British trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack has publicly spoken out against the heavy-handed response from Singaporean authorities after the band made a pro-Palestine statement during a recent concert in the Southeast Asian city-state, describing the entire ordeal as deeply unexpected and disappointing.
In an Instagram post published Sunday, the group detailed that its core members were taken into police custody, separated from one another, and interrogated individually. Some members also had their hotel rooms searched by officers and had their passports temporarily seized during the interaction.
The controversy stems from the band’s 29 July performance in Singapore, where founding members Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall joined audience members to hold up a Palestinian flag and chant the slogan “Free Palestine”.
In the wake of the incident, Singaporean officials have announced an indefinite entry and performance ban on the entire group, a confirmation that a police spokeswoman provided to the BBC Friday.
Del Naja and Marshall have also received formal stern warnings over alleged violations of two local statutes: one that restricts the public display of foreign national flags, and another that regulates political expression at public gatherings.
Massive Attack pushed back on the enforcement in its statement, noting that chants of “Free Palestine” first emerged organically from large sections of the audience before the band added its own support. The group said the crowd was likely aware that the spontaneous expression ran afoul of Singapore’s censorship regulations, but chose to speak out regardless.
While the band did not directly issue a formal response challenging the ban, it framed the entire experience as surreal. “We did not imagine that merely holding up the flag of a sovereign state recognised by 157 countries would violate any law,” the group wrote.
The collective added that it remains proud of the impromptu display of solidarity with Palestinian people that it shared with Singaporean fans, who it said “clearly felt a moral imperative” to stand with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
Massive Attack has a long, well-documented history of publicly advocating for political causes across a wide range of global issues, and the Gaza war is no exception. Earlier this year, Del Naja, 61, was arrested during a London protest on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian organization that is proscribed under U.K. law. Del Naja was photographed sitting among hundreds of fellow demonstrators holding a sign that read “I Oppose Genocide, I Support Palestine Action”.
For its part, Singapore has justified its strict rules around public discussion of the Israel-Gaza war, arguing that tight regulation of such divisive issues is required to maintain racial and social cohesion in the country’s diverse multicultural society. As early as 2023, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs issued a formal advisory banning the public display and wearing of items linked to the Israel-Gaza conflict, including emblems of foreign national entities.
Massive Attack is currently mid-way through a global tour, having wrapped its Asia leg following the Singapore show, and is scheduled to perform a series of shows in Australia next week. The BBC has reached out to Singaporean police for additional comment on the incident.