Watch Portishead perform ‘Roads’ at Together For Palestine
At the Together for Palestine concert at Wembley Arena on September 17th, Portishead delivered a rare live performance of ‘Roads’.
This live rendition of their classic track, which originally appeared on their seminal debut album Dummy in 1994, marks only the second time Portishead have performed since 2015. They last appeared in 2022 for a short set in aid of War Child at the O2 Academy in Bristol.
While Portishead didn’t perform ‘Roads’ in Wembley Arena on Wednesday evening, they instead pre-recorded the track, which was enhanced with the assistance of a string quartet.
Following the announcement of Portishead’s involvement in Together For Palestine, the Bristolian band said in a statement: “We are incredibly honoured to stand in solidarity with Palestine and be part of this crucial event. The genocide must stop.”
Elsewhere during the evening, Hollywood star Richard Gere called upon Donald Trump to take direct action to stop Israel’s attack on Palestine. Gere told those at Wembley Arena, “There’s one man who could stop this in one day. He says, ‘I can stop wars in one day’, my President Trump. In one day, he could stop all this craziness.”
As applause for the cause and boos for Trump rang around the Wembley Arena, as Gere added, “[Benjamin] Netanyahu needs the US, needs Trump so badly. One day. If he wants a Nobel Peace Prize, this is the way to get it.”
Other notable moments from the occasion included performances from Gorillaz, James Blake, Paloma Faith, as well as appearances from huge names from the world of film, including Benedict Cumberbatch and Florence Pugh.
As of writing, the Together For Palestine concert, which was the brainchild of Brian Eno, has raised £715,000 for Choose Love, which will then distribute the money to Palestinian-led organisations offering humanitarian aid. It hopes to raise £1 million, to donate visit here.
In an op-ed for The Guardian, Eno said of the fundraising effort: “More than any other conflict since the birth of the modern communications age, more so even than South Africa in the 1980s, the Israeli occupation of Palestine has been conducted with words and images as well as with bullets and bombs.”
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