When Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl was photographed in London last week, sitting with his wife Jordyn Blum in the Royal Box overlooking Wimbledon's Centre Court watching British tennis star Emma Radacanu in the company of John Cena, Olivia Rodrigo, Thomas Tuchel (manager of England's national football team), and former Olympic gold medal-winning diver Tom Daley, speculation intensified online that he would be one of the "huge superstars" who Tom Morello had teased to make a surprise cameo at Black Sabbath's epic Back To The Beginning farewell show on July 5.
Grohl, of course, is a massive Black Sabbath fan. "Almost every band that made it big in the '90s, including Soundgarden and Nirvana, owe a debt to them," he once told Kerrang! "We were totally into them in Nirvana. When you're sitting around in the practice room and someone breaks in on a Sabbath riff, everyone joins in - they're just classic riffs." When Foo Fighters last played in Birmingham, on June 27 last year, they were joined onstage at Villa Park by Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler, who guested with the band on a cover of Paranoid, to Grohl's very obvious delight.
But while Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Alice In Chains, Gojira, Tool and Guns N' Roses were among the artists who paid loving tributes to the acknowledged Godfathers of Metal at their emotional farewell show in their hometown on Saturday, July 5, Grohl was nowhere to be seen. And that's because he was still in London, watching Kneecap and Fontaines D.C. play to 45,000 fans at Finsbury Park.
Tickets for Fontaines D.C.'s biggest ever headline show went on sale last August, and sold out in minutes, as did their forthcoming show with Kneecap at Belfast's Boucher Playing Fields on August 29.
The two bands have long been friends, with Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten guesting on Kneecap's 2024 single Better Way To Live. As he did when Kneecap played in Belfast in December, Chatten joined the Irish rap trio onstage in north London to perform the single mid-way through their support set.
With actor Paddy Considine among those watching on, Fontaines D.C. played a 23-song set for their headline show, performing no fewer than 12 songs from their current album Romance.
Following the night's final song, Korn-influenced single Starburster, the message “Israel is committing genocide. Use your voice” was projected on the screens flanking the stage.
Israel has been accused of carrying out genocidal acts during the ongoing war in Gaza by numerous organisations, including the UN Human Rights Council. Israel's military campaign, sparked by the October 2023 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israeli soil that saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 people taken hostage, has resulted in the death of over 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. 58 hostages from the October 7, 2023 attack remain held in captivity by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has denied any genocidal intent, which requires certain thresholds to be met in order to be legally recognised; a case brought forward by South Africa to The International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians is ongoing.The conflict has been on-going for decades, with official UN figures for the 15 years before the 2023 escalation recording 7277 Palestinian deaths and 162,121 Palestinian injuries in occupied Palestinian territory and Israel since 2008, and 368 Israeli deaths and 6,670 Israeli injuries during the same time span in the region.
Fontaines D.C.'s next UK performance will take place at Glasgow's TRNSMT festival on Friday, July 12.
The Dublin post-punk quintet will also headline their own huge outdoor shows at Newcastle's Exhibition Park on July 13, and Cardiff Castle on July 30.
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