Kneecap At Glastonbury: What Happened When The Band Finally Performed?
For the last few weeks, Kneecap have maintained that they've been the victims of a 'witch-hunt' and 'smear campaign' ever since their set at the Coachella music festival in April, where they expressed solidarity with Palestine amid the current conflict in the Middle East.
At the time, the band led the crowd in a chant of 'free Palestine' and projected the message 'fuck Israel' onto the screens behind them.
Days after Coachella, it was first reported that counter-terrorism officers were assessing resurfaced videos recorded months earlier, one of which reportedly saw the group declaring 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah' at a gig in London.
It was subsequently confirmed that rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known to fans of the group by his stage name Mo Chara – had been charged with a terror offence, for allegedly brandishing the flag of the proscribed terrorist group Hezbollah, after being handed the flag at a Kneecap show in London in November 2024.
Responding to Ó hAnnaidh being charged with a terror offence, Kneecap said: 'We deny this 'offence' and will vehemently defend ourselves. This is political policing. This is a carnival of distraction. We are not the story. Genocide is.'
They also insisted: 'Let us be unequivocal. We do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay.'
In the lead-up to Glastonbury, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer recently called for Kneecap to be dropped from the line-up in light of Ó hAnnaidh's terror charge, suggesting that the band remaining on the line-up was not 'appropriate'.
Their show went ahead on Saturday afternoon as planned (albeit without being live-streamed, although an 'edited' version was subsequently made available to stream on BBC iPlayer).
Kneecap's set opened with a montage of TV reports about the controversies they've been at the centre of in recent history, with Ó hAnnaidh describing himself as a 'free man' at the beginning of the show, having been released on unconditional bail following his first court appearance earlier this month.
We made a wee intro video for Glasto - crowd was so big a good few heads couldn't see it so here yis go x 🍿 pic.twitter.com/jonejuUEUx
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) June 28, 2025
During the 45-minute set, the band accused Israel of committing genocide, and led the crowd once again in chants of 'free Palestine', as well as 'free Mo Chara', in light of what bandmate Móglaí Bap described as a 'trumped up terrorism charge' that was 'not the first time there was a miscarriage of justice for an Irish person in the British justice system'.
Referring to the sea of Palestinian flags in the audience, Mo Chara observed that the 'BBC editor is going to have some job'. The group also turned their attention to the prime minister, leading the crowd in a chant of 'fuck Keir Starmer'.
Both the 'BBC editor' quip and the chant about Starmer have been retained in the BBC iPlayer version of Kneecap's set, which seemingly only censored some of the group's lyrics rather than their on-stage comments.
Kneecap leads a 'F—- Keir Starmer'chant during the group's #Glastonbury set. pic.twitter.com/xBV54uQero
— Variety (@Variety) June 28, 2025
The BBC previously faced backlash over their decision not to air Kneecap's set live, with one fan in the Glastonbury crowd, named Helen, live-streaming it on TikTok, acquiring more than one-and-a-half million likes in the process.
Since then, the group wrote back: 'Helen, you're a legend! Tickets to any show – just give me a shout!'
Before the performance, it was reported that people were being denied access to the West Holts stage as Kneecap's set was proving so popular with Glastonbury attendees.
While the BBC chose not to live-stream Kneecap's set, they did show Bob Vylan's performance live on iPlayer, which wound up creating yet more controversy when the punk rap duo led the crowd in a chant of 'death to the IDF', referring to Israel's national army, which local police have now said they are investigating.
Kneecap Reflect On Incident That Led To Band Member Being Charged With Terror Offence
Glastonbury Organiser Breaks Silence On Controversy Over Kneecap's Spot On This Year's Line-Up
Kneecap Hit Back After Keir Starmer Says They Should Be Pulled From Glastonbury Line-Up
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
19 minutes ago
- New York Times
What to Know About Bob Vylan, the Band at the Center of a Scandal
Before this weekend, Bob Vylan was a rising punk band with about 273,000 monthly listeners on Spotify — hardly a household name. Now, after leading chants of 'Death, death to the I.D.F.' in reference to Israel's army at the Glastonbury festival in England, it has become punk rock's latest notorious act. On Monday, British police opened a criminal investigation into the chant, shortly after Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Jewish groups condemned it as hate speech. In the United States, the deputy secretary of state, Christopher Landau, said that the State Department had revoked visas for Bob Vylan's members, meaning the band can no longer play a planned U.S. tour. Despite all the attention now focused on the group, many people had never heard of it before. Here's what you need to know. Who is in Bob Vylan and what's its music like? A British punk-rap duo known for fast-paced, politically provocative songs, the group uses pseudonyms and deliberately obfuscates other biographical details. The singer goes by Bobby Vylan and the dummer by Bobbie Vylan Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bank of England's Bailey defends bond programme after Reform UK criticism
By William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) -Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey defended the central bank's programme of government bond purchases and sales which has come under fire from some politicians for its cost. In a letter to Richard Tice, deputy leader of the Reform UK party which is led by former Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, Bailey said claims that the programme was more expensive than those run by other central banks did not tell the full story. Britain's government issued more long-term debt than other countries at a time when the BoE's bond-buying - or quantitative easing - was keeping borrowing costs low, giving the country a longer-lasting benefit, Bailey said. "Put simply, the cash flow cost of QE/QT is not therefore what it seems, and the outcome in these terms will be better," he said in the letter published on Monday. Reform - which is leading Britain's more established political parties in opinion polls - has said the government could save as much as 40 billion pounds ($53.6 billion) a year by stopping payment of interest to banks on reserves held at the BoE. Most of those reserves were created as a byproduct of the central bank's bond purchases which began in 2009 and reached a peak of almost 900 billion pounds in holdings in 2021. Since then, the BoE has sold much of its bond portfolio - known as quantitative tightening - and the programme is due to incur losses for the public finances because of a rise in interest rates and a subsequent fall in the value of the bonds. In his letter, Bailey said the bond purchases shielded Britain's economy from a string of economic shocks over the past 16 years. "It is easy to forget the severe problems we faced with these shocks," he said. "Although the counterfactual is unknowable with any precision, most estimates indicate that QE provided very significant support to the UK economy, protecting both jobs and tax revenues." Bailey said that ceasing paying interest on reserves was tantamount to increasing taxes on banks and would lead to lower interest payments for savers or higher interest rates for borrowers. He also disputed Reform's view that British banks were making excess profits. "Interest paid on reserves is not free money for the banks, not least as most of it is paid on to customers in the form of interest on their deposits," Bailey said. (Writing by William Schomberg; editing by David Milliken) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Man created ‘assassination kits' in his home garden for criminal underworld
A criminal gang responsible for manufacturing and distributing "assassination kits" across the UK has been handed sentences totalling more than 60 years. Gary Hardy, 62, was identified as the seller of these deadly packages, which were produced in the garden of his co-conspirator, 64-year-old Ronald Knowles. Knowles was central to the operation, acquiring blank-firing handguns and ammunition, which he then converted into viable firearms. Each "kit" was meticulously prepared, containing a handgun, silencer, magazine, and ammunition, all carefully wrapped in a latex glove. Police confirmed that converted firearms linked to the gang have been recovered from eight different locations nationwide. Investigators believe at least 33 firearms were manufactured at Knowles's illicit factory, which is thought to be one of the largest of its kind in the East Midlands. The network's reach extended to serious criminals, with 65-year-old accomplice Steven Houston responsible for supplying the weapons. Among those who received the illicit firearms was 23-year-old drug dealer Jason Hill, who was convicted of murder last year. Hardy, of The Birches, Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire, received a sentence of 23 years, while Knowles, of Milton Avenue, Alfreton, Derbyshire, was handed a 13-year-and-six-month sentence, and Houston, of Breach Oak Lane, Corley, near Coventry, was given 25 years in prison. Sentencing Hardy, Knowles and Houston, who sat side by side in the dock at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, Judge Mark Watson said: 'You were in business together. You brought your own set of skills and contacts to the enterprise. 'Each of you contributed in different but important ways. This was a large scale and highly sophisticated enterprise which involved a large number of weapons.' The judge said the operation started in at least November 2022 and told the court he is sure this was intended to continue for longer. The judge sentenced Hill, of Derby Road, Risley, Derbyshire, to serve four years consecutively to his life sentence for murder, and said: 'You are in a different and unique position in that you were not part of the conspiracy I deal with – you were a customer of it. 'These guns were designed to kill. There is no evidence these weapons had been discharged by you.' Hardy, Knowles and Houston were charged with conspiring to sell a firearm, conspiring to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life, and conspiring to convert a firearm. Hill was charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. Knowles and Hill admitted their crimes before Houston and Hardy were found guilty at a trial. Police stopped a vehicle in Gallows Lane in Measham, Leicestershire, in August 2023 and found a white box containing four firearms with Knowles's DNA on some of them. Nottinghamshire Police said when officers arrived at his property, they found him setting fire to evidence in his garden. Other weaponry was also seized from inside the address including crossbows, knives, axes, machetes, swords, gas powered weapons, airguns and ammunition, the force said. Abigail Joyce, prosecuting, said the weapon kits were distributed on a 'significant scale', and added: 'There was an expectation of substantial financial gain.' Ms Joyce told the court, which was attended by friends and family of the defendants: 'The prosecution contend that the three played leading roles in a long-standing conspiracy. 'The sale of assassination kits demonstrates they were only designed to be used for one purpose, i.e. the infliction of serious, and likely fatal, injuries.' Emma Goodall KC, defending Hardy, said his chronic health issues would make prison difficult and added that a custodial sentence would impact his wife. Defence barrister for Knowles, Balraj Bhatia KC, said the defendant was 'not the instigator' and is described by many as a 'caring, helpful, kind person that many in difficulties can turn to'. In a letter read out by Mr Bhatia, Knowles wrote: 'I have made my bed, now I must lie in it. I'm sorry for what I got up to. If I manage to come through my sentence, I promise you won't be hearing any more from me.' Gordon Cole KC, defending Houston, said his client has 'real, physical difficulties' and has shown a 'clear expression of remorse'. In a statement after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Adas, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: 'These are ruthless individuals that have a complete disregard for human life. 'They were creating, packaging and distributing firearms, which would have led to devastating consequences had they been used in public. 'Each handgun had been threaded to fit a silencer, which allowed the gun to be used discreetly at close quarters, meaning any potential targets would be lucky to escape with their lives. 'The rounds of ammunition were converted in such a way that upon impact they expanded causing maximum damage to any target. 'Our team of detectives have now closed arguably one of the biggest firearm factories in the East Midlands and taken a large quantity of firearms off the streets. 'The full impact of this investigation will never be seen – that's because we are unable to count the number of lives we may have saved. 'If this operation had continued undetected, the strong likelihood is these weapons would have been used and people would have been killed or seriously harmed. 'To put this into context – considering that each assassination kit included 10 rounds of converted ammunition, the seizure of more than 800 blank firing rounds and nearly 800 lead pellets indicates that the group had the potential to supply up to 80 further firearms packages. 'So far, we have identified eight locations across the country where these specific converted firearms or ammunition have been seized. 'The majority were in the West Midlands. This was therefore a well-established and far-reaching criminal enterprise. 'These criminals have shown no remorse. They provided no comment in interview and have no care whatsoever for the damage they were willing to inflict on others. 'Their motives are likely to have been financial, providing weapons to criminals who in turn were using them to protect their drug operations. 'They have now paid the full price for their actions by being handed lengthy prison sentences. 'Hardy is likely to spend the remainder of his life behind bars, which sends out a clear message to those willing to get involved in this level of criminality.'
