Kneecap announce new song ahead of headline performance at London’s Wide Awake

By PA reporters

Irish rap trio Kneecap have announced they will release a new song ahead of their headline performance at London’s Wide Awake festival, just two days after one of their members was charged with a terror offence.

The band, made up of Liam O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, thanked the “25,000 legends” who will be attending Friday night’s performance in a post on Instagram, while revealing the new song will be released at 1pm.

The band’s post read: “Well well London heads. Some day coming up.

“We’ve a brand new track landing in our WhatsApp channel at 1pm.

“Kemi Badenoch you might wanna sit down for this one, if you’ve any seats left.

“Then we’re at Wide Awake in Brockwell Park London for a headline show to 25,000 legends tonight.”

Conservative Party leader Badenoch has called for Kneecap to be banned and suggested they should be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up. A number of other politicians have made the same demand.

Last year, Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK Government in Belfast High Court after former business secretary Badenoch tried to refuse them a £14,250 funding award when she was a minister.

In another post, the band showed a short clip of their soundcheck at the Brockwell Park festival.

It comes after O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged over the alleged display of a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November last year, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.

The band held a surprise gig at the 100 Club on Oxford Street on Thursday, where O hAnnaidh could be seen in videos on social media arriving on stage with tape covering his mouth.

He then joked about being careful what he said before adding he wanted to thank his lawyer.

The rapper said: “I need to thank my lawyer he’s here tonight as well.”

Police said they were at the central London venue on Thursday evening to manage visitors to the sold-out event.

The band said on X that the event sold out in 90 seconds, with 2,000 people on the waiting list.

On Monday, a spokesperson for several planned music festivals due to take place in Brockwell Park in Lambeth said none will be cancelled following a High Court ruling over planning permission.

Last week, Rebekah Shaman, a resident in the area and a member of the Protect Brockwell Park group, successfully brought legal action against Lambeth Council over the use of parts of the park for the festivals.

In a ruling last week, Mr Justice Mould said that the authority’s decision to certify the planned use of the land as lawful was “irrational”.

Lawyers for Ms Shaman and the Protect Brockwell Park group wrote to the council following the ruling, asking it to “confirm that the event has been cancelled” and to clear any fencing or infrastructure, and stating that Brockwell Live did not have planning permission.

But on Monday, a spokesperson for Brockwell Live said no events would be cancelled, with Lambeth Council confirming that the event’s organisers, Summer Events Limited, had reapplied for planning permission.

O hAnnaidh, 27, was charged by postal requisition and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 18, the Metropolitan Police said.

In response to the charge, the group said in a social media statement: “14,000 babies are about to die of starvation in Gaza, with food sent by the world sitting on the other side of a wall, and once again the British establishment is focused on us.

“We deny this ‘offence’ and will vehemently defend ourselves, this is political policing, this is a carnival of distraction.

“We are not the story, genocide is, as they profit from genocide, they use an ‘anti-terror law’ against us for displaying a flag thrown on stage. A charge not serious enough to even warrant their crown court, instead a court that doesn’t have a jury. What’s the objective?

“To restrict our ability to travel. To prevent us speaking to young people across the world. To silence voices of compassion. To prosecute artists who dare speak out.

“Instead of defending innocent people, or the principles of international law they claim to uphold, the powerful in Britain have abetted slaughter and famine in Gaza, just as they did in Ireland for centuries. Then, like now, they claim justification.

“The IDF units they arm and fly spy plane missions for are the real terrorists, the whole world can see it.”

Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were made aware on April 22 of an online video from the event, police said.

An investigation led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising the charge.

Earlier this month, the Metropolitan Police said Kneecap were being investigated by counter-terrorism police after videos emerged allegedly showing the band calling for the deaths of MPs and shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.

The rap trio have had gigs cancelled after the footage emerged but are still listed to headline Wide Awake.

They apologised last month to the families of murdered MPs but said footage of the incident had been “exploited and weaponised”.

Kneecap also said they have “never supported” Hamas or Hezbollah, both of which are banned in the UK.

In 2024, the band released an eponymous film, starring Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender, a fictionalised retelling of how the band came together and follows the Belfast group on their mission to save their mother tongue through music.

Formed in 2017, the group are known for their provocative lyrics in both Irish and English languages, and merchandise.

Their best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag.

Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged over the alleged display of a flag in support of Hezbollah