Glastonbury 2024: IDLES’ migrant boat float was a Banksy piece – and the band had no idea
The migrant boat float spotted at IDLES‘ spectacular Glastonbury 2024 set was actually a Bansky art piece – unbeknownst to the band themselves.
At their triumphant set at the Other Stage last night (June 28), IDLES put on a five-star show for Worthy Farm featuring one very bold boat float. The boat was a visual reference to the current migrant crisis, which has become the focal point of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s immigration policy.
It was launched and crowdsurfed through the crowd as IDLES performed their hit ‘Danny Nedelko’, famous for its opening lines: “My blood brother is an immigrant / A beautiful immigrant / My blood brother’s Freddie Mercury / A Nigerian mother of three / He’s made of bones, he’s made of blood / He’s made of flesh, he’s made of love / He’s made of you, he’s made of me / Unity.”
Though fans suspected it was the doing of the band themselves, an IDLES spokesperson confirmed to NME that the boat was indeed a Banksy art piece. The band were also apparently unaware of the stunt until after the set.
It’s not the first art piece Banksy has created for the festival; he designed Stormzy‘s iconic stab-proof vest with the Union Jack on it for his 2019 headlining set, and also created a livestock transportation van in 2014 with cuddly toys springing from the vehicle.
In our five-star review of their show, NME wrote: “Most astonishing, though, is tonight’s performance of ‘Danny Nedelko’. As ever, Talbot describes the song as “a celebration of the bravery and the hard work of the immigrants who built our country”. And then something wholly unexpected (not least among the band themselves) happens. A fake life raft bearing life-jacketed dummies rears up through the audience: it bobs and weaves, lifted by countless outstretched hands that scramble to right the vessel when it upturns.
“The raft, which we later learn was designed by Banksy, drifts towards the stage and Bowen reaches out to it before he flops into the crowd – an unforgettable image from a truly incendiary show. “We’ll back to back headline the Pyramid Stage in 2027,” a bloodied Talbot spits before they leave the stage. You’d better believe it.”
The gates to Glastonbury 2024 opened on Wednesday (June 26), ahead of a weekend of music from the likes of headliners Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and SZA, alongside Shania Twain’s legends slot and performances from LCD Soundsystem, PJ Harvey, Little Simz, Burna Boy, Idles, Anne-Marie, Confidence Man, Disclosure, Camila Cabello, The Last Dinner Party, Avril Lavigne, The National, Jessie Ware, Jungle, Justice, Masego, Sugababes and countless more. Check out the full line-up here.
Meanwhile, here are the worst clashes to expect this year, as well as the latest weather forecasts for Glastonbury 2024.
Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos, rumours and more from Glastonbury 2024. Follow the NME liveblog for all the action as it happens.
The post Glastonbury 2024: IDLES’ migrant boat float was a Banksy piece – and the band had no idea appeared first on NME.
Alex Rigotti
NME
