Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has confronted a heckler at his Melbourne solo show who criticised his lack of public comment on the conflict in the Middle East.
The celebrated English rocker was reaching the end of a solo show at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl when a crowd member yelled out: “How many dead children will it take for you to condemn the genocide in Gaza?”
Yorke responded to the heckler, encouraging them on stage to have their voice heard.
“Come on, come up on the f—— stage and say what you want to say,” Yorke said into the microphone.
“Don’t stand there like a coward. Come here and say it.
“Come on, you want to piss on everyone’s night, come on.
“Okay, you do, see you later then.”
The crowd could be heard booing the protester as the singer removed his guitar and left the stage.
He returned a few minutes later to play his final song of the night, Radiohead’s Karma Police.
It was Yorke’s second and final night playing in Melbourne, as part of an almost sold-out Australasia tour.
He plays the Sydney Opera House forecourt tomorrow and Saturday.
In 2017, Radiohead was forced to defend its decision to play a show in Tel Aviv, despite calls for the band to boycott Israel as part of a growing protest movement.
In a post to X (formerly Twitter), the band said playing a concert in a country “isn’t the same as endorsing its government”.
Radiohead and Yorke have been known to provide social and political commentary through their lyrics since the early ’90s.
In 2010, Yorke wrote a series of songs for a documentary film about Tibet’s political struggle with China.
He has also previously played shows with the Tibet flag draped over his piano.
The 56-year-old has also been an active supporter of environmental causes including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.
