Damon Albarn speaks on Palestine at Glastonbury and “the importance of voting” in UK general election next week

damon-albarn-speaks-on-palestine-at-glastonbury-and-“the-importance-of-voting”-in-uk-general-election-next-week
Damon Albarn speaks on Palestine at Glastonbury and “the importance of voting” in UK general election next week

During their set at Glastonbury on Friday, Bombay Bicycle Club welcomed Blur frontman, Damon Albarn to perform his song, ‘Heaven’. Before the performance, Albarn addressed the crowd with three important questions, beginning by enquiring about their stance on Palestine; after being met with cheers, he asked whether the crowd believed that the conflict was unjust. He then went on to remind the audience of the upcoming UK General Election and the importance of voting. Albarn rounded off his address by suggesting that it’s perhaps time to stop letting the world be controlled by octogenarians.

Albarn’s guest appearance was not the only politically-charged moment of the day. Aurora used her set to highlight the conflict in Palestine, dedicating it to children caught up in the fighting. And as IDLES brought the Other stage’s proceedings to a close, they displayed a message on stage screens calling for a ‘Ceasefire now’.

On a lighter note, many performers invited special guests to join them onstage. Dua Lipa brought out Kevin Parker, Frontman for Tame Impala, to perform ‘The Less I Know The Better’ at the Pyramid Stage. Paul Heaton invited Norman Cook, who is also known as Fatboy Slim, to play their Housemartins hit ‘Happy Hour’ while Danny Brown joined IDLES.

It was unknown who the surprise guest would be during Bombay Bicycle Club’s performance of ‘My Big Day’ but radio station, Radio X, reported that whoever it was would perform on that song exclusively. From there, it wasn’t too long until the rumour mill began turning. Some suggested it would be someone from Radiohead, who last performed at Glastonbury in 2017, or that Albarn himself would be taking to the stage, as a musician who has performed at the festival many times. The expectation levels were high – no one envisaged that Albarn would arrive and address the audience in the manner that he did.

Entertainment magazine, NME, promised to bring readers the latest updates, photographs, and interviews regarding Glastonbury. Further coverage detailing the political moments and on-stage antics from the performing artists can be found on the site

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