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The band’s first world tour begins in the US on June 16 in Dallas, Texas. The Rotherham natives will go on to play major US cities, New York, Boston and Los Angeles. Then, in October they will arrive back in the UK. Gigs on the UK leg include the band’s largest shows yet: London’s Alexandra Palace, Cardiff’s Utilita Arena, and Manchester’s Co-op Live. 

After the landmark UK run, the Reytons will continue on to Australia, Japan and New Zealand before the end of the year. Then in 2027, they will cap-off their first world tour with the European leg. 

The show at the Co-op Live is The Reytons’ biggest gig on the tour. In 2024, The Reytons played to 20,000 on a sold-out night at Clifton Park in Sheffield. The band called it “the biggest night in Reytons history.” Now, they set to top that with the 23,500 capacity Co-op Live show this October. Fans are more than up to the task: one wrote under the tour announcement on X, “we did 20k at Clifton park so let’s do the coop.”

The grassroots sentiment is one that comes directly from the band, who have achieved great popularity on the scene without ever having been backed by a label. Frontman Jonny Yerrell told NME, “we’re proud that we’ve done it independently, and it’s just a reminder that you can do it. Because we’ve had so many doors shut in our face over the years that we’ve had to […] make things happen our own way.” The band maintains a very powerful community mindset, calling their fans “Reytons” (from the Instagram World Tour announcement: “All Reytons, let’s do it!”). This is something Yerrell said is meant to empower people, watching the band rise completely independent from any financial backing. 

Their next release, ‘A Love Letter to a Broken Town’ will drop July 24, 2026. The band’s fourth album will see them hold on to their roots. Yerrell says, “a lot of bands and artists like to change direction later in their careers, but that’s just not us. We absolutely love the style of music we make, the social commentary aspects and the people who turn up to jump around with us. Why would we change? Expect more, just bigger and better with a few surprises on the side!” 

Tickets for The Reytons first World Tour go on sale this Friday 24 April at 10 AM local time. Find access to tickets here. 

The Reytons 26/27 World Tour – UK/IE Dates 

9/10 – 3Olympia Arena – Dublin, IE

10/10 – Telegraph Building – Belfast, UK

16/10 – Connexin Live – Hull, UK 

17/10 – Corn Exchange – Edinburgh, UK 

23/10 – Utilita Arena – Cardiff, UK 

24/10 – Alexandra Palace – London, UK 

30/10 – Co-op Live – Manchester, UK

Confirmed in an exclusive statement to Billboard, manager Rod Smallwood said the band “made it very clear to the R&R HoF that the fans always come first and that the shows will of course go on.”

Iron Maiden has been eligible for the Rock Hall honor since 2005 and have been nominated twice over the years. The band will finally be inducted in 2026, but they will not be there to accept the honor. 

The news comes after comments from frontman Bruce Dickinson critiquing the Rock Hall. During a Q&A on his spoken word tour in 2018, a fan asked Dickinson if he thought Iron Maiden should be inducted into the Hall Of Fame. Dickinson said “absolutely” but added that be believes “the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is an utter and complete load of bollocks.” 

But the band has emphasized the duty to their fans in skipping the ceremony. Earlier this week, in the post acknowledging the induction, Smallwood wrote, “Iron Maiden have always been about our relationship with our fans above anything else, including awards and industry accolades.” But he also wrote that “it’s always nice to be recognised and honoured for any achievements within the music industry too!” 

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Smallwood pointed out that it “seems appropriate for the band to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year as [they] continue [their] 50th anniversary celebrations with our Run For Your Lives World Tour.” 

Highlights from the Run For Your Lives World Tour include their headline show in Knebworth which they have dubbed “EddFest” after the band’s mascot, Eddie. They will be supported at the July 11 show by The Darkness, The Hu, Airbourne and The Almighty. 

The Australia/New Zealand leg of the tour begins on November 7 at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. They’ll be supported on the run by Megadeath. Iron Maiden head to Australia on November 11 at the Adelaide Entertainment Center and continue there until November 19. It will be the band’s eighth tour of Australia and New Zealand. And in the statement to Billboard, Smallwood assured that these shows “will remain unaffected” by the date conflict with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. 

Other Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2026 inductees include New Order/Joy Division, Oasis, Sade, Billy Idol, Phil Collins, Sade, Wu-Tang Clan and Luther Vandross.

Peter Hook, bassist of New Order, confirmed he’ll be attending in a thank-you video to fans after the induction announcement. He dedicated the honor to Ian Curtis and “all our fans of both bands.” He wrote in the caption “see you at the ceremony…” No other members of New Order have yet confirmed they will attend. 

Liam Gallagher of Oasis also confirmed he would attend after his past comments in critique of the Rock Hall. It was on advice from his mother, he wrote on X, that he “may have been a little hasty with [his] perception of the organization.” 

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2026 Induction ceremony will take place at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday 14 November. In December, a recording will air on Disney+ and ABC. 

The festivities will take place at London’s Southbank Centre this summer with a host of events highlighting the some of the best in indie music, art and culture. Pulp will go on at the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday 18 July. On the set will be their 2025 album ‘More’ performed in full for the first time ever, as well as a host of fan-favourites.

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This performance is set to be one of Pulp’s only UK showings this year. The band embarked on the Here Comes More Tour last June, their most expansive tour since the 1990s. It has taken them to arenas across the country and even to a surpise appearance at Glastonbury’s iconic Pyramid Stage last year.

Other 2026 UK/IE appearances for Pulp include headlining the All Together Now Festival in Ireland this July as well as Dorset’s End of Road Festival in September. They will also play a one-off show at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester on August 28^th.

As for the further Rough Trade 50 bill: fellow Rough Trade signees, Scritti Politti will play two sets at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Saturday 18 July: a matinee set at 3 pm and an evening show at 8 pm. And on Sunday 19 July, London-based rock band, caroline, will play the Queen Elizabeth Hall, with special guests My New Band Believe.

Rounding out the celebration of all things indie will be a series of performances across music, film and the written word. An Evening with Rough Trade Books will take place on Friday 17 July and include author appearances and a record fair from the record label’s publishing venture. A special new staging of Hannah Patterson’s debut novel, Ungone will take place in the Purcell Rooms on Saturday 18 July. And Sunday 19 July will see Pulp’s own Jarvis Crocker present a screening of the Northern coming-of-age classic, Kes (1969), which will feature a live orchestral accompaniment of the film’s soundtrack.

Geoff Tavis, founder of Rough Trade Records, said of the label’s Golden Jubilee “this year means it’s 50 years since the day the first shop opened its doors on Kensington Park Road.” He went on to say, “the Rough Trade shop, which became a distributor and then a Record label, has helped to bring into the world some of the very best music.”

Pulp recently appeared on ‘HELP (2)’ , the compilation charity album from War Child Records. They contributed ‘Begging for Change’ to the project. The band shared that the song was recorded during sessions for ‘More’ but never finished. It was completed for War Child project at Abbey Road Studios.

In a four-star review of 2025’s ‘More,’ NME said, “Pulp have retained their original spirit and flair into a statement of middle age without feeling any less vital.” The band will perform ‘More’ in full at Rough Trade this July.

Tickets for all events, except for Pulp’s headline show, go on sale 2 pm Thursday April 16.

For Pulp’s gig, pre-sale begins Friday 17 April at 10 AM. General sale will be on Monday 20 April at 2 PM. Tickets can be found here.

Six acts from the UK are being recognised in the main Performer category, breaking the previous record of five in 2019. This year the British inductees are: Oasis, Joy Division/New Order, Billy Idol, Phil Collins, Iron Maiden and Sade. Rounding out the class is American soul/R&B singer and producer, Luther Vandross and American hip-hip collective, Wu-Tang Clan.

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In February the Rock Hall announced 17 nominees for the Performer category which were then narrowed to just 8 inductees by a panel of 1,200 artists, historians and industry professionals.

Both Sade, Nigerian-British front woman of her namesake band, and English rocker Billy Idol have been nominated once before. Meanwhile heavy metal band, Iron Maiden, have been nominated three times for the honor. Phil Collins was inducted in 2010 as a member of Genesis, but this is his first nomination as a solo act.

2026’s nomination marks the third consecutive year of the nod for Oasis. Frontman Liam Gallagher shared his thoughts on the induction on X this morning saying “ever since I was a little kid and singing in the shower I’d dream about 1 day being in the RnR hall of fame.”

I wanna thank all the people who voted for us it’s a real honour ever since I was a little kid and singing in the shower I’d dream about 1 day being in the RnR hall of fame it’s true what they say anything is possible if you have a dream LG x

— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) April 14, 2026

The sentiment is contrary to his previous comments on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Gallagher dismissed the band’s 2025 nomination, writing on X “RNR hall of fame is for WANKERS.”

This morning, a fan responded to Gallagher’s acknowledgment of the induction asking, “what happened to not wanting to be in it.” Gallagher said that speaking with his mother changed his mind: “she thinks I may have been a little hasty with my perception of the organization she’s told me to stop being a d**k and go to the awards and behave and you never know you might enjoy it.”

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson has also expressed critique with the Hall of Fame. On a tour in 2018 Dickinson said he believed the Hall was “a load of bollocks” and in 2023 he told The Telegraph “I don’t want to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, because we’re not dead yet!”

Sade’s induction carries significance with it, as she will be the first British Black woman inducted into the Hall of Fame. Sade was born in Nigeria and has lived in the UK since age 4. Her nominal band broke America, seeing great success there: 2010’s ‘Soldier of Love’ went Number 1 on the US Billboard 200 Charts.

Other induction categories include Early Influence featuring, Celia Cruz, Fela Kuti, Queen Latifa, MC Lyte and Gram Parsons.

Also to be inducted but into the Musical Excellence category is Rick Rubin, Linda Creed, Arif Mardin and Jimmy Miller.

Finally, receiving the Ahmet Ertegun Award, given to a non-performing professional, is Ed Sullivan.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2026 Induction ceremony will take place at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday 14 November. In December, a recording will air on Disney+ and ABC.

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Previously announced was an expansive run of North American dates beginning on June 12 in Orlando, Florida, spanning across the States and ducking into Canada. The run includes four sold-out nights at Fenway Park in Boston, as well as nights in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Minneapolis and many more major US cities. But, as the official information account for the singer said in their announcement post, “you thought he was done!” Kahan has added 21 international dates to his 2026 tour.

In September, Kahan will embark on The Great Divide World Tour with two nights in Melbourne. The Australian/New Zealand leg will continue through October with nights in Sydney and Auckland.

The singer returns to the UK with two shows at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro Arena on November 5 and 6. The singer is set up for a string of two-night sets at arenas across the nation. After Glasgow he will play two nights at the AO Arena in Manchester, then to London’s O2 Arena before capping off the UK/IE run at Dublin’s 3Arena on November 21 and 22.

From there, he will head through Europe on the final leg of the tour. Through December he will visit Zurich, Cologne, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Paris and Munich.

Support for the UK leg of the tour comes from New York native singer-songwriter, Bella Kay. Recently, Kay received her first career entry on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts with her single, ‘ILOVEITILOVEITILOVEIT.’

The Great Divide Tour will also continue Kahan’s philanthropic pursuits. A portion of every ticket sale will go towards The Busyhead Project, a mental health initiative founded by Kahan in 2023. The Busyhead Project aims at providing resources and information needed to end the stigma around mental health. According to the official site, $6.6 million has been raised for their work since 2023.

It was announced just last week that Kahan will appear on SNL (US) as the musical guest with host Matt Damon on May 9. Additionally, his documentary, Out of Body will come to Netflix April 13, just ahead of ‘The Great Divide.’ The documentary will see him reckon with his recent launch to fame as he returns back to his home state, Vermont. Kahan called the experience of being filmed for the documentary “weird, difficult, and genuinely beautiful.” He said he is looking forward to fans seeing it despite also being “nervous” about the more personal and “painful” things the documentary touches on. But, he said “anything scary or hard is usually worth sharing with the world” and he hopes that “it will reach [fans] in a time when [they] need it.”

Tickets for The Great Divide World Tour go on general sale this Friday 17 April at 10 AM local time in the UK and Europe. Artist presale will commence on Wednesday 15 April, also at 10 AM local time for the UK and Europe. Sign up for artist presale here.

The Great Divide World Tour UK/IE Dates

5/11 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow, UK

6/11 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow, UK

9/11 – AO Arena – Manchester, UK

10/11 – AO Arena – Manchester, UK

13/11 – O2 Arena – London, UK

14/11 – O2 Arena – London, UK

21/11 – 3Arena – Dublin, IE

22/11 – 3Arena – Dublin, IE

The Cockroaches’ Instagram has been posting clips to their Story of the lucky fans who have hunted down the exclusive single, playing only snippets of the song. Yesterday, (10 April) the account posted something of a teaser trailer for ‘Rough and Twisted.’ A short video showed someone queueing up a vinyl and sitting back to enjoy the rousing, guitar-laden intro before cutting off.

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Everything began on April 1, as posters with only “The Cockroaches” printed on a pink background and a mysterious QR code began to appear around London. The code lead to www.thecockroaches.com, which is the band’s site. The Stones played a secret gig at the El Mocambo club in Toronto in 1977 and used “The Cockroaches” as a pseudonym to draw away suspicion. So, fans made the connection between the Stones and the cryptic pink posters fairly quick.

The Cockroaches’ website depicts a bedroom, outfitted in 70s regalia: a mod patterned quilt, vintage concert tickets on a corkboard, a rotary phone, ‘Ziggy Stardust’ and other iconic records resting on a shelf. There is also a poster, similar to the ones seen around London, for The Cockroaches. And on the wall, a clock which reads Saturday April 11, 2026 at 1:41 PM.

Many secrets were hidden in the site including links to mailing lists, the words “Mr. Charm” and a poster for the recently released ‘Live at the El Mocambo’ album embedded in the code. But fans also found a photo of the ‘Rough and Twisted’ vinyl, with GPS coordinates printed on its back, directing fans where to go to pick up this exclusive white-label release.

The Times confirmed the release of the single before April 11, saying they had heard the song. They reported that on it, Mick Jagger sings about driving “down a rough and twisted road all the way to Puerto Rico, where the tide ebbs and flows and you do feel that something sexual may be happening along the way.” The Times also reported that ‘Rough and Twisted’ is the lead single of a new album coming in July, the name of which has yet to be unveiled. It also reported that the upcoming release will not be the last one from the rock legends, and there are at least 10 songs written for a separate release, coming at some point after the July release.

The July release will be produced by Andrew Watt, who previously worked with the band on their 2024 release, ‘Hackney Diamonds.’ Watts has also previously worked with Paul McCartney, Ozzy Osborn and Pearl Jam.

There is no word on a tour to support the unnamed July release. NME reported that a spokesperson for the band told The Times, “The Rolling Stones will play when they decide to, not before. There are no concerts planned.”

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White will land in the UK at the end of August with two shows at London’s Eventim Apollo. Then, he will head to the fairly new Bristol venue, The Prospect Room, before heading on to O2 City Hall in Newcastle. He will then spend a night at the Telegraph Building in Belfast before finishing off the UK/IE run of with two nights at the 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin.

Before hitting the UK, White is set to spend his summer touring Europe. On May 30^th the former White Stripes frontman will play in Latvia at the Sigulda Castle. He will then stop in Poland for shows in both Warsaw and Krakow, then on to Germany, playing in Berlin and Hamburg. Then, there will be a jaunt to Scandinavia for a show at the Northside festival in Denmark, and appearances at both the Grona Lund and Liseburg concert series in Stockholm and Gothenburg Sweden, respectively.

More European highlights include two nights at the L’Olympia in Paris as well as at two nights at Ancient Belgique in Belgium. White will close the European leg with a headline slot at the INMusic Festival in Croatia.

But White is set to stay on the road until well into November, playing shows across a variety of US cities. He was also recently added to the Coachella bill, where he will play the Mojave tent at 3pm Pacific time on April 11. Fans can catch a livestream of that on Coachella’s website.

Just last week, White released two singles ahead of his appearance on SNL (US). The first of the two, ‘G.O.D And The Broken Ribs’ transforms biblical imagery, putting Adam and Eve in an apocalyptic version of Eden. The second, ‘Derecho Demonico’ (translating from Spanish to “demonic right”), is the awaited studio version of the song which he debuted live in 2025 while touring his last album, ‘No Name.’

The singles were available on both tri-color and black 7” vinyls at White’s own Third Man Records shops in Nashville, Detroit and London. Third Man Records posted videos of excited fans lined up outside all three shops—including the London location—ahead of the release. The records sold out soon after.

White performed both  ‘G.O.D And The Broken Ribs’ and ‘Derecho Demonico’ live as the musical guest for the April 4th SNL (US) show. He also joined host Jack Black during the show to perform a version of The White Stripes hit, ‘Seven Nation Army.’

Tickets for these new dates of Jack White’s forthcoming tour go on Vault pre-sale Monday 13 April at 10 AM local time. Laylo pre-sale commences on the same day but at 12 PM local time. Fans can sign up for access here. General sale begins on Friday 17 April at 10 AM local.

Jack White Live Tour UK/IE Dates

25/8 – Eventim Apollo – London, UK

26/8 – Eventim Apollo – London, UK

28/8 – The Prospect Building – Bristol, UK

29/8 – O2 City Hall – Newcastle, UK

31/8 – The Telegraph Building – Belfast, UK

1/9 – 3Olympia Theatre – Dublin, IE

2/9 – 3Olympia Theatre – Dublin, IE

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Each artist will donate a track to the project which will pressed just 100 times each, creating 700 unique 7” records. Additionally, artists, designers and illustrators from around the globe will be called to design special sleeves for each track, making every record and one-of-a-kind collectible. The 700 unique sleeve designs will be on display at London’s 180 Studios from August 18-30, 2026 and available to purchase via online auction running until September 2, 2026.

Buyers may make guesses based on the sleeve artwork as to which vinyl they will receive, but the track remains a mystery until it is purchased.

All of the proceeds from the auction will go towards War Child’s work delivering mental health support, emergency aid and protection to children and families in areas of conflict across 13 countries. Previously, the Secret 7” Auction has raised more than £900,000 for War Child’s efforts.

John Lennon will be donating his track ‘Out of the Blue’ from the 1973 ‘Mind Games’ album. While The Last Dinner Party will contribute their single, ‘Let’s Do It Again!’ which was featured on the recently released ‘Help (2)’ compilation album from War Child. Gabrielle has given her 2001 hit, ‘Out of Reach.’ And fans of The Maccabees will be excited to hear their 2009 track, ‘No Kind Words’ will be apart of the auction. It will be the song’s first standalone physical release. In a post announcing their contribution, the band encouraged fans to submit artwork for the auction saying their “work will be a missing part of [their] catalogue.”

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Also on the line up is ‘Purple’ from Skin’s 2006 album ‘Fake Chemical State.’ Glass Animals will be giving ‘Take a Slice’ to the project, from their 2016 album ‘How to Be a Human Being’ and still, one of the band’s most-streamed songs. And Bastille will contribute ‘Hope For The Future’ a track originally penned for a climate emergency documentary about wildfires which ravaged Portugal in 2017, From the Devil’s Breath.

Artwork submissions for the sleeves are open now on the Secret 7” website. Parameters for submissions are wide, artists are encouraged to submit whatever they like, so long as it is a piece inspired by their interpretation of one of the seven songs on the project. Submissions will close 1 June 2026 at 11:59 PM GMT.

Charlotte Nimmo, War Child’s fundraising and engagement director described the urgency of the 2026 Auction, “right now over 520 million children have had their lives impacted by conflict worldwide. The need has never been so great and it is increasing daily.” She continued, saying she hopes the 10^th Secret 7” project will “offer music and art fans something truly unique to take home that brings them joy when they see and listen, and know that they helped have a tangible impact on children’s lives in the process.”

Listen to all seven tracks included in the project here.

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‘everyone for ten minutes’ is due to release on 22 May. The band recently released the third single from the album, ‘the van’ which looks retrospectively at the band’s beginnings in New Jersey. It joins previously released singles, ‘you and forever’ and ‘dirty wedding dress.’

On 3 April, Bleachers stopped by the BBC Radio 2 studios to premiere the ‘the van,’ and record a cover for Jo Whiley. Antonoff cut a low-key folk-inspired rendition of Hayley Williams’ ‘Love Me Different.’  He wrote about the experience in a message attached to the tour announcement, “something special is happening with UK / EU Bleachers. I feel that outside of America, the understanding of American music is crystal clear. The elements we’re playing with, all inherently political, make perfect sense without the emotions and fear of what part we play in it.”

That crystal clear understanding of American music shows as the band is about embark on their biggest European headline tour to date. It will kick off in Milan on 5 November, hitting Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and France before landing in the UK.

Bleachers will appear in several cities across the UK and Ireland including Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham, Dublin and Manchester. They will cap off the tour with a show at London’s Eventim Apollo on 3 December.

Bleachers has not been back to the UK since the 2024 Reading and Leeds festivals, where they played in support of the self-titled fourth studio album. The critically acclaimed album, ‘Bleachers,’ received a 9/10 from Clash Magazine and 4/5 stars from NME. NME called the album “the collective’s most quintessentially “them” release yet.” Saying that, “it evolves into new territory, of course, but is equally deeply connected to past releases – a by-product of spending a decade honing their dynamic and sound.”

Their latest music also sees Antonoff coalescing lessons learned over the bands’ career. Clash Magazine wrote in review that ‘you and forever’ displays “an almost stand-up comedic style of songwriting which Antonoff has tapped into for a while […] but now appears to be embracing entirely in his songwriting.”

Antonoff writes of a childlike creativity in the Instagram-posted message to fans, “I heard music and then I tired to play it. And those early days – 11 or so years old, sitting at the piano – I went somewhere very far away.” Antonoff promises, “that’s where I am right now and that’s where I’ll be touring from.”

Pre-sale for Bleachers Forever Tour begins on Wednesday 15 April at 10 AM local time. Fans can sign up for pre-sale here. General sale will begin on Friday 17 April at 10 AM local time.

Bleachers Forever Tour UK/EU Dates

EUROPE

5/11 – Alcatraz – Milan, Italy

7/11 – Tonhalle – Munich, Germany

9/11 – Columbiahalle – Berlin, Germany

10/11 – Columbiahalle – Berlin, Germany

12/11 – Sentrum Scene – Oslo, Norway

13/11 – Annexet – Stockholm, Sweden

15/11 – Sporthalle – Hamburg, Germany

17/11 – Paradiso – Amsterdam, Netherlands

18/11 – Paradiso – Amsterdam, Netherlands

20/11 – Cirque Royal – Brussels, Belgium

21/11 – Salle Pleyel – Paris, France

UK/IE

24/11 – O2 Academy – Bristol, UK

25/11 – O2 Academy – Glasgow, UK

26/11 – O2 Academy – Leeds, UK

28/11 – O2 Academy – Birmingham, UK

30/11 – 3Olympia – Dublin, IE

2/12 – O2 Apollo – Manchester, UK

3/12 – Eventim Apollo – London, UK

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Organisers of Wireless, Festival Republic, say in an official statement: “As with every Wireless Festival, multiple stakeholders were consulted in advance of booking Ye and no concerns were highlighted at the time. Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognise the real and personal impact these issues have had. As Ye said today, he acknowledges that words alone are not enough, and in spite of this still hopes to be given the opportunity to begin a conversation with the Jewish community in the UK.”

West, known professionally now as Ye, shared an official statement addressing the controversy just this morning, ahead of the Home Office decision. It was an addition to his January apology titled ‘To Those I’ve Hurt’ which had been published in the Wall Street Journal. In it, he offered explanation to his erratic and contentious behavior in recent years. In Tuesday’s addition to the apology he said he has “been following the conversation around Wireless” and that he wishes to “address it directly.” He appealed to members of the Jewish community in the UK saying he “would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with [them]” and “listen.” He said, “I know words are not enough” and that he will “have to show change through [his] actions.”

The festival was due to take place in July with West headlining all three days. But since then, scrutiny of the festival and this choice erupted among many Jewish rights groups. Namely the groups cited the numerous instances of the rapper sharing harmful antisemitic beliefs. In February 2025 he released a song titled ‘Heil Hitler’ which praised the Nazi leader, he also sold merchandise featuring swastikas and attempted to release his album ‘Bully’ with artwork that included a swastika. His campaign of antisemitism is not recent, in 2022 the rapper shared offensive and dangerous antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media.

Previously, West has been stripped of a visa to enter Australia and would be faced with immediate arrest upon entering Brazil. And now the UK’s Home Office has joined, barring the rapper from entering the country this afternoon (7 April).

Earlier today, Melvin Benn, the Managing Director of Wireless’ organiser, Festival Republic told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Jewish communities had refused to speak to West. But a spokesperson from the Board of Deputies of British Jews told BBC “either the Board of Deputies nor, we understand, the Jewish Leadership Council has refused any request to meet.” And that “when the Board of Deputies received a letter from Melvin Benn on 6 April, proposing to meet, in response to a letter we sent setting out our concerns, we responded positively. In any event we are clear that the invitation to Kanye West to perform should be rescinded.”

Phil Rosenberg, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews released an official statement after the Home Office’s decision to ban West. He says, “We welcome the government listening to the concerns of Jews in the UK” and called the booking of West for the Wireless Festival “deeply regrettable.”

“We are immensely grateful for the support of those across the political spectrum and from other minority and faith communities. It should not be for the Jewish community alone to advocate for our safety; it is incumbent on the entire arts and culture sector, and civil society as… pic.twitter.com/dh8Ffs1zkQ

— Board of Deputies of British Jews (@BoardofDeputies) April 7, 2026

Reaction to West’s ban has also come from Prime Minister Keir Starmer who says, “Kanye West should never have been invited to headline Wireless.” He also says the UK government “stands firmly with the Jewish community, and we will not stop in our fight to confront and defeat the poison of antisemitism.”

Kanye West should never have been invited to headline Wireless.

This government stands firmly with the Jewish community, and we will not stop in our fight to confront and defeat the poison of antisemitism.

We will always take the action necessary to protect the public and…

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) April 7, 2026

The Community Security Trust has also released an official statement in reaction to West’s ban, calling it “sensible outcome to what has been yet another bruising episode for British Jews.” They added, “Anti-Jewish hatred should have no place in society and cultural leaders have a role to play in ensuring that is the case. People who show genuine and meaningful remorse for previous antisemitic behaviour will always receive a sympathetic hearing from the Jewish community, but that process must come before this kind of public rehabilitation.”

Before West’s ban on entry to the UK, major sponsors Pepsi, PayPal, Diageo and Rockstar Energy had all pulled support from the Wireless festival. Additionally, American actor David Schwimmer shared a statement hitting out against Wireless. He praised PayPal, Diageo and Pepsi as being companies with “moral clarity” (Rockstar had not yet pulled support from the festival). He condemned Wireless and Festival Republic for “platform[ing] an artist who became one of the most recognisable hate-mongering bigots in the world.” He concluded: “An apology letter is just that: Words on paper. An advertisement, generating publicity before a concert tour. It does not erase years of abuse. I believe in forgiveness, but it takes much more than this.”