Roger Waters lambastes Keir Starmer in pro-Palestine fundraiser concert
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
There is something galling about being told by Roger Waters, halfway through an interminable rant about Palestine, Keir Starmer and how awful politicians are generally, that I look bored. Fair play to Waters, who, famously, once spat in an unappreciative fan’s face, an action that inspired his magnum opus The Wall: he doesn’t mince his words. He was the headline act for a hastily organised show at St Pancras Church that was half awareness-raiser for Palestine and half rally for Andrew Feinstein, the independent candidate for Starmer’s constituency of Holborn and St Pancras.
It was, inevitably, something of a scrappy evening, even after entering the venue past the angry pro-Israel protesters, booming out I Will Survive from their speakers. A trio of acts performed to a highly partisan audience that included an appropriately stern-faced Alexei Sayle. In between the deafening chants of “Free Palestine!” and “Long live Palestine”, there were some musical gems, as well as longueurs. First up was rapper Lowkey, who was accompanied by a bandmate on grand piano and whose angry, politicised raps played well to the crowd, especially his song ‘Dear England’, written in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy and now updated to include attacks on Starmer – “He calls himself a human rights lawyer but does not believe in genocide… he backs Israel to the hilt.”
The big draws were Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens, and Waters. Stevens performed a beautiful version of Wild World, as well as two less-distinguished contemporary songs, and struck the most emollient note, dedicating his act to the “most pure” children of Palestine and saying, “We’re fighting for peace, not for anything else.”
Unfortunately, this didn’t get through to the headline act, who was on typically belligerent form. Black T-shirted and looking fit and active for an octogenarian, Waters and his bandmate Dave Kilminster treated the hushed congregation to an exquisite rendition of Wish You Were Here, but a long, rambling newer song, The Bar, sounded like an outtake from The
Wall – a feeling reinforced when Waters concluded it with the opening verses of Outside the Wall.
Rock’s most notorious provocateur, who professed himself jetlagged after only arriving in the country a couple of hours before, was on fighting form, vigorously denouncing “the genocide enabler” Starmer, and declaring “I’ve looked at Keir Starmer and I’ve looked at Andrew Feinstein. I can tell a smile from a veil.” At the conclusion of The Bar, a pleased Waters, in his element, declared, “The only thing I would feel ashamed about is to stand by being silent and indifferent, and I’m not.” Love him or loathe him, this most controversial of musicians will not be quiet.
