UK show cancelled: Radiohead star Jonny Greenwood pulls out amid threats linked to anti-Israel protests
Radiohead musician Jonny Greenwood forthcoming UK shows have been cancelled because of “credible threats”.
The guitarist and keyboardist has collaborated with Israeli-born rock musician Dudu Tassa for more than a decade, and the pair were due to perform at Bristol Beacon’s Lantern Hall and London’s Hackney Church in June, after releasing the record Jarak Qaribak 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 axing of the gigs.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.It had launched a campaign for the venues to cancel the dates, claiming the duo’s performances “would have whitewashed” the war in the Gaza Strip.
The campaigners said Greenwood and Tassa’s claims were “unsubstantiated” and were an attempt to divert attention from their links to Israel’s cultural community.
A letter from Greenwood, Tassa and their musicians 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 letter said the “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.”
The musicians said their touring show also featured singers 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”.
“We find ourselves in the odd position of being condemned by both ends of the political spectrum,” they said.
They 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 Conservative MPs to be killed.
Greenwood, also a two-time Oscar-nominated composer, was criticised by pro-Palestinian groups in 2024 for performing in Tel Aviv as the war in Gaza raged.
A spokeswoman for PACBI said the group’s pressure campaign was “peaceful” and numerous artists and arts organisations had supported a cultural boycott of Israel.
