Radiohead musician Jonny Greenwood has said that his upcoming UK Shows were cancelled due to “credible threats”.
The guitarist and pianist was due to play at London’s Hackney Church in June alongside Israeli born rock musician Dudu Tassa.
The pair have collaborated for over a decade and released the record Jarak Taribak in 2023.
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a member of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, welcomed the gigs being cancelled.
The group had launched a campaign for the venues to cancel the dates, claiming the musician’s performances “would have whitewashed” the war in Gaza.
In a letter released by the duo and their musicians, Greenwood and Tassa said: “The venues and their blameless staff have received enough credible threats to conclude that it’s not safe to proceed. Promoters of the shows can’t be expected to fund our, or our audience’s, protection.”
The pair went on to add “cancellation will be hailed as a victory by the campaigners behind it, but we see nothing to celebrate and don’t find that anything positive has been achieved”.
“Forcing musicians not to perform and denying people who want to hear them an opportunity to do so is self-evidently a method of censorship and silencing.”
Greenwood and Tassa also pointed out that their touring show features singers from the Middle East with performers from Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait and Iraq, with “each of the members brought together by a shared love of Arabic song, regardless of where exactly they all happened to be born”.
The pair also cited artists defending Northern Irish rappers Kneecap, saying they “feel the need to register our opposition to any political repression of artistic freedom”, after the trio were criticised when one member appeared to call for Tory MPs to be killed.
“We have no judgment to pass on Kneecap but note how sad it is that those supporting their freedom of expression are the same ones most determined to restrict ours.
“We agree completely with people who ask ‘How can this be more important than what’s happening in Gaza and Israel?’ They’re right – it isn’t. How could it be? What, in anyone’s upcoming cultural life, is?”
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HeadlineRadiohead’s Jonny Greenwood says UK shows cancelled because of credible threats
Short HeadlineRadiohead cancels Hackney show because of credible threats
StandfirstThe rock band have said that the upcoming UK shows were cancelled due to "credible threats" amidst controversy regarding the war in Gaza
Radiohead musician Jonny Greenwood has said that his upcoming UK Shows were cancelled due to “credible threats”.
The guitarist and pianist was due to play at London’s Hackney Church in June alongside Israeli born rock musician Dudu Tassa.
The pair have collaborated for over a decade and released the record Jarak Taribak in 2023.
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a member of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, welcomed the gigs being cancelled.
The group had launched a campaign for the venues to cancel the dates, claiming the musician’s performances “would have whitewashed” the war in Gaza.
In a letter released by the duo and their musicians, Greenwood and Tassa said: “The venues and their blameless staff have received enough credible threats to conclude that it’s not safe to proceed. Promoters of the shows can’t be expected to fund our, or our audience’s, protection.”
The pair went on to add “cancellation will be hailed as a victory by the campaigners behind it, but we see nothing to celebrate and don’t find that anything positive has been achieved”.
“Forcing musicians not to perform and denying people who want to hear them an opportunity to do so is self-evidently a method of censorship and silencing.”
Greenwood and Tassa also pointed out that their touring show features singers from the Middle East with performers from Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait and Iraq, with “each of the members brought together by a shared love of Arabic song, regardless of where exactly they all happened to be born”.
The pair also cited artists defending Northern Irish rappers Kneecap, saying they “feel the need to register our opposition to any political repression of artistic freedom”, after the trio were criticised when one member appeared to call for Tory MPs to be killed.
“We have no judgment to pass on Kneecap but note how sad it is that those supporting their freedom of expression are the same ones most determined to restrict ours.
“We agree completely with people who ask ‘How can this be more important than what’s happening in Gaza and Israel?’ They’re right – it isn’t. How could it be? What, in anyone’s upcoming cultural life, is?”
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