Why can’t we just go to a concert and enjoy the songs without it being spoiled by ignorant political posturing?

A NIGHT out at a rock or pop concert doesn’t come cheap these days. You can easily pay hundreds of pounds for mediocre tickets at the back of a stadium. Ed Sheeran fans who forked out for tickets to his Loop stadium tour in America, only to be forced to endure a lengthy diatribe about Gaza from Macklemore, a US rapper and support act Credit: Getty A few days later, Macklemore was dropped from the tour, which prompted all of Sheeran’s other support artists to also pull out in protest to show solidarity Credit: Getty Once you add on the price of trains or parking your car, maybe a hotel and a few drinks, you might have to consider taking out a hefty payday loan or even a second mortgage on your home. So, is it any wonder concert-goers want to enjoy their evening — and why they don’t think enjoyment includes getting an unsolicited lecture on international politics from a support act they’ve probably never even heard of? Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Because that is what happened to thousands of unsuspecting Ed Sheeran fans who forked out for tickets to his Loop stadium tour in America, only to be forced to endure a lengthy diatribe about Gaza from Macklemore, a US rapper and support act. Over two nights, Macklemore blathered on to the bemused crowd about his passion for “Free Palestine”, insisting his talk of Israeli “apartheid” and “genocide” was “in no way a criticism” of Jews in the audience. Which isn’t perhaps what you expected when you were looking forward to a fun evening singing along to hit songs like Thinking Out Loud and Shape Of You. Not surprisingly, plenty of people complained about having their evening hijacked by his ignorant and offensive political posturing. A few days later, Macklemore was dropped from the tour, which prompted all of Sheeran’s other support artists, including his own backing band, to also pull out in protest to show solidarity with their fellow artist. Not with Ed Sheeran, of course, but with Macklemore and his right to deliver his ignorant (and what many would view as antisemitic) lecture to Sheeran’s fans. Most read in The Sun So much for loyalty, eh? I’m going to be honest, I’d never heard of Macklemore before now. Indeed, I hadn’t heard of Bobby Vylan before he chanted, “Death, death to the IDF” at Glastonbury — or Kneecap when they shouted, “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah!” on stage in support of the banned terrorist groups. Maybe it’s because I’m too old or maybe I just have better taste in my music — and my politics. But either way, I don’t think I’m alone in wanting to keep politics out of pop concerts. Bob Vylan chanted, ‘Death, death to the IDF’ at Glastonbury a few years back Credit: AFP Ed has not attacked anyone or abused anyone. He’s not even had a bad word to say about Macklemore, a long-time friend, and has apparently donated $1million to charities supporting Palestinians Credit: Getty Sorry, but I don’t want to be given a sixth form-style lecture about international affairs when I’m on what’s supposed to be a fun night out — whether I agree with the sentiment or not. So why on earth do so many artists feel the need to pontificate on stage about their political views? And especially when they obviously often know so little about their topic? Can’t we just go to a concert, enjoy the songs then go home without having to take sides in a controversial international dispute? Is it too much to ask? Ed Sheeran hasn’t been a shrinking violet when it comes to expressing his own political views. He has spoken publicly about how he “loves” Jeremy Corbyn but he has never told other people how to vote. He has spoken of his identity as a “European”, suggesting he opposed Brexit, while he has backed gay and trans rights, spoken out on homelessness and performed in aid of Ukraine. But the one thing Sheeran doesn’t do is inflict his own political beliefs on his fans when they have paid large sums of money for tickets to his concerts. In the wake of Macklemore being dropped from his tour (apparently a decision by the venues and tour promoter), Sheeran said he was “appalled by the conflict” in Gaza and that suffering “on both sides is a human tragedy”. But he also said he prefers his concerts to be about “unity, joy, escapism”. This perfectly reasonable statement has been met with predictably unreasonable demands for his whole tour to be cancelled — from pro-Palestinian activists and the likes of Greta Thunberg and Lewis Hamilton, two ­people who have never shied away from any opportunity to vaunt their virtue to the world by backing the latest trendy cause. An Irish radio station, Classic Hits, has even removed Sheeran’s music from its playlist “until further notice”. But what exactly is Ed Sheeran’s crime here? He’s not broken any laws. He’s not attacked anyone or abused anyone. He’s not even had a bad word to say about Macklemore, a long-time friend, and has apparently donated $1million to charities supporting Palestinians. Some of us might argue that Sheeran’s decision to inflict Galway Girl on our ears is a crime against humanity but his wish to allow his fans to enjoy the music without having to endure a political diatribe is most certainly not. Yet Sheeran will no doubt face further reprisals and untold damage to his hitherto successful career. Why? Because we are now a long way from John Lennon’s anthemic 1969 anti-war song Give Peace A Chance. This isn’t about peace — in Gaza or anywhere else. This is a culture war. These days, political posturing is not about artists being able to speak out or tell “their truth”. The truth is that most pop and rock stars, film stars, TV folk and artists (with a few honourable exceptions) don’t actually know very much about the causes they claim to care so much about. Every death of every innocent civilian in war, especially a child, is a tragedy. But the idea that what is happening in Gaza is the worst thing happening in the world right now is absurd, given the huge scale of human rights abuses in Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Ethiopia, Myanmar and as suffered by the Uighur people in China. What a shame those victims aren’t fashionable enough for today’s moral-posturing artists, eh? What these righteous campaigning performers DO know about is PR. And saying the right thing about the right cause at the right time will do wonders for their careers. The problem is that this so-called right to speak out is only ever reserved for artists who have the “right” beliefs. Express support for Israel? That’s your career over in the world of woke entertainment. Mention that you quite like Donald Trump? Whoops! No more prime-time telly for you. Dare to speak out for women’s rights under attack from trans activists? Consider your ambitions dead and buried. Of course, every artist is entitled to choose their own causes — but in return, shouldn’t we concert-goers be allowed to choose ours, too, and not be subjected to their grandstanding? We’ve had to work hard to afford tickets to a concert so, please, just get on stage, perform your songs and spare us the lecture on our night out. Comment now