Royal Blood slam “pathetic” crowd at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend
During BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Dundee, Royal Blood singer Mike Kerr called their crowd “pathetic” before leaving the stage and sticking his middle fingers up at the audience.
The band were sandwiched between Niall Horan and headliner Lewis Capaldi on the bill at the festival on May 28th. Speaking to the crowd, Kerr said: “Well, I should introduce ourselves, considering nobody actually knows who we are. We are called Royal Blood, and this is rock music. Who likes rock music? Nine people, this is brilliant.”
Introducing his bandmate, Kerr added: “This is Ben Thatcher; he plays drums. Everybody say ‘Hi’ to Ben, please.” Following the lacklustre response, he continued: “We are having to clap ourselves because that was so pathetic”.
Kerr then spoke to one of the camera operators and said: “Can you clap for us, or are you busy?” He then told the audience, “Even he’s clapping; what does that say about you?”
Kerr proceeded to walk off stage with his back turned to the crowd with both middle fingers raised in the air. Thatcher then imitated drawing a smile onto his face while looking at the audience before following his bandmate off stage after they finished their seven-song set.
Last week, the duo announced details of their fourth album, Back To The Water, arriving on September 8th. The LP, which has been previewed with the new single ‘Mountains At Midnight‘, is the first to be self-produced by the band.
Thatcher said of the album: “I think this record was about letting the ideas take us where they needed to go. If there was a song that was calling us to do something that wasn’t typically what we’re known for, that’s where we’re going to go.”
Looking back upon their journey, Kerr reflected in a press statement: “No-one saw the years of us playing in loads of bands to no-one, that all gets swept under the carpet because the other story is magical and much more wondrous. Luck is where passion meets opportunity. We got our golden ticket and walked out as tiny ninjas. We were in the right place at the right time, and we have to remember to give ourselves the credit that we didn’t get into this position by winning a quiz show, we put in a serious amount of work. It’s taken us four albums to realise this isn’t luck, we’re good and we’re committed to this.”
This summer, Royal Blood will perform at Glastonbury and headline a series of festivals, including Kendal Calling, before a huge hometown show on Brighton Beach on July 29th.
Watch Royal Blood walk off stage at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend below.
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