Kneecap took to the stage at the West Holts Stage and said ‘f*** Keir Starmer’ as they said the UK Prime Minister has said their appearance at the festival would not be ‘appropriate’
Kneecap sparked controversy at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday, leading the crowd in chants of “f*** Keir Starmer” during their set. The Belfast-based group has been making headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, aka Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence and started the set shouting: “I’m a free man.” In the lead-up to the festival, several politicians called for Kneecap to be dropped from the line-up, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stating their performance would be “inappropriate”.
However, member Naoise O Caireallain, aka Moglai Bap, defied critics, saying: “The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn’t want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.” He also expressed gratitude to the Eavis family, saying “they stood strong” amidst calls for the organisers to remove them from the line-up.
The band also led the crowd in chants of “Free Palestine”, with Mo Chara commenting on the abundance of flags at the festival. O hAnnaidh, 27, donned a keffiyeh during the set, while member JJ O Dochartaigh, aka DJ Provai, wore his signature tri-coloured balaclava and a T-shirt reading: “We are all Palestine Action” in reference to the soon-to-be banned campaign group.
As the hip-hop trio took the stage, news broadcasts criticising them played from the sound system, prompting boos from the Glastonbury Festival audience. The trio kicked off their set with the song Better Way To Live from their 2024 album Fine Art, and also performed tracks such as Get Your Brits Out and Hood.
Around 45 minutes prior to their performance, access to the area surrounding the West Holts Stage was closed due to a large gathering of fans waving a sea of Irish and Palestinian flags.
Earlier, rap punk duo Bob Vylan took to the stage, leading the crowd in chants of “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF” before Kneecap’s set.
On Saturday, the BBC confirmed that they would not be live-streaming the performance, but mentioned that it may be made available on-demand at a later time.
It’s understood that the BBC needs to review the performance before making a final decision.
The band announced 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, Mo Chara remarked: “The BBC editor is going to have some job.”
Mo Chara was previously charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of the proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah and saying “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” at a gig in November last year. Before the band’s performance, Gemma Gibson, 41, from Newcastle, expressed her excitement to PA news agency about seeing Kneecap perform.
When questioned if their set should have been cancelled due to the ongoing controversy, she responded: “Well, that would be completely against everything that Glastonbury stands for… This is where they should be.”
Among the crowd for Kneecap was green energy tycoon Dale Vince. Vince, the head of Ecotricity, displayed a massive Palestinian flag outside the energy behemoth’s headquarters in Stroud, Gloucestershire on Saturday.
He stated: “We’re flying this flag in support of the Palestinian people.”
Alternative metal band Deftones were scheduled to play on Saturday night but their slot has now been taken over by rapper Skepta. A social media post from Glastonbury Festival announced: “Deftones have been forced to cancel tonight’s 8.30pm Other Stage performance due to illness in the band.
“Skepta will kindly step-in, taking the stage at 9pm.”
He declared: “He says: ‘Let’s go! ! ! No crew, no production but am ready to shut Glastonbury down. Victory lap time. Pre-Big Smoke 2025!'”.
A statement on the Deftones’s official Instagram account, posted to their stories, read: “In an unfortunate development, an illness in the band is going to prevent us from playing Glastonbury tonight.
“We’re devastated to be missing out on something we’ve been looking forward to for months, but sometimes circumstances out of our control interfere with things we want to do the most.
“We really hope to return to Glastonbury soon, and as it currently stands, we plan on seeing you tomorrow at Crystal Palace.”
Also taking the stage on Saturday afternoon were Leeds rock group Kaiser Chiefs and US sensation Brandi Carlile, who earlier in the year released an album with Sir Elton John.
Irish vocalist CMAT, who graced the Pyramid Stage on Friday, delivered a surprise set at the BBC Introducing stage on Saturday.
Neil Young, famed for hits such as Rockin’ In The Free World, Like A Hurricane and Cinnamon Girl, is set to headline the Pyramid Stage on Saturday night with his band, the Chrome Hearts.
The BBC will air Young’s performance after previously stating it wouldn’t be shown “at the artist’s request”.
Another act anticipated to pull in a large crowd is Brat star Charli XCX, who will headline the Other Stage around the same time Young and Grammy Award-winning rapper Doechii are also set to perform.
Celebs spotted at the festival include singer Harry Styles, Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne, The Crown’s Emma Corrin, and Stranger Things actor Joseph Quinn.
Taking up the coveted Sunday legends slot this year is Sir Rod Stewart, who previously revealed he’ll be joined by his former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood, along with other guests.
The BBC is offering livestreams of the five main stages: Pyramid, Other, West Holts, Woodsies and The Park.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
