Latest news with #PaulSandle
Mint
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap play Glastonbury despite calls for ban
Kneecap play to big crowd at Glastonbury Festival Band has been criticised by Prime Minister Keir Starmer Some music industry bosses wanted the gig to be pulled (Recasts after band start to play, adds festival-goer quotes in paragraphs 5-7) By Paul Sandle and Kristian Brunse GLASTONBURY, England, June 28 (Reuters) - Irish hip-hop group Kneecap played to a huge crowd at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday despite criticism by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and pressure from some in the music industry to pull the gig. Frontman Liam O'Hanna, whose stage name is Mo Chara, was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He denied the charge. Starmer told the Sun newspaper this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap, who rap in Irish and English, to appear at Glastonbury. With the outdoor arena at full capacity and scores of Palestinian flags waving in the blazing sun, the Northern Irish trio took to the West Holts stage at the festival in southwest England on Saturday. Festival-goer Greg Robertson, 30, said: "I don't think politicians should really have too much of an impact on a weekend where everyone's trying to have fun and trying to maybe create a more optimistic future." Sara Majid, 29, said she liked what Kneecap stood for. "I'm intrigued by them," she said. Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch had said the BBC, which broadcasts the festival, should not show Kneecap, and 30 music industry bosses asked organisers to pull the band from the line-up, according to a letter leaked by DJ Toddla T, cited by the Guardian newspaper. In response, more than 100 musicians have signed a public letter in support of the group. Kneecap's manager, Dan Lambert, said the group had expected calls for the performance to be cancelled. "We knew that the biggest pressure would come on Glastonbury because Glastonbury's an institution," he told Reuters, adding that it had not been an issue for organisers. "We didn't bring it up and they didn't bring it up," he said. "They treated us professionally." Organiser Emily Eavis said on Wednesday the festival was a platform for artists from all over the world, adding that "everyone is welcome here". The footage of O'Hanna displaying the flag came to light after the trio projected pro-Palestinian messages on stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California in April, ending with: "Fuck Israel. Free Palestine." Kneecap, whose other members have the stage names Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí, have said they do not support Hamas or Hezbollah. O'Hanna said on Friday the group were "playing characters" on stage, and it was up to the audience to interpret their messages. (Reporting by Paul Sandle, Kristian Brunse and Sophie Royle, Editing by Jane Merriman and Timothy Heritage)
Hindustan Times
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Hip-hop trio Kneecap to play Glastonbury despite calls for ban
By Paul Sandle Hip-hop trio Kneecap to play Glastonbury despite calls for ban GLASTONBURY, England, - Irish hip-hop group Kneecap will perform at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday despite criticism by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and pressure from some in the music industry to pull the gig. Frontman Liam O'Hanna, whose stage name is Mo Chara, was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He was mobbed by supporters chanting "Free Palestine" and "Free Mo Chara" when he appeared at court in London. He was released on unconditional bail until another hearing in August. Footage has also emerged of the band saying on stage: "Kill your local MP" and "The only good Tory is a dead Tory." They have apologised for the comments about killing an MP. Starmer told the Sun newspaper earlier in June it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap, who rap in Irish and English, to appear at Glastonbury. Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has also commented, saying the BBC, which broadcasts the festival, should not show them. Some 30 music industry bosses asked organisers to pull Kneecap from the line-up, according to a letter leaked by the DJ Toddla T, cited by the Guardian. In response, more than 100 musicians have signed a public letter in support of the group. Kneecap's manager Dan Lambert said the group had expected calls for the group's performance to be cancelled. "We knew that the biggest pressure would come on Glastonbury because Glastonbury's an institution," he told Reuters. But it had not been an issue for organisers. "We didn't bring it up and they didn't bring it up," he said on site at Worthy Farm. "They treated us professionally." Organiser Emily Eavis said on Wednesday the festival was a platform for artists from all over the world, adding that "everyone is welcome here". The footage of O'Hanna displaying the flag came to light after the Northern Irish trio projected pro-Palestinian messages on stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California in April, ending with: "Fuck Israel. Free Palestine." Kneecap, whose other members have the stage names Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí, have said they do not support Hamas or Hezbollah. O'Hanna said on Friday the group were "playing characters" on stage, and it was up to the audience to interpret their messages. "Take what you want from it, but we're not going to change in that way," he told the Guardian newspaper. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Hindustan Times
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Lewis Capaldi makes emotional return to Glastonbury's Pyramid stage
By Paul Sandle Lewis Capaldi makes emotional return to Glastonbury's Pyramid stage GLASTONBURY, England -Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi made an emotional return to Glastonbury Festival on Friday, two years after he struggled to finish "Someone You Loved" on the Pyramid Stage and took a break to focus on his mental health. The 28-year-old's set on Friday afternoon was not on the bill but a huge crowd was waiting after word got out. "I'm not going to say much up here today, because if I do I think I'll probably start crying," he said. "I just wanted to come and kind of finish what I couldn't finish the first time around." His set included new single "Survive", released on Friday, which details his mental health challenges, and ended with "Someone You Loved". "I might struggle to finish it for a different reason today", a visibly emotional Capaldi said. Beth Simpson, who was in the crowd two years ago, said it was good to sing along in better circumstances for the singer. "It was really great that everyone picked him up at that time, but its lovely that we've been able to do that in a time when he's felt that positivity as well," she said. "It's such a lovely full circle moment." Earlier in the day, Lorde attracted a large crowd on the Woodsies stage, where she sang tracks from her new album "Virgin", released on Friday. "It was absolutely incredible, she is such a brilliant performer," said Jamie Pringle, 26, who had just made it to the stage before the gates were shut to control crowds. Rock band Supergrass opened the Pyramid Stage, 30 years after they first appeared at the festival. "Glastonbury, what's up," frontman Gaz Coombes told a sun-drenched crowd. "Ironic" singer Alanis Morissette and Scottish band Biffy Clyro will be on the Pyramid later on Friday, before pop rock group The 1975 headline the festival for the first time. Other acts performing on the 10 large stages on Friday include Busta Rhymes, Maribou State and Anohni And The Johnsons. The Searchers, part of the 1960's Merseybeat scene, will perform their final show after more than six decades of touring on the Acoustic stage. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Hindustan Times
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
The Searchers, 60s chart toppers, to bow out at Glastonbury
By Paul Sandle The Searchers, 60s chart toppers, to bow out at Glastonbury GLASTONBURY, England, - The Searchers, the Liverpool band that topped the charts in the 1960s with "Sweets for My Sweet", "Needles and Pins" and "Don't Throw Your Love Away", will play their final show at Glastonbury Festival on Friday after 66 years of touring. Formed in 1959 by John McNally and Mike Pender, the group was part of the Merseybeat scene alongside Gerry and the Pacemakers and the Beatles that broke through in the early 1960s before finding success in the United States. Bass player and singer Frank Allen, who joined in 1964, said The Searchers had played "final" gigs before but decided to come back one last time after an invitation from the festival in southwestern England. "We had said that was it, unless something comes up that we really couldn't turn down," Allen, 81, told Reuters. "If there was going to be a bigger one to end on, then that's the one." "It will be mostly the hits, a few little things, tributes maybe to some of the other people that we've toured with over the years." The band has shared bills with the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and Cliff Richard, as well as Motown artists in the U.S., he said. After playing to screaming fans in the 1960s, tastes changed in the 1970s and the band moved to the club circuit. "We survived and we came out the other side bigger and better," Allen said. "And as we hit the end of the 70s, everything took off again and there was a new respect for everything we'd done in the past." Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty are among those who said they were influenced by the group's sound, he said. Other performers at Worthy Farm this year include Neil Young, 79, and Rod Stewart, 80. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Analysis-UK politics blunts antitrust action against Google
By Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's competition regulator has finally come up with a plan to control Google's huge search business, but a shift in the political wind in favour of big tech and the money it invests makes it more of a bark than a bite. The Competition and Markets Authority spent years setting up a regime to intervene in the operations of tech giants such as Google, Apple and Amazon, saying it needed special expertise and powers to drive competition in the digital economy. But just as it received new powers, Britain's Labour government said its need to grow the economy meant tough regulation was now out. The CMA, chaired by a former Amazon executive, has touted a targeted approach as the way to meet its goal of reining in big tech without throttling investment from an industry that has spent tens of billions of pounds in Britain. On Tuesday, it proposed designating Google as having "strategic market status" in search, giving it the power to impose conditions on the U.S. tech firm such as changing the way it ranks search results or offering users more choice. Competition experts said the designation was no surprise, coming long after similar moves in the United States and the European Union. "Everyone has been at the search rodeo for years, there are EC (European Commission) decisions, U.S. judgements," Cristina Caffarra, a competition economist, said. "What the CMA is doing is purely performative." Nonetheless, the CMA's first designation is being closely watched by tech groups, lawyers, and business owners to see how it operates in the new political climate. In announcing its proposals, CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell was careful to stress its "targeted and proportionate actions" to regulate a sector innovating at breakneck speed via artificial intelligence, and mindful of the political pressure. Lawyer Ronan Scanlan, a partner at Steptoe International and former deputy director at the CMA, said Britain's Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act gave the CMA broad powers, but in practice it didn't have the political capital to make grand interventions. "The DMCC Act, which was billed as this revolutionary new tool that the CMA could wield, has arrived three years too late and is becoming a bit of an albatross around its neck," he said. "It's up against huge players like Google, Apple, Amazon, with a lot of political connections, and now - in a new political reality - somehow has to try to extricate itself with the minimum amount of damage." The CMA's delicate balancing act is made harder by U.S. President Donald Trump's muscular defence of U.S. business interests, and Scanlan said the regulator would want to see what would happen with Google there. TOUGHER PROPOSALS Some of the measures the CMA is proposing, such as choice screens for consumers to easily opt for alternative search engines, have been around for decades. Others, such as changing the ranking of results to limit Google favouring its own services, could have more impact if they are confirmed in the CMA's final decision in October. Tom Smith, a competition lawyer at Geradin Partners and a former CMA legal director, said there was a question mark over political support for some of the regulator's tougher proposals, but thought it was trying to stick to its guns. "Given the new context, it's still implementing the regime properly," he said, adding that the U.S. Department of Justice had proposed measures that could lead to a breakup of Google, particularly in its search and advertising businesses. "The idea that the CMA is going too far by putting in a choice screen, it's quite ludicrous." Despite that, Alphabet-owned Google warned it may not bring new features and services to Britain if the regulator goes ahead with the proposals, and said "proportionate, evidence-based regulation" was needed if Britain was to grow its economy. Google, which employs around 7,000 people in Britain, accounts for more than 90% of all general search queries in the country, with more than 200,000 businesses relying on its search advertising to reach their customers. But according to submissions to the CMA from the likes of flights and hotel website Skyscanner and the recommendation platform Checkatrade, that dominance may have enabled it to favour its own services over their offerings, and they want regulatory intervention. Silicon Valley has been wary of the CMA since 2023, when it blocked Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of the "Call of Duty" maker Activision-Blizzard. Having sparked fury from the U.S. companies, it then tore up its own rule book to approve the case after Microsoft made some changes. Its second investigation under its new powers is examining mobile operating systems, targeting Google and Apple. Previous CMA investigations had pointed to Amazon as the subject of the third strategic market status investigation that was due to be announced this summer. On Tuesday, however, the CMA pushed the third case back to next year. (Writing by Paul Sandle. Additional reporting by Sarah Young. Editing by Kate Holton and Mark Potter) Sign in to access your portfolio
