“This might be an obvious question, London,” starts Mo Chara, “but have we got any Fenian c**ts in the house?” A fevered roar responds. The Irish diaspora dominate the room tonight at Kneecap’s second sold-out show at London’s iconic Kentish Town Forum. “This is our last gig of the whole tour,” continues Móglaí Bap. “We want to make sure this is the rowdiest crowd.” That’s not gonna be a problem.
Turns out Noel Gallagher is in the room tonight (having previously declared his love after the trio after their feral late night Glastonbury set), as is Paul Weller (who they’ll be joining for a Palestinian aid charity gig next month, and who’s spotted outside refusing to queue-jump – ledge). On the day that they feature on the somewhat baffling BBC Sound Of 2025 longlist (or as it should be called: The Sound Of 2024, 2023 And Bits Of 2018), this feels like every bit the victory lap before their album ‘Fine Art’ and Michael Fassbender-starring epic biopic dominate end of year lists. “You can watch it on Amazon Prime for free,” they say of the film, “if you’re a fucking wanker” – inciting chants of “Fuck Jeff Bezos”.
As is par for the course, this is as much a protest as a party. As the pits erupt for substance abuse anthem ‘Your Sniffer Dogs Are Shite’, the tri-colour balaclava-clad DJ Próvai soon reveals his chest to rub his nipples as the crowd are led into an anti-Thatcher chant of “In a box, in a box, Maggie’s in a box” to the tune of KC and The Sunshine Band’s ‘Give It Up’. Then we all sang ‘Sex Bomb’, of course. Welcome, to the wildest lock-in in town.
What more could you want from a night out? How about a guest-turn from Kurupt FM? You got it. “That was a dream come true,” admits Chara, always manifesting their next move. Introducing the first they ever wrote, the manifesto of ‘C.E.A.R.T.A.’, they remember a time when they “didn’t know what they were doing” but found a way with no Spotify numbers, no radio plays, just the power of the fans.
Oosh. @KNEECAPCEOL + @KuruptFM pic.twitter.com/cFg7MtWgpa
— Andrew Trendell (@AndrewTrendell) November 22, 2024
Kneecap are as much a movement as they are a band. “What’s going on in Palestine is insane,” offers Chara, in one of many rallying cries for the suffering in Gaza. “It’s times like these we need to be on the right side of history.” Bap has even been running 10k per day on tour to raise money for aid: “That’s even harder when you’re sniffing coke all night…allegedly.” Or easier? Answers on a postcard.
“We built the fucking roads in London,” ends Chara in his last tribute to the Irish of the night. “If the Brits built the roads, there would be fucking potholes everywhere.” Hard to argue with that. As The Forum audience give every ounce of energy they have left for the closing ‘Get Your Brits Out’ and ‘H.O.O.D.’, all the work this band have put in pays off. Kneecap don’t need a list to tell them, you or anyone else this – but they’ve already won.