Massive Attack and Ben Jamal introduced Kneecap to the stage at their huge London show last night (Thursday September 18), and described them as “a band who refused to be silenced for their solidarity with the Palestinian people”.
The moment came as the Irish hip-hop trio played their biggest England gig to date last night, taking to the stage at the 12,500-capacity OVO Wembley Arena.
Gurriers were enlisted as the support act, and it was announced shortly before doors opened that Massive Attack would be starting the event with a “special audio/visual presentation” in support of Palestine.
After the support set from Gurriers, an Adam Curtis-style film from Robert Del Naja and co. was played, calling out Israel’s actions in Gaza alongside other government’s complicity and hypocrisy for silencing supporters. It also highlighted the thoughts of Nelson Mandela on Palestine.
Massive Attack and Ben Jamal (director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign) then took to the stage to give an impassioned speech and introduce Kneecap to the stage.
“Thank you for watching the film. Thank you for having us here tonight. Thank you to Kneecap for having us here tonight,” said Del Naja. “Thank them for their unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people in spite of the political weaponisation of the criminal justice system against them.”
He then went on to introduce Jamal, describing the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, as working “tirelessly for the last to years to get millions of people onto the streets to say no to genocide [and] no to British complicity in genocide.”
Addressing the crowd, Jamal said it was “an honour to be standing on Kneecap’s stage [and] to be standing on a stage of a band that has refused to be silenced in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Solidarity that is rooted in the knowledge of what it means to come from a land that has experienced dispossession, colonisation [and] genocide.”
Kneecap’s Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap perform at Glastonbury 2025. Credit: Andy Ford for NME
He went on to urge the people in attendance to take action to support the people of Palestine, and attend the upcoming march planned in London on October 11.
“I want you to look in the mirror and ask yourself this question: ‘What did I do when Gaza was going through a genocide?’ Answering that call for solidarity begins with recognising that history did not begin on October 7 [2023, day of the Hamas attacks that killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages].
“What Palestinians require from us to show meaningful solidarity is embedded in the call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions they made 20 years ago,” he added, mentioning how over 150 artists and cultural figures united at the same venue last night to raise around £1.5million for the people of Gaza. “Artists are speaking up… many of them spoke from this stage yesterday. Ordinary citizens are mobilising.”
He continued, referencing the legal action taken against Kneecap’s Mo Chara. “Our movement is growing in strength despite all the attempts of the state and the political establishment to repress us. Despite the grotesque charges against Mo Chara. Despite the charges laid against me and other leaders of the movement.”
Chara is currently facing terrorism charges levelled against him in May for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag on stage at a London show last November. Chara appeared in court last month, where the case was adjourned until September 26.
Kneecap have consistently denied supporting either Hamas or Hezbollah, and said that they do not incite or condone violence. They have also argued that the footage at the UK shows had been taken out of context, and described the legal action as a “carnival of distraction”.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, over 61,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023. Israel rejects accusations of genocide and denies committing any war crimes, maintaining that its operations are lawful acts of self-defence.
After Jamal’s speech at Wembley, he and Del Naja hugged and introduced Kneecap to the stage. The trio’s set was then a full-throttle punk-rap explosion, calling out Israel, Donald Trump and Keir Starmer ahead of Mo Chara’s upcoming terror charge trial. Check back at NME soon for the full review.
This is far from the first time that Massive Attack has spoken out in solidarity for Palestine alongside Kneecap. Over the summer, the trip-hop band announced an alliance of musicians speaking out over Gaza against “intimidations from within” the music industry. Kneecap were among the acts to lend their support, along with the likes of Fontaines D.C., Brian Eno and Garbage.
The group have boycotted performing in Israel since 1999, and this spring they issued a statement supporting Kneecap and urging the focus to remain on what they called a “genocide” against the Palestinian people: “Kneecap are not the story. Gaza is the story. Genocide is the story.”
They have also joined many artists in urging Field Day to distance itself from global investment firm KKR, stood alongside Dua Lipa, Primal Scream, Benedict Cumberbatch and other big names in urging Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “end UK complicity” in Gaza, and hit out at the “ugly, unrecognisable” UK government for allowing the arrest of “peaceful citizens” at a Palestine Action demonstration in London.
In June, Massive Attack were joined by Khalid Abdalla and Yasiin Bey in a show of solidarity with Palestine at London’s LIDO Festival too.
Kneecap have announced a live-streamed performance for fans after being forced to cancel their US tour due to the “close proximity of [their] next court hearing”. They will then head out on a 2025 UK headline tour in November. Find any remaining tickets here.
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