Massive Attack are currently under investigation for displaying a Palestinian flag at their recent live show in Singapore.
The moment occurred during the trip-hop duo’s concert at The Star Theatre on Wednesday (July 29), per The Straits Times.
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According to the publication, the local authorities have since launched an ongoing probe. The Infocomm Media Development Authority also reportedly said it was investigating a possible breach of licence conditions.
Lushington, the date’s promoter, confirmed that it had been made aware of the reports about the performance.
“We will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities as required,” it explained, adding that the show in question was the only one scheduled stop in Singapore on the band’s current run.
Footage circulating on social media shows two members of the group holding a Palestinian flag up on stage as the crowd cheers.
Police investigations ongoing after UK band Massive Attack shows support for Palestinians at Singapore concert
byu/FirstLightOfTheDay insingapore
Massive Attack, who have boycotted performing in Israel since 1999, issued a statement supporting Kneecap last year, after it was announced that the Irish trio were under investigation by counter-terrorism police in the UK.
The case against Kneecap’s Móglaí Bap was dropped last September due to a technicality relating to the way in which it was brought about. At the time, the Chief Magistrate told the court that the charge was “unlawful” and “null”.
Earlier this year, Del Naja hit out at the “draconian government” after being arrested during a protest against the ban on Palestine Action. The musician was among hundreds of fellow demonstrators who took to Trafalgar Square to protest the ban on Palestine Action, and held up a sign that read “I Oppose Genocide, I Support Palestine Action”.
He was carried away from the demonstration by police and arrested on suspicion of showing support for a proscribed organisation, and later addressed the situation in a lengthy statement shared to Instagram.
Massive Attack live in Liverpool, 2024. Credit: Unit 3 Films
“On the topic of madness,” he wrote, “in Britain in 2026, you can be arrested under the Terrorism Act for sitting in silence, holding a cardboard sign stating that you oppose genocide & support non-violent action to prevent it.”
In February, Massive Attack responded to the ban on Palestine Action being deemed unlawful by the High Court. They said that then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government “wanted to punish those who made their complicity in a genocide visible”, and had “confected an authoritarian law to retaliate against peaceful citizens holding signs”.
Last summer, they joined Primal Scream in condemning the government for allowing the arrest of “peaceful citizens” at a Palestine Action demonstration in London.
The band also backed the No Music For Genocide campaign, and later added that they would be fully boycotting Spotify.
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