![People act like musicians standing up for what they believe in is anything new. #FreePalestine [Slyngstad]](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/229b1cbc-f82b-471f-a5b1-7aae0efb6aec.png){kind=link}
Slyngstad | Bluesky
Transcript
A three-panel political comic by Slyngstad highlighting the long history of political activism in music. In the foreground of all three panels, two audience members are seen talking in profile.
Panel 1:
On Stage: A modern musician holding a microphone calls out, “FREE PALESTINE!”
Foreground: One audience member complains, “UGH, WHEN DID MUSICIANS START TO BE SO POLITICAL?”
Panel 2:
On Stage: Freddie Mercury performing at the 1985 Live Aid benefit concert, with the “Live Aid” global logo in the background.
Foreground: The second audience member replies, “START?”
Panel 3:
On Stage: Folk singer Woody Guthrie playing an acoustic guitar with his iconic slogan written across it: “THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS”.
Foreground: The second audience member continues, “MAYBE YOU JUST WEREN’T LISTENING.”
Sort of the joke about this tour. Ed surrounded himself with a bunch of Irish musicians notorious for their support of Palestine and their outspoken politics. And then the people who were always highly political on tour did the things they always fucking did on tour and Ed said “Oh my goodness, I had no idea! We need to fire all of you.”
It was the career equivalent of strapping yourself with TNT, then being surprised when it explodes.
It’s worse than that. He was perfectly fine with it until he got some push back from the billionaire owner of one of the venues. He the immediately caved and started kicking people off the tour.
And then his entire tour fell out from under him.