00:00I say free Palestine, I say free Lebanon, free Cuba, to the Congo, to Sudan, to Iran, and all the
00:11people living in America that have to live in fear because of this terrorist organization, ICE.
00:23This is not usually how I would play from the show, but before I play some of the songs tonight,
00:28I hope it's okay if I say a few words about this last week.
00:35I'm used to my music being criticised and I'm always happy to take that because I'm lucky a lot of
00:41you like myself and to be honest I'm surprised, I'm not surprised that other people don't.
00:47You know, it's normal.
00:48But this week the criticism was about something much more important and I've had to take and make difficult decisions
00:54and I am making mistakes and I'm so, so sorry.
00:59I don't want to disappoint fans and I've never wanted to be an activist musician but this has put me
01:04in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on
01:11the planet.
01:18My concerts have always been a safe space for everyone and that matters hugely to me.
01:26Honouring my commitment to my fans is also completely central to who I am and that's why I'm here tonight
01:32on my own and continuing my current tour.
01:43I am deeply worried about the idea that venues should pre-approved content performers. This happens in so many places
01:50that I perform around the world but it should never happen in the free world.
01:58Now, I want to address the question of where I stand in the situation in Israel and Palestine and whether
02:05my doing this concert here tonight implies where I stand.
02:08I have tried in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind because I want my music
02:13and shows to be about unity, not division, about humanity, not politics.
02:22But this is a humanitarian issue and I cannot lie how I feel about it anymore.
02:29What happened in Israel and at the known music festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish
02:36pain.
02:36What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate. My heart has been broken by the scale of
02:46devastation and loss of civilians lives, of children's lives.
02:52And the systemic injustice we're seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked. I am already speaking to people
02:59across the spectrum to work out how to make the contribution that helps victims of these terrible times and listening
03:05and learning because I do not know enough.
03:09I honestly am so grateful that you are here tonight with me.
03:23This concert is still a place where everyone is welcome and everyone here can stand beside people that have opposing
03:29views and everyone here can stand by people that they don't agree with on everything but they can all agree
03:36on singing these songs.
03:43And these songs are about love, hope and unity.
03:56These songs are about love, hope and unity.
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