Radiohead frontman clashes with pro-Palestinian heckler in Australia
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Thom Yorke was performing a solo show in Melbourne on Oct 30 when a concertgoer began chiding him about the mounting death toll in Gaza.
PHOTO: MICHAEL AVEDON
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SYDNEY – Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke briefly walked offstage during an Australian concert after a verbal clash with a pro-Palestinian heckler.
He was performing a solo show in Melbourne on Oct 30 when a concertgoer began chiding him about the mounting death toll in Gaza.
“How many dead children will it take for you to condemn the genocide in Gaza?” the heckler said.
In a frosty reply, Yorke accused the man of ruining the gig for other fans and invited him to “hop up” on the stage.
“Don’t stand there like a coward, come here and say it. You want to pi** on everybody’s night,” Yorke said.
Yorke briefly walked offstage as the crowd booed the heckler, although he returned minutes later to play his final song – Radiohead’s 1997 hit Karma Police.
English rock band Radiohead defied pro-Palestinian activists in 2017 to play a gig in Tel Aviv.
“Playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government,” Yorke wrote on Twitter at the time. “We’ve played in Israel for over 20 years through a succession of governments, some more liberal than others. As we have in America.
“We don’t endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America.”
The Melbourne stop is part of Yorke’s solo tour in October and November across New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Japan. He will perform a sold-out show in Singapore
