This is the tale of two bands. One peace-loving, the other accused of celebrating violence. One has been cancelled into silence; the other has scores of big names clamouring for them to be allowed to play.
The first is British-Jewish band Oi Va Voi. They fuse traditional klezmer music with a modern sound and have been going on unshowily, with a degree of success, for 20 years. They are particularly popular in Turkey, where they recently played three sold-out shows.
They describe themselves as a collective with firmly left-wing, peace-driven politics. One of their best-known songs is Refugee, which includes the lyrics: “Together / We can enjoy the taste of dignity / As long as you believe in me / I’ll show you my reality.” When they've appeared in Israel, they have worked with Palestinian acts.
Yet their Jewish identity – and the fact that they have an Israeli guest singer – was enough to get them cancelled by the Bristol venue Strange Brew, following pressure from pro-Palestine activists.
A letter sent to the venue by the Bristol Palestine Alliance complained, among other things, that “Oi Va Voi intends to perform later this year in Israel” and that their singer’s album cover of her naked in a field of watermelons featured “dog whistle Zionist imagery”.
Strange Brew cancelled the show, citing the watermelon cover image, often used, because of its colours, as a symbol of the Palestinian flag. This was despite the band explaining that the image reflected themes of femininity and nature. The venue said: “The use of politically loaded symbolism in this way – by anyone of any background – is ambiguous and could therefore come across as politically insensitive and/or offensive to the people of Palestine.”
Yes, you read that right: an “ambiguous” record cover featuring watermelons is enough to see you cancelled.
The band tell me they are unsure whether their upcoming shows in Brighton and London will still go ahead. Cancellation is like a virus: once one venue caves, others follow.
The Oi Va Voi cancellation follows that of a more famous act – Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. His supposed crime was performing with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa. That too was in Bristol (what is going on in Bristol?). The pair condemned the “censorship and silencing”, adding that the venues had “received enough credible threats to conclude that it’s not safe to proceed.”
But it's the silence that speaks loudest. There has been no angry response from the music industry to these cancellations and perhaps this is the most sinister element of it all. It is hard to know whether everyone is too frightened or perhaps they simply don’t care. I am not sure what is worse.
Contrast that with Kneecap. They are named after an IRA punishment of shooting petty criminals in the knees. Earlier this month, Liam Barker, who was kneecapped as a teenager, described the impact it had had on him. A victim of sexual abuse, he ran away from his children’s home and stole cars. He was shot in the knees by the IRA when he was 17. He said he had to learn to walk again, adding the experience had led him to lead a life “of mental and physical trauma”.
This bank holiday weekend, Kneecap will be the headline act at South London’s Wide Awake festival in Brockwell Park. Their next UK date will be their biggest – at Glastonbury. At the last big festival they played at, Coachella, they displayed the message, “F**k Israel. Free Palestine.”
Since then, one of their members has been charged with a terror offence. This relates to footage taken from a gig at the Kentish Town Forum last year, in which Liam O'Hanna (stage name Mo Chana) appears to shout, “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.” At a previous gig, a member appeared to shout: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”
After one gig with them was cancelled, the music industry rallied around. The likes of Paul Weller, Primal Scream, DJ Annie Mac and scores of other acts signed a letter saying: “As artists we feel the need to register our opposition to any political repression of artistic freedom. In a democracy, no political figures or political parties should have the right to dictate who does and does not play at music festivals or gigs that will be enjoyed by thousands of people.”
Not one of these artists spoke up for Oi Va Voi.
The argument over Kneecap is likely to come to a head soon with Glastonbury, which is going to be forced to make a decision: will they showcase this band? If they do, will they demand no political content? Will the BBC screen Kneecap’s performance?
This row is going to be nasty and noisy, no doubt. We’ll see letters and social media posts celebrating a group, even though one of its members has been charged with supporting a terrorist organisation that glorifies the murder of Jews.
For Oi Va Voi and other groups with an Israeli link, however, the slow silent cancellation will continue. And none of those free speech activists in the music world will breathe a word.
