Brian Eno and Massive Attack back anti-Israel boycott campaign against music festival

The bank, activists claim, is “bankrolling Israel’s genocidal assault on Palestinians” through its financial ties to companies that sell weapons to Israel. 

"The bank invests over £2bn in, and provides financial services worth over £6.1bn to, companies supplying weapons and military technology to Israel, used in its attacks on Palestinians,” the Palestine Solidarity Campaign have claimed. 

Barclays insist it does not invest in defence companies supplying Israel but merely trades in listed shares on the instruction of clients.

On its website, the bank says: "An associated claim is that we invest in Elbit, an Israeli defence manufacturer which also supplies the UK armed forces with equipment and training.

"For the reasons mentioned, it is not true that we have made a decision to invest in Elbit. We may hold shares in relation to client driven transactions, which is why we appear on the share register, but we are not investors.”

For the one quarter of acts scheduled to appear at The Great Escape who have now pulled out, that explanation is not acceptable, however.

"As a political punk band, we cannot be complicit in glorifying the industries that fund this violence,” The Menstrul Cramps have said.

“Music festivals can’t go ahead without musicians, and so musicians are the ones who have the power, even though a lot of time, it doesn’t feel like that.”

Lambrini Girls, another group now boycotting the festival, said: “Barclays provide financial services of over £1bn to companies supplying military technology and weapons to the IDF, perpetuating the horrors unfolding in Gaza.”

An open letter calling for The Great Escape to drop Barclays as a partner has recieved hundreds of signitures from artists including Massive Attack and Brian Eno, who were not booked to perform.

"A bank that is involved in Israel’s genocide has no place at The Great Escape, which is a fixture of the independent music scene and has a prized place in the industry,” it reads 

"We refuse to let music be used to whitewash human rights violations. We cannot let our creative outputs become smokescreens behind which money is pumped into murdering Palestinians."

Those in support of the boycott take inspiration from similar campaigns against South African apartheid, the letter adds.

Other musicians have said they will perform but donate their apperance fees to charities supporting Palestine.

In a statement posted to Instagram, Big Special, a band based in the Black Country, said: “A lot of bands have boycotted the event in solidarity. We fully support this decision and think it is noble of these artists to take a stand in this way.

“Capitalism is a stain on life and it has spread to its furthest reaches, it’s hard to do anything that does not support some hollow corporation devoid of morals…

“We work with good people whose jobs could be affected by us pulling out, and don’t think these well meaning people should lose their living whilst the money men who are to blame for the involvement of Barclays, take the cream."

Asked by a musician who said they were considering pulling out of The Great Escape for his view, singer Nick Cave told them simply: “Play.”

The Great Escape did not respond to a request for comment.