Irish rap trio Kneecap have taken to the stage of a London festival just days after member Liam O’Hanna was charged with a terror offence. However, opening their set this evening, the group admitted their set very almost got cancelled at the last minute and pressure is mounting on Glastonbury to pull their slot at Worthy Farm next month.
Earlier this week, Liam O’Hanna, who uses the stage name Mo Chara, was charged over the alleged display of a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London last November.
The band strongly deny the charges brought against O’Hanna and said in a lengthy statement that they will “vehemently defend” themselves against what they claimed was “political policing”. Tonight, the group, who hail from Belfast and rap in the Irish language, performed in the headline slot at Wide Awake Festival in Brockwell Park, south London tonight.
After performing their first song, the trio seemed to reference their recent controversy, telling the crowd that the set nearly got pulled. As the crowd, many waving flags, chanted “Free, Free Palestine”, the group told their fans: “They tried to stop this gig. Honestly lads, you have no idea how close we were to being pulled. Performing in front of a graphic that reads “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people”, they added: “Has anybody been watching the news! It wasn’t even me! Thank you to all you c**** for supporting us through all this.”
Later, the boys revealed “this is the biggest crowd we’ve ever played to.” Liam then went on to discuss his recent charges, revealing: “I had an interview with counter terrorism and within a day they charged me. And the reason it was that quick was because Glastonbury is just around the corner, they’re trying to silence us.”
The group revealed their Glastonbury slot hangs in the balance due to pressure from the police and government. “Glastonbury is just around the corner,” the group stated before claiming “they’re trying to stop” them doing a similar thing to what they did at Coachella. “F**k ’em,” one of the trio said to a wild applause from the crowd.
The Belfast group accused Israel of genocide and war crimes against Palestinians with on-screen messages when they ended their set at the second weekend of the event in California in April.
They read: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people”, “It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes” and “F*** Israel. Free Palestine”.
Kneecap’s recent controversaries hasn’t put fans off. Speaking ahead of tonight’s gig, one said of the band’s politics: “We were fans of Kneecap before but we’ve become bigger fans in the last month. I don’t agree with what they said but they had the right intentions in mind and I support their cause. No other act is being scrutinised like them – and you have to look at what they’ve been through to understand it.”
“My girlfriend made me watch the Kneecap film – it was amazing and I’ve. Even fans ever since,” another added, with a third declaring: “I started listening to them because of the controversy and found that their songs slapped so I wanted to watch them.”
Earlier this week, Kneecap held a surprise gig at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, with O’Hanna seen in social media videos arriving on stage with tape covering his mouth. He then joked: “I need to thank my lawyer, he’s here tonight as well.”
Writing on X, the band announced that the event had sold out in 90 seconds, with 2,000 people on the waiting list.
O’Hanna is set to appear before Westminster Magistrates Court on June 18 after being charged by postal requisition. The band said in a lengthy statement on Instagram: “14,000 babies are about to die of starvation in Gaza, with food sent by the world sitting on the other side of a wall, and once again, the British establishment is focused on us.
“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. As they profit from genocide, they use an ‘anti-terror law’ against us for displaying a flag thrown on stage.
“A charge not serious enough to even warrant their ‘crown court’, instead a court that doesn’t have a jury. What’s the objective? To restrict our travel ability. To prevent us speaking to young people across the world. To silence voices of compassion. To prosecute artists who dare to speak out.
“Instead of defending innocent people, or the principles of international law they claim to uphold, the powerful in Britain have abetted slaughter and famine in Gaza, just as they did in Ireland for centuries. Then, like now, they claim justification. The IDF units they arm and fly spy plane missions for are the real terrorists, the whole world can see it.
“We stand proudly with the people. You stand complicit with the war criminals. We are on the right side of history. You are not. We will fight you in court. We will win. Free Palestine.”
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