Kneecap hit out at Scottish politician John Swinney during Glasgow show
Kneecap have a new target in their firing zone after lashing out at Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney during their show at Glasgow’s O2 Academy on July 8th.
The band played at the venue after being removed from the line-up of the city’s TRSNMT festival, scheduled for this coming weekend. The festival bowed to pressure not to allow the Irish rap trio to perform due to their controversial statements and Mo Chara’s terror charge. As a result, the band decided to stage their own concert in Scotland.
Kneecap’s Mo Chara is facing terrorism charges after footage from 2024 showed the rapper yelling “Up Hamas! Up Hezbollah!”. Chara is currently on unconditional bail and due back in court on August 20th. Though they were facing a wider investigation, the Metropolitan police confirmed that no charges would be brought against them relating to comments in which they allegedly said “Kill your MP” surfaced from a 2023 show.
Taking to the stage at Glasgow’s O2 Academy, Kneecap addressed the controversy head-on. “What’s your first minister’s name?” Mo Chara said, adding: “They stopped us playing TRNSMT but they can’t stop us playing Glasgow.”
The Irish trio also joked about Rangers fans, but ultimately championed working-class unity, as they had “more in common with a poor Rangers fan than a rich Celtic fan”.
A huge roar also rattled the crowd when they jeered that the British government had “done nothing for Ireland and nothing for Glasgow”.
Police released a statement before the show, writing, “A proportionate and considered policing plan is in place within the city and we are working with a number of stakeholders to ensure the safety of all those attending these events and where possible minimise disruption to the people of Glasgow.”
Kneecap recently supported Australian rockers Amyl and the Sniffers and Irish rock stars Fontaines DC at a huge gig in London’s Finsbury Park. Far Out, who attended the huge event, wrote of their set, “What was all the more impressive than a dizzying crowd of all ages, sweating and yelling over one another, was their candid address of activism in the internet age. ‘I understand that it’s almost inhumane that I’m thinking of new things to say on stage during a genocide, for sound bites,’ Chara said, before insisting the situation is ‘beyond words now’, detailing how food and aid collection areas in Gaza have been trend ‘into killing fields’.”
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