Colin Greenwood calls his brother's cancelled shows a curb on free speech

Colin Greenwood has said he is “very sad” that two UK venues cancelled concerts by his brother Jonny and the Israeli musician Dudu Tassa. Bristol Beacon's Lantern Hall and Hackney Church in London both pulled the shows, citing security concerns.

He was speaking at the Hay Festival, where he was billed to talk about his photo book How to Disappear with Adam Rutherford on the evening of 31 May. I think that it is a curtailment of free speech and the possibilities of forging bonds between people with music and art¹, he said.

He spoke of the band's long habit of trying to create empathy and share it with an audience, and called the album Jonny made with Tassa, which brings Arab and Israeli musicians together, very beautiful.