A video of Royal Blood becoming annoyed with the crowd at Radio One’s Big Weekend has gone viral, sparking a variety of reactions.
The duo performed yesterday (May 28) at Camperdown Park in Dundee as part of Radio One’s annual festival, where they weren’t too impressed with how the crowd reacted to them.
“I guess I should actually introduce ourselves seeing as no-one actually knows who we are,” frontman Mike Kerr said at the beginning of the clip. “We’re called Royal Blood and this is rock music.
“Who likes rock music?” he asked the crowd, getting a small cheer. “Nine people. Brilliant,” he remarked before introducing drummer Ben Thatcher.
Later, Kerr remarked, “We’re having to clap ourselves because that was so pathetic,” before turning to the camera and asking: “Will you clap for us? Will you clap? You’re busy. Can you clap? Yes, even he’s clapping. What does that say about you?”
After finishing their last song, Kerr is seen throwing his guitar to the floor and leaving the stage with both middle fingers stuck up at the crowd.
Royal Blood making their feelings known about the crowd at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend yesterday 😂
— The Rock Revival (@TheRockRevival_) May 29, 2023
Kerr’s annoyance with the crowd was met with a variety of responses. Some pointed out that as a rock band, Royal Blood were an outlier on Radio One’s Big Weekend pop-oriented bill, had only been announced for the festival a few weeks prior and were also playing to a crowd made up of people waiting around for Niall Horan. While some understood their frustration, others wondered what they could have expected.
“Royal Blood are too sick that crowd is boring,” wrote one Twitter user, while one added: “Royal Blood are brilliant and possibly at the wrong festival. That crowd was waiting for Niall Horan.”
I don’t know what they were hoping to gain from this?
That stage was headlined by Lewis Capaldi so a pop heavy crowd.
Royal Blood also weren’t announced until after it had sold out so NO ONE bought a ticket for them. Screwed a chance to gain new fans.
Embarrassing man 😂 https://t.co/7fvdmLlBYg
— Kyle 🏴 (@KyleWattPhoto) May 29, 2023
State of the responses to this. Royal Blood will be co-headlining at the biggest festival in the world this summer. They deserve the crowd to be giving it a bit. Proper music like this is dying now a days. Kids haven’t got a clue.
— Ryan (@Ryan0102030406) May 29, 2023
royal blood are too sick that crowd is boring https://t.co/usHL55LCP8
— lauren (@moonchildwren) May 28, 2023
Royal Blood are brilliant and possibly at the wrong festival. That crowd is just waiting for Niall Horan. #BigWeekend
— Lucy D 🏏 ⚡️ 🐾 (@dibbersbakes) May 28, 2023
Others thought the way Kerr spoke to the crowd was rude:
Royal Blood providing the most embarrassing moment in music since: https://t.co/IaEIrsat5C pic.twitter.com/rUplvrfFRV
— Ruth Husko: Too Cheeky (@dank_ackroyd) May 29, 2023
oh i’m sorry, did nobody care about your boring music Royal Blood? did your feelings get hurt that nobody was bothered about you? https://t.co/trLoiO1WdN pic.twitter.com/YNjT26Etuq
— Scott Chegg (@buckfastbadlad) May 29, 2023
Hmm. I like Royal Blood but this was silly. You should focus on winning the crowd over, not expecting them to adore you immediately 🍊 https://t.co/UmTMSf9FAY
— Adam🍊 (@adamsoundsgood) May 29, 2023
This is Royal Blood simply being obnoxious. Get over yourself.. why would you take it out on what’s most likely a very young audience.. pic.twitter.com/g6AY30iPc0
— Jack Mendel ✍️ (@Mendelpol) May 29, 2023
Last week, Royal Blood announced their fourth album, ‘Back To The Water Below’ and released its lead single, ‘Mountains At Midnight’. The album is due for release on September 8.
As well as opening for Muse at their upcoming stadium shows, they will be playing many other festivals this summer before embarking on a headline tour in October.
The headline tour begins on October 20 at Manchester’s O2 Apollo, running for 10 days and finishing in Dublin at the Olympia Theatre.
General sale tickets for the gigs go on sale on Friday, June 2 at 9am BST – you can buy yours here.
JUNE 2023
20 – Huddersfield, John Smith’s Stadium (with Muse)
21-25 – Glastonbury Festival
25 – Milton Keynes Bowl (with Muse)
JULY 2023
9 – Glasgow, TRNSMT Festival
23 – Oxford, Truck Festival
27-30 – Kendal, Kendal Calling
28-30 – Derbyshire, Y NOT? Festival
29 – Brighton, Beach
OCTOBER 2023
20 – Manchester, O2 Apollo
22 – Stockton, Globe
24 – London, Eventim Apollo
25 – Liverpool, Uni The Mountford Hall
26 – Wolverhampton, The Civic at The Halls
27 – Portsmouth, Guildhall
29 – Belfast, The Telegraph Building
30 – Dublin, 3Olympia Theatre