Kneecap say UK government is “trying to silence” them after blocking funding
Irish trio Kneecap claim the UK government is “trying to silence voices from West Belfast” after they were blocked from receiving funding from the British Phonographic Industry.
Prior to the intervention, the award, which is part of the Music Export Growth Scheme that aims to promote British bands internationally, had previously been signed off by the BPI. However, Kneecap, who have been vocal in their support of a united Ireland, have revealed they will no longer be receiving the “significant” funding.
Taking to social media, the group said: “We’ve just been informed that our application to the ‘Music Export Growth Scheme’ was independently approved and signed off by selection board. It was then blocked directly by the British Government who overruled the selection board.”
They continued: “We’re told that our 2019 Farewell to the Union poster pissed off the Tories. Once again the British government is trying to silence voices from West Belfast – once again it will fail! Fair fucks the artists who got the funding.”
The funding money is provided by by the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport with financial assistance from the British music industry.
Following Kneecap’s comments, a spokesperson for the UK’s Business and Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch, told the Irish Times: “We fully support freedom of speech, but it’s hardly surprising that we don’t want to hand out UK taxpayers’ money to people that oppose the United Kingdom itself.”
Meanwhile, in response to the withdrawal of funding, the BPI have expressed “disappointment”.
Kneecap, who teamed up last year with Fontaines D.C. singer Grian Chatten on ‘Better Way To Live’, recently brought their debut film at the Sundance Film Festival, which became the first Irish language movie to have its world premiere at the event.
Kneecap stars the band as fictionalised versions of themselves, and also features Michael Fassbender. The film won the ‘NEXT Audience Award’ at Sundance.
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