An obviously deplorable use of the Nazi symbol by slowthai at Osheaga in Montreal.

He's previously displayed a severed head of …. Boris Johnson in concert so will be interesting to see how much the woke left will talk about this. pic.twitter.com/9VbTmG8a95

— Jeff Joseph (@MisterDoubleJ) August 1, 2022

The musician walked on stage wearing a white T-shirt saying “DESTROY” with a large swastika in a red circle below. The shirt was inspired by a shirt designed by Vivienne Westwood and infamously worn by The Sex Pistols.

whether or not the outfit choice was a great idea is a different story but Vivienne Westwood has a series of antifascist designs including the one worn by Slowthai that are anything but new pic.twitter.com/9kAtQ9UxkT — matty (@mattyjones_x) August 1, 2022

Slowthai has since said that the shirt was meant to be anti-fascist and released the following statement on Twitter in response to the backlash: “i’m sorry to anyone who is offended by me wearing an anti-fascist / anti-regime t-shirt and the use of the symbol it represents. i want you to know i stand firmly against antisemitism and fascism of any kind, something the t-shirt was meant to illustrate with the word “destroy” above the symbol.”  Despite his apology the stunt has left festival-goers baffled and angered.

https://t.co/nwB4Hh8bH9 pic.twitter.com/pb4k8Il0MS

— TYRON (@slowthai) August 1, 2022

Osheaga also weighed in earlier in the day in a statement saying, “a performer appeared on stage Saturday wearing a controversial t-shirt displaying a swastika that caused confusion. The t-shirt denounces the regime. We sincerely apologize to anyone who may have misinterpreted this message and felt hurt.”

pic.twitter.com/YrWZW1jIFz — OSHEAGA (@osheaga) August 1, 2022

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre For Holocaust Studies, an organisation that aims to stamp out anti-semitism was unimpressed with the festival’s response, tweeting, “While @slowthai’s intent at @osheaga may have been to denounce Nazism, the message was very badly executed. This ambiguous display of the swastika was frightening for Jews and others and should never have made it to the stage“.

While @slowthai’s intent at @osheaga may have been to denounce Nazism, the message was very badly executed. This ambiguous display of the swastika was frightening for Jews and others and should never have made it to the stage. pic.twitter.com/WGp8RwkvRy

— Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (@CanadianFSWC) July 31, 2022

 

 

This is not the first time Slowthai has courted controversy back in September 2020, he was accused of making lewd comments toward comedian Katherine Ryan while on stage at the NME awards, asking her to “smell my cologne”, and : “If you want to do something, see me later. She wants me to tend to her flowers”.

TW: sexual harassment

This video of Slowthai sexually harassing Katherine Ryan at the NME awards is awful. So, so gross. Women shouldn’t have to endure this as part of their jobs. I know his persona is shithouser but there’s a line and he fully crossed it pic.twitter.com/E0lALuF6Ja

— Moya Lothian-McLean (@mlothianmclean) February 12, 2020

The rapper talked to Noisey about the incident, “I didn’t see it as being toxic, but when I watched those clips back, I was like, I can understand why people feel this way and I can understand where I was wrong”. He continued, “People are so quick to point the finger and kill ya, but if you live in fear of what everyone thinks, you’ll never do anything all your life… I can sit and wallow or I can take my lessons and learn from it and become a better person”.

Ryan talked to NME about the award show saying, “When that happened, I thought: ‘We can have some fun with this.’ As far as I’m concerned, that’s all it was – fun in the room. We were both evenly matched and doing a pantomime.” She continued, “Because I’m vehemently against ‘cancel culture’ in most cases. We’re always looking to ruin someone’s career. To take the context and nuance out of the situation didn’t make sense to me”.

In a recent appearance on Shaun Keaveny’s podcast The Line-Up, ironically reported by the NME, the Foals frontman recounts his lack of memory of his awards speech and a rather awkward encounter he had later in the evening with The Cure’s legendary lead singer Robert Smith: “We were at the NME Awards, which is famously sloppy, and I think that I’d quit smoking, and I was drinking quickly, you know. I was really putting them away. And I get kind of nervous at those things anyway, like I think probably most people do. But, you know, I didn’t feel at ease.” Philippakis continued: “I got battered, basically got super drunk, and then we did win something. We went up there and I gave an interview that I think has been sort of scorched like it’s been taken out. There was video, but and I didn’t remember this until the next day, but I was like I was dancing in it and saying all sorts of stuff, but the thing I remember was looking at like some of my bandmates faces and like, you know, I was performing for the for the interview and for the interview and for the camera and then looking over and just kind of getting these mortified looks. But it was mid flow, you know, no one could stop me… I was just charged and I was going, and then we had to do a photo right after. So we’re backstage there where they were doing all the stuff, and Robert Smith’s there and he’s doing photos, and I’m refusing to leave the room in order to get a photo of Robert Smith. And I just remember one point, Edwin [Congreave, ex-Foals keyboardist], who has now left the band, being like, ‘please don’t embarrass me in front of Robert Smith. Please don’t embarrass me.’ I’m like, ‘I’m gonna get us a photo. Robert Smith!” 

He concluded: “So we did manage to get a photo with Robert Smith, but it wasn’t good. And then the next day I woke up and did not remember the interview at all – or the photo! And somebody in the band had to be like, ‘Oh, yeah, I remember. You were showing off and dancing around’. So yeah, it was all in all pretty bad. And I saw and apologised to Robert Smith recently.”

We feel for you Yannis.

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A post shared by Neneh Cherry (@nenehcherryofficial)

The Icon award has been a category recognized by the event for previous years, in 2018 the accolade was awarded to Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson and in 2020 grunge icon Courtney Love was awarded the prize. The award is bestowed to those who have earned the title through their work within the music, fashion and culture. With a discography full of highly influential records and a career spanning three decades, Cherry is the epitome of an Icon.

The 57-year-old artist has provided the following statement concerning her win, “Life is a series of ups and downs – along the way I’ve tried to get better at loving myself but ultimately it’s the love from others given then received that makes that possible, I’ve just tried to hold my corner and serve with truth, all made possible by the great visionaries I’ve come up and collaborated with along the way – you know what they say… it takes a village. To wake up one day to hear I’m being given an Icon Award seems crazy, but I’ll take it with great honour, so thank you NME.”

Cherry first made her name within the punk rock scene in London, during the early 1980’s she was part of Rip Rig + Panic and the legendary group The Slits. Her first major breakthrough came with the release of her debut album Raw Like Sushi, the 1989 album sired her best-loved track “Buffalo Stance”. The single gained critical acclaim through its incorporation of different genres and is known as a hybrid of hip-hop, electronica and pop.

The Swedish hitmaker is no stranger to accolades, Cherry won two Brit awards in 1990 for Best International Breakthrough and Best International Solo Artist. She was also nominated in 1990 for Best Video for single “Manchild”, Cherry was also nominated in 1991 and 1997 for the Brit award of Best International Female. The singer was also nominated for a Grammy Award in 1990 for Best New Artist and won the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song for “7 Seconds” in 1994.

The annual awards show continues to be an important tradition within popular music, the show was first held in 1953 and was initially named the NME Poll Winners Concerts. Since its inception, the awards have grown into a British institution and have held importance through various genres of music including the 90’s Britpop era. Through its expansive multiple awards categories were added, the ceremony now includes 34 categories within their global nominations, 6 categories of UK nominations, 5 prizes for nominations in Asia and Australia.

The awards ceremony will be co-hosted by Daisy May Cooper and Lady Leshurr and will feature performances by Sam Fender, Rina Sawayama, Griff, BERWYN and Chvrches. This year’s event will also celebrate another musical icon, The Cure’s frontman Robert Smith will join the other performers in March. Despite many winners already named, music fans are still able to cast their vote for two categories, Hero of the Year and Villain of the year.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Click here to vote for Hero of the Year and Villain of the Year.

It’s an honour to announce that I will be doing a gig for the NHS and careworkers at London’s TheO2 on October 29th. They do an incredible job, we are very lucky to have them. LG x pic.twitter.com/iRfb2RNNNy

— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) April 10, 2020

Featuring a career-spanning set of 20 songs consisting of mainly Oasis covers, Gallagher transformed the struggle of lockdown and COVID into a nationwide reassurance that everything will eventually be okay; with no shortage of thanks to those who have dedicated the most time and effort to the cause, the countries NHS workers. Support slots from Primal Scream and Black Honey ensure the evening will come with all the force an Indie-Britpop fusion could offer. As well as old Oasis classics like ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Supersonic’, ‘Morning Glory’, and ‘Live Forever’ Gallagher also triumphantly bounced through some of his genuinely great solo material. ‘Wall of Glass’ and ‘Once’ outshine any of the material he wrote back in the day by quite a significant margin. All in all, a pretty good gig.

Set for March 2^nd, the self-proclaimed “wildest night in music” will be hosted at London’s iconic O2 Brixton Academy, tickets to the event are still available and you can find more information here. With hosting expertise from comedian Daisy May Cooper and grime star Lady Leshurr the evening will feature a range of performances from Bring Me The Horizon, Same Fender, Griff, Rina Sawayama, BERWYN, and the recently announced collaboration of Chvurches and The Cure frontman Robert Smith. Many other surprises are bound to crop up throughout the night, so watch this space for more information soon.

Other artists already confirmed to receive awards this year include: FKA Twigs being crowned is year’s Godlike Genius, Halsey will take home the Innovation Award, and Jack Antonoff has already bagged the Songwriter Award, full information on this year’s nominees can be found here. You can also cast your vote on the Hero of the Year, and Villain of the Year categories here.

The wildest night in music returns on 02 March, celebrating the most brilliant people in music and pop culture. The BandLab @NME Awards 2022 will feature @samfendermusic @wiffygriffy @rinasawayama and a raft of epic unpredictable moments Tickets on sale NOW at @TicketmasterUK pic.twitter.com/bukqLFMeXL

— O2 Academy Brixton (@O2academybrix) November 23, 2021

Described by NME magazine as “the wildest night in music”, this comes just after the announcement of NME Networks, which has merged NME, Uncut, Guitar.com and MusicTech. The network aims to “create and curate content that entertains, inspires and informs the world of music”. BandLab Technologies (who purchased NME back in 2019) describe it thus: “NME Networks talk to fans, stans, stars, legends, players, emerging talent and creators, sharing their access, expertise and opinions, alongside consumer events and experiences, such as Guitar.com Live and NME’s globally famous NME Awards shows and live music events”. The upcoming awards seem to be the latest way the new Network has shown its dedication to celebrating all things in pop culture.

The artists announced as part of the line-up so far all seem to have some industry buzz already. Singer-songwriter Halsey will be accepting the Innovation Award, recognising her “as a trailblazing artist who pushes musical boundaries and speaks her truth as she continues to raise the bar by merging music, fashion, art and film“. Fender, Griff and Sawayama all come off the back of critically acclaimed releases in the recent past. Fender’s number one album Seventeen Going Under (released last October) was described by NME in a four-star review as “a wiser, weightier record stuffed with sax-soaked rock epics that touch on life and death, love and heartbreak, rage and regret”. Griff’s debut mixtape One Foot in Front of the Other was described by NME as “flawless” and “sheer pop perfection” in a five-star review. Sawayama received similar five-star praise with her 2020 debut SAWAYAMA.

Can’t wait! @NME pic.twitter.com/Nty5c3VqTf — Griff (@wiffygriffy) November 23, 2021

Holly Bishop (Chief Operating & Commercial Officer at NME Networks) had this to say: “After a 12-month hiatus, it feels extra special to return to our Brixton home in March 2022 with an event that promises to be everything but predictable. We have an incredible line-up, an exciting title sponsor in BandLab – the global game-changer in music creation and a brand that shares NME’s commitment to emerging talent – alongside a host of other partners that share our mission to make 2022 the most memorable Awards in NME’s history.”

For those interested, tickets are on sale right now and can be found here. More acts and nominations are soon to be announced, but from what we’ve heard so far, it seems it’ll be a night to remember.

However, recently in December 2015, Coldplay released their seventh studio album ‘A Head Full Of Dreams’ which peaked at No.2 on the UK album charts behind Adele’s ’25’. Their album artwork also consisted of the Flower of Life which in turn created public controversy over imitation and copyrights when Oli Sykes tweeted: “@coldplay Jackin our steez hard”

The flower of life is obviously not something Bring Me The Horizon created but it is something that is heavily affiliated with the band. In an interview with MTV, Oli Sykes stated:

At the end of the day it’s not our symbol, it’s a very old symbol. They might not have known at first, but obviously if you Google ‘flower of life’ the first thing that comes up is ‘Bring Me The Horizon—Sempiternal,’ it’s like, if you Google the images, someone’s gonna have said something to them, so whether it was intentional or not, it is the same,

I don’t think [Oli] was aiming for Coldplay. It was just whoever was nearest, it [just] happened to be Coldplay.