from a huge technical difficulty. Those wanting to watch Scissor Sisters were greeted with an apology message that was emblazoned on the screen. It read: "Sorry for the interruption. We're working to fix this." Glasto fans flooded social media in their droves as they were left fuming by the blunder. Advertisement Most read in News TV Writing on X - formerly known as Twitter - one expletive-filled fan fumed: "F****** hell @BBC you cut Blossoms short and now Scissor Sisters when it's just a black screen. Sort it out." A second stated: "Scissor Sisters have been on stage 8 minutes and the screen is still black! Fury as Glastonbury crowd chants 'death to the IDF' during Bob Vylan set aired live on BBC "I've only wanted to watch them, Jade, and "#Glastonbury Jeez put up with watching that Winehouse wannabe Raye screen goes blank for Scissor Sisters," exclaimed an angry user. Advertisement While a fourth asked: "Having to watch Charli because no streams on iplayer I don't even know what she sings #Glastonbury." " Cmon BBC Iplayer…where's Charli xcx? ", enquired someone else. Glastonbury backlashes Glastonbury Festival has been going for 54 trailblazing years - but at times it has been a stormy ride Here, we look at the biggest backlashes to hit the iconic music event. The Smiths (1984): One of the first bands to divide the early Glastonbury purists were Manchester indie stars The Smiths. The band's set even sparked a full scale stage invasion as they introduced the crowd to their guitar-driven, post-punk romanticism music. Guitarist Johnny Marr described their usual fanbase as "cup final supporters", adding: "Eventually, I did manage to instigate a stage invasion, which raised a few eyebrows. One fan was trying to climb on stage, I helped pull him up, and then a few more people followed, and all of a sudden we'd managed to turn it into a Smiths gig." The Fence (2002): It wasn't a band or musician that sparked controversy in 2002... it was a fence. Organiser Michael Eavis came under fire when he organised the erection of a £1million fence around the site. The ring of steel was brought in to protect ticket holders and those who might inadvertently endanger themselves by breaking in. Diehard Glasto fans, however, felt it was at odds with the event's hippy ethos of peace and love. Eavis and co refused to back down, though, and the fence remains in place today. JAY-Z (2008): Despite its long history, Glastonbury had never welcomed a rapper for a headline set - until 2008. Jay-Z's top bill booking was met with a flurry of digs, including some from Oasis's Noel Gallagher, who claimed hip hop had no place at the festival. In a perfect clap-back, Jay-Z walked out to a version of Wonderwall before launching into his powerful hit 99 problems. Seven years later, his pal Kanye West followed in his Glastonbury footsteps and topped the bill. Metallica (2014): Thrash metal rockers Metallica were met with raised eyebrows when they were announced as Glastonbury headliners. Some critics claimed they lacked mainstream appeal, while others felt they were past their prime. However, frontman James Hetfield managed to quickly win the crowd round thanks to his good humour and polite manners. Adele (2016): Although Adele wowed both festival goers and music fans at home with her headliner set, the British songstress did cause a stir by turning the air blue. She warned the crowd about her "potty mouth" but not everyone was impressed with with the 30 plus expletives she dropped on the stage during her headline set, which aired on the BBC. And a sixth added: " Since iPlayer is so useless this weekend you only have what's on BBC One and Two of #Glastonbury ." On iPlayer, if you wanted to catch the action from The Other Stage, you would have to swap to the dedicated feed which was still working. Advertisement 5 Viewers would have had to switch to a dedicated feed for The Other Stage on iPlayer to watch Charli XCX perform (pictured in 2022) Credit: Redferns 5 Fans took to social media as they complained in droves Credit: Rex Features
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Neil Young's Glastonbury slot ‘dogged by sound issues' as fans moan about ‘terrible' performance
GLASTONBURY viewers were left underwhelmed by Neil Young's headline performance this evening. The 2 Glastonbury viewers were not impressed with Neil Young's performance tonight Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 2 The star headlined the Pyramid stage this evening Credit: AFP He opened his set with the song Sugar Mountain, saying "thank you folks" to the crowd as the song ended. But those watching it were not impressed, with one person commenting: 'Someone tell Neil Young to sing into a microphone.' A second moaned: 'Sound needs turning up like ffs, he's shredding that axe and you can hardly hear it.' While a third said: 'Neil young with 48 microphones and none of them able to make his voice sound much beyond a grumble. Glastonbury has had a real hard time with the headliners the last couple of years…' Read More on Glastonbury And a fourth added: 'Watched a few minutes of this Neil Young man, this is like the worst thing I've ever seen and heard, there's only a few hundred people there ffs for a Headliner, why does he sound like that.' 'It's a no from me! Neil Young should not be headlining!Terrible!' raged another. The star's set was shown live on the BBC after the broadcaster had previously Earlier on Saturday, a BBC statement said: "We are delighted to confirm that Neil Young's headline set from Glastonbury on Saturday will be broadcast live to audiences across the UK on the BBC." Most read in Music Neil's performance was not guaranteed as earlier in the year he temporarily pulled out of, claiming it is a "corporate turn-off" due to its broadcast deal with the BBC. He said on his website: "We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in. Gracie Abrams snogs boyfriend Paul Mescal after finishing Glastonbury set and parties until 3am "It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being." But just days later he did a surprise U-turn, the singer confirmed his slot blaming "an error in the information I received" for him initially turning down the offer. A statement on his website read: "Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury Festival, which I always have loved. "Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing. Hope to see you there." The Sun first reported that the singer was booked to headline Glastonbury, 16 years after he last played on the Pyramid Stage. Glastonbury 2025 - confirmed acts so far TICKETS to the 2025 festival sold out in just minutes before some of the acts were even confirmed. Here is who has been confirmed so far. Confirmed headliners: The 1975 will take to the Pyramid Stage on Friday. Neil Young will headline the festival for the second time after his last set in 2009 on Saturday after RAYE makes her return. Charli xcx will headline the Other Stage on Saturday night. On Sunday, Olivia Rodrigo is due to belt out her hits for her first appearance while Rod Stewart will perform in the legends slot. More acts to appear on the Other Stage include Loyle Carner and The Prodigy. Doechii will make her Glastonbury debut on the West Holts Stage on Saturday night. Other names confirmed include Noah Kahan, Alanis Morissette, Gracie Abrams, Busta Rhymes, Lola Young, Brandi Carlile, Myles Smith, En Vogue, Amaarae, Cymande, Shaboozey, Osees and Gary Numan.
