Viagra Boys’ Sebastian Murphy criticises British and American government: “Fucked up times”
Viagra Boys frontman Sebastian Murphy hit out at the American and British governments for their ties to Israel when addressing fans at London’s Alexandra Palace.
The Swedish post-punk band was headlining the iconic London venue on March 6th for their biggest-ever headline show to date, when Murphy used a break between songs to criticise the current political climate.
“What I hate about this country is that it’s illegal to protest a fucking genocide,” Murphy began at the sold-out show attended by Far Out.
The 36-year-old was referencing the government ruling in the UK that deemed Palestine Action a terrorist group and made protesting on behalf of Palestine illegal.
However, on February 13th, the High Court deemed the proscription of Palestine Action unlawful, though the conflict between the government and the people has continued, and details of the extent to which solidarity can be shown are still murky.
Murphy’s impassioned speech continued, “We are living in fucked up times, people. And with that said, I want to say: Free Palestine. Fuck the British government. Fuck the American government. And fuck any other government that is on the same side as Israel.”
Murphy then encouraged the 10,250 in attendance to engage with the popular chant “Free free Palestine!”
The band has been vocal about their support for Palestine before. At a 2025 show at End of the Road festival, they said on stage, “All of the world leaders today are fucking fascist pieces of shit who won’t admit that there’s a genocide going on! Free Palestine, and fuck the UK for arresting peaceful protesters”.
The six-piece were supported by indie duo Getdown Services, who used their platform to criticise the venue for taking 25% of their merchandise sales, and charging £2,500 for video footage of a single song.
Viagra Boys will continue their tour at the Lollapalooza festival in Chile and Argentina later this month. In the summer, they are set for another run of festivals, including Primavera Sound, Summer Sonic, and Release Festival.
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