Kneecap were presented with a “huge” King George V head during their show in Melbourne that was cut off a statue.
The King George V statue was beheaded and covered in red paint on a bank holiday for King Charles’ birthday in June 2024. It was part of series of incidents involving attacks on colonial monuments in Victoria.
“Some madman dropped by with a huge King George’s head so he could hear a few tunes for our last Melbourne show!” the Irish rap trio remarked on X/Twitter afterwards.
“Allegedly his head was cut off last year in the city..…anyways he was put on stage for a few tunes and then whisked away…remember every colony can fall 
”
Well well a chairde Gael!
Some madman dropped by with a huge King George’s head so he could hear a few tunes for our last Melbourne show!
Allegedly his head was cut off last year in the city..…anyways he was put on stage for a few tunes and then whisked away…remember every… pic.twitter.com/5f5aqBxr7S
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) March 14, 2025
Kneecap explained their stance on “colonisers” in an interview for NME’s The Cover last year. They started a chant of “Brits out” while playing a gig at Belfast’s Empire, the day after the Prince and Princess of Wales had been at the venue.
“If you’re from Ireland, you understand that it means nothing to do with citizens or people who identify as British,” said Mo Chara. “It’s a term used during The Troubles about getting the British government and British soldiers out of Ireland. That was it; it was a political thing.”
It inspired their song ‘Get Your Brits Out’. “That was the idea: we’re getting the Brits out and giving them all ecstasy because they’re so stressed from complaining about gay marriage and stuff for so long,” said Móglaí Bap. “They hate the gays, they hate dinosaurs,” continued DJ Próvaí. “They hate everyone who loves a party, basically.”
While they’ve been on tour in Australia, Kneecap played a free show in Melbourne’s Federation Square for those who couldn’t get tickets to their original gig in the city. Federation Square has estimated that 10,000 people showed up.
In other news, it has been announced that Kneecap will round off 2025 with a massive arena concert in Dublin. The trio are also set to play their “biggest ever live show” at the city’s Fairview Park this summer.